23/01/12 - Chinese New Year

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Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration. In China it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春节 (Pinyin:
Chūn Jié), owing to the difference between Western and traditional
Chinese methods for computing the seasons. It marks the end of the
winter season, analogous to the Western carnival. The festival begins on
the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year."
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunisolar Calendar.
The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains
significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese
New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they
believed in the most.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with
significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong,^[2] Indonesia, Tibet, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,^[3] Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns
elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the
Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its
geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had
extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese (Tết), and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).
In countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States,
although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic
Chinese hold large celebrations and Australia Post, Canada Post, and the US Postal Service issue New Year's themed stamps.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the
celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out
their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing.
It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house
to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming
luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets
with popular themes of "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". On the
Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will
include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The
family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning,
children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy
new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year
tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace
and happiness for everyone.