Chinese New Year sets off the beginning of the spring and is popularly recognized as the Spring Festival. The Chinese follow the Lunar/Solar calendar rather than the western calender. Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar, and marks the start of a traditional celebration of the 1st day of the Lunar year and will last for the next 15 days and ends with the first full moon of the new year with The Lantern Festival.
Chinese New Year is of the utmost importance to every Chinese family as it is time for gathering. Many superstitions are also associated with the ritual and the traditions of new year celebrations. Though many Chinese today do not follow the traditions of the do's and don'ts.
Celebrations start with house cleaning prior to the New Year's Day, to remove all the old stale luck of the past year. Sweeping or dusting should not be done on the New Year Day (1/26/09) and all brooms, brushes and other cleaning equipment are put away, for they have the fear that their good fortune will be swept away.
Decorate your living room with vases of pretty flowers, platters of oranges and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. Doors and windows are decorated with vertical scrolls, paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on red paper.
Fireworks are the sign of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. Wear something red as red color is considered to be auspicious and is meant to ward off evil spirits. The first thing to do on New Year's day is, they eat/drink something sweet in the morning and also say nice things to other people.
Do not use knives or scissors on New Year's Day as these things may cut off their fortune. Do not wash your hair on that day, as it might wash away the good luck for the year. Do not use bad or Unlucky words, and even don't scold their children, though they are mischievious.
Though the celebrations of the Chinese vary with that of ours, the underlying message is that of peace and happiness for family members and friends for the whole year. Gung Hay Fat Choy.
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