CHINESE NEW YEAR

Chinese New Year is the most important festival for the Chinese, it is celebrate in spring and also known as spring festival or Lunar New Year. The festival begins on the first day of the first day of the first lunar month and end on the 15th which usually falls between the end of January and Mid February.

A month before the festival, the Chinese families give their home a through clean. It’s believed that cleaning during CNY is avoided as all good luck will be wash away, some people will give their home a fresh coat of paint and decorate them with auspicious objects such as red couplets, peach blossoms, kumquat plants and others objects that symbolize happiness, wealth and longevity. Purchasing of new clothing, shoes and receiving a new hair cut also symbolize a fresh start. Clothes which are red colour are commonly worn because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune.

During CNY’s eve, the whole families gather for reunion dinner. Family members who are overseas will try to go home. Food that symbolise good wishes, happiness like black moss, sea cucumber and oyster are eaten. After the dinner, families sit down to chat, play cards and board games or watch TV programmers while they‘re waiting for the new year to come.

On the first day of CNY, families visit the oldest and most senior member of their extended family, relatives and friends to strengthen the bon of kinship and friendship. Mandarin oranges are exchanged as the symbol of good luck. Children and unmarried adult usually receive hongbaos which contain money. The Chinese believe that the way they behave on the first day of CNY will determine the way they behave for the rest of the year so people are on their best behaviors that day.

Chinese New Year is a very special event of the Chinese all over the world. Not only the Chinese themselves, it’s also very important for some countries in South East Asia which were affected by the China culture for a long time ago. It’s an occasion when people put away all their hard work and enjoy a holiday with their families. It’s an occasion when members who stay far apart from their families come back to visit their hometown, their relative. New Year is the time when people forget about the bad thing in the previous year and get ready for one more year. Everybody wants a nice, good New Year come to their home.