Hello My Dear Great Ones,
It is almost Chinese New Year and decorations like lanterns are being hung all over town. We will be getting a week off and thus Celia and I will be skiing in Japan for five days. Can't wait. Chinese New Year or CNY is a big deal here. The following fun facts about CNY may make your day:
- The Chinese New Year lands on the first day of the lunar month and continues for 15 days, until the moon is full. Each of the 15 days of the celebrations has a particular role, such as visiting family on one day or eating certain foods on another day.[2]
- The phrase “Happy New Year” in Chinese is “Gung Hei Fat Choi” or “May You Have Good Fortune.”[6]
- Every Chinese New Year, over a billion people board planes, trains, boats, buses, and cars. Known as Chunyan, it is the world’s largest annual human migration.[9]
- The Chinese New Year is the most important and the longest celebration in the Chinese calendar.[6]
- On the stroke of midnight on the Chinese New Year, every door and window in a Chinese house is opened to allow the old year to go out.[4]
- The color red holds a significant place in Chinese New Year celebrations. Specifically, people wear red clothes, they decorate poems on red paper, and they give children “lucky” money in red envelopes. For the Chinese, red symbolizes fire, which traditionally was believed to prevent bad luck.[2]
- The Chinese New Year has been celebrated for more than 4,000 years. Farmers started the holiday in China to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It was also a festival to honor ancestors as well as other holy or sacred beings.[2]
- An important part of the Chinese New Year is the chuen-hop, or the “tray of togetherness.” This usually consists of eight compartments that are filled with special and symbolic food items that are offered to guests. These foods include kumquats for health, coconuts for togetherness, peanuts for a long life, and the longan fruit for “many good sons.” Additionally, for the Chinese, the number 8 symbolizes good luck.[2]
- An old Chinese belief says that the second day of the new year is the birthday of all dogs and that people should be extra kind to dogs that day.[6]
- Instead of wrapped gifts that other nationalities give at their main holiday season, for Chinese New Year, children receive red envelopes full of money. The amount of money is usually an even number—but the amount cannot be divisible by four, because the number 4 means death.[6]
- Before the Chinese New Year, it is common for people to buy new clothes or receive new haircuts as a way to make a fresh start.[2]
- The Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival, which takes place on the 15th (and last) day of the celebration. The lanterns are believed to light the way for the new year. The festival is also associated with guiding lost or mischievous spirits home while celebrating family relationships.[4]
- It doesn’t matter when someone was actually born—on the Chinese New Year, everyone turns a year older.[6]
- In China, it is becoming increasingly popular to hire a “fake” girlfriend or boyfriend to take home during the Chinese New Year to stave off parental pressure to get married. For as little as $20 or as much as $600 a day, college students rent themselves out.[5]
- Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival.[2]
- To prepare for Chinese New Year, people clean their houses and sweep floors to get rid of dirt, dust, and bad luck or huiqi, which are inauspicious “breaths” that have been collected over the old year. Cleaning also was meant to appease the gods who would come down to earth to make inspections.[4]
- On the 15th and final day of the Chinese New Year, people eat round dumplings shaped like the full moon. The round balls symbolize reunion and are filled with glutinous rice flour sugar fillings.[6]
- On Chinese New Year’s Day, children are not spanked even if they are misbehaving because, according to tradition, if children cry on this day, they will cry all year.[4]
- On New Year’s Day, no sweeping or dusting takes place in a Chinese home because people don’t want to sweep away good fortune. Only on the 5th day of the celebration and after should people remove dirt from the home—but only out the back door.[4]
- Eating a whole chicken is popular during the Chinese New Year. It is important for the chicken to still have its head, tail, and feet to symbolize completeness.[6]
- During the Chinese New Year, noodles are not cut, as a way to represent long life.[6]
- The Yule Log is an important symbol of the Chinese New Year celebrations. A log decorated with red ribbons and glitter, it traditionally would burn for one night and smolder for 12 days, to symbolize the 12 months of the Chinese year. It symbolizes the return of the light to conquer darkness.[6]
- The two flowers most commonly associated with the Chinese New Year are the plum blossom, which is a symbol of courage and hope, and the water narcissus, which symbolizes good luck and prosperity.[6]
- Younger people in China increasingly prefer to surf the Internet, sleep, watch TV, and spend time with friends during Chinese New Year rather than celebrate with family. For them, the holiday has evolved from focusing on renewing family ties to a chance to relax from work.[3]
- During the Chinese New Year celebrations, fireworks play a significant role. However, there is a downside. In 2012, fireworks caused over 6,000 accidents on the first day of the holiday alone.[1]
- Chinese supermarkets report that sales of adult diapers increase by 50% during the Chinese New Year traveling season.[1]
The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck
During Chinese New Year, people usually wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning
The red things on the spring tree are lycee packets. It is tradition to give lycee packets, if you are making a wage, to those that arn't. Like kids. I have heard of kids' parents saving the money from the lycee packets over the years to pay for their offspring's education.
Have a great week everyone.
Love adios and ping on!
Dirk
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