The Chinese Traditional Festivals in the Year of the
Rabbit (2011):
1/23 Chinese New Year
2/6
Lantern Festival
6/23
Dragon Boat Festival
9/30
Mid-Autumn Festival
Learn more about these
Chinese Traditional Festivals
Chinese
New Year Means:
The
new Year marks the beginning of the spring, the rebirth of the Earth.
The Chinese words for New Year means "spring festival."
Based
on the moon, the Chinese lunar calendar was invented almost five
millennia ago by the legendary Emperor Huangdi to help Chinese farmers
mark weather changes.
The
holiday is celebrated over a two-week period.
What
do Chinese do on the New Year Day?
It is a time
for family togetherness, and this all begins with the "sweeping
of the grounds." It is a spring cleaning to sweep out the old
and evil.
After the spring
sweeping comes the bidding of farewell to the Kitchen God. This
is the god who presides over the home and gives a report back to
heaven on the families' behavior. The Kitchen God returns on New
Year's Day.
The celebration,
which begins on New Year's Eve, features lavish dishes with symbolic
meanings. A whole fish can be found on all tables, because it represents
surplus or abundance. Other seafood to be found includes shrimp,
which can signify happiness or laughter; oysters, which represent
good business, and clams, signifying the opening of new horizons.
The meaning of these foods comes from the pronunciation of the words
in Chinese.
Red and gold,
as you may know, are the favorite colors for the Chinese New Year.
Red symbolizes happiness and gold symbolizes wealth. On New Year's
Day, red is the preferred color of clothing; it is believed that
it will bring the wearer a bright and sunny future.
In my family,
we usually have a big New Year's Eve dinner, and then preparations
for the return of the Kitchen God are made. My mom and grandmother
would stay up and wait for the arrival of the Kitchen God. The arrival
time depends upon the use of a Chinese forecast book. The time usually
occurs in the early morning hours and varies from household to household.
This is celebrated with the rest of the family in the morning.
My parents and
grandmother would give us a red envelope containing money for good
luck. Today, such celebrations in Chinese America have been simplified,
but still have a great importance.
(Sourece:
Daily News 2/3/2000)
The
Empire State Building Lights Honor Chinese New Year
Lucky Ducks & Fortune Cookies: Seeking weath & happiness in the New Year? Just eat
in a Chinatown restaurant
