In China one of the biggest holidays celebrated is Chinese New Year. As someone who is born and adopted in China, I love this holiday. In America our new year begins on January 1st but in China the new year begins in February around the 14-16th.
Chinese New Year is about much more than just eating chinese food and celebrating the fact that a new year has started. There is deep tradition and history behind the whole thing. Here are some facts about holiday that some of you may not know.
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It’s the year of the dog this year, but every year it changes
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The celebration last 15 days and it ends on the lantern festival
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Kids receive red envelopes, that are filled with Yuan (China’s currency)
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It is considered good luck to go through the whole house and clean
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Kids are off school for the whole 15 days of the celebration
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You will see dragon dances all around the city, the dragon is a symbol for good luck
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The event is very family oriented, every person from both sides of the family comes to one place
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Eating long noodles is the most sacred food to eat, the long noodles symbolize long life.
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The festival ends on a full moon
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Chinese will decorate their houses with mandarin orange trees during the holiday
Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Go out and eat some chinese food to celebrate.