Today is Chinese new year. I am going to share some facts about Chinese new year with all my friends and my students.
Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year because it is based on the lunar calendar, which is very different from the western calendar. In the lunar calendar, some years have 12 months, some years have 13 months. The New Year could be in January or February. It changes from year to year. In the Chinese calendar, every year is given a name by an animal instead a number. There are 12 animals that rotate year to year. Last year was the year of the dog, and this year is the year of the pig.
Chinese New Year is also called spring festival. The festival begins on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar and ends on the 15th day, which is the lantern festival. These 15 days are very important, not just celebration of New Year, but also celebrating a new season. This time of the year is the beginning of the spring. That is why we call it spring festival in China.
The Chinese have very special ways to celebrate the New Year. The traditions are such as spring cleaning, New Year scrolls, reunion dinner, firecrackers, red packets, New Year greeting and the lantern festival. Hanging New Year scrolls and lighting the firecrackers are the two must have traditions for Chinese. Chinese New Year celebration would not be complete without them.
New Year scrolls are also called spring couplets. The Chinese hang them on both sides and the top of the doors to ward off evil spirits, scare away all the bad things and protect people living inside the residences. Sometimes the New Year scrolls are single characters. The most common single scrolls are福and春. 福means luck, and good fortune. If there is one word that marks the Chinese New Year it would be this word. Almost every tradition in the Chinese New Year celebration goes back to luck and getting good luck in the New Year.春 means spring. They not only celebrate New Year, but also the beginning of a new spring season.
You will hear a lot of firecrackers popping during the holiday. It is popular to light the firecrackers at exactly midnight. It is not only to scare away the monsters that come out in New Years’ Eve, but also a symbol of good fortune lighting up right in front of you.
I have combined these two traditions together to make this Chinese New Year paper firecrackers décor craft. I wish you good luck for the next whole year!
Comments