We have already embraced the second month of 2018. Are you aware another New Year’s Day is approaching? The 2018 Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, falls on February 16. Let’s delve into this significant festival, which lasts about fifteen days total, each year.
February 16 and a Year of the Dog
The lunisolar Chinese calendar decides the date of Chinese New Year. Therefore, Chinese New Year dates vary slightly between years in the Gregorian calendar. Usually, the Lunar New Year comes during late-January to mid-February. Other traditional Chinese festivals associated with the moon include Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.
The lunisolar calendar is also associated with twelve animal signs in Chinese Zodiac. In a twelve-year cycle, each year is assigned an animal sign. This New Year marks the transition from a Year of the Rooster to that of the Dog. One’s Chinese Zodiac sign is derived from the birth year. Check the years to determine your own sign!
Image from Wikimedia Commons
An Official Holiday
In Mainland China, students get a month of winter break for the Spring Festival, and people who work usually have a week off. Families gather for the annual reunion dinner on the New Year’s Eve, so the festival leads to the world’s largest annual mass human migration. Everyone wants to get home before the Eve, so transportation will become incredibly busy.
Food
In Northern China, many families feature dumplings in meals during the holiday, and making dumplings at home becomes a prominent tradition there. As the festival culture varies in different areas, my family does not feature dumplings for the Lunar New Year. In my hometown, winter cured meat is a festival favorite. In most areas, fish is part of the reunion dinner. In Chinese, “fish” sounds the same as “surplus.” Therefore, people do not finish the fish dish because of the Chinese expression “let there be surpluses (fish) every year.”
Image from Flickr
Entertainment
Since 1982, the Spring Festival Gala has been broadcast from four hours before the start of the New Year. Recently, commenting on the gala, often humorously, has become a holiday must for young people.
Red is a highlight of the Lunar New Year. A symbol of good luck, the color is considered to ward off evil spirits. Many New Year decorations like lanterns are red. Many tend to wear new red clothes from head to toe in order to mark a new beginning of the year. Children receive red packets of money from family elders. In recent years, people also exchange virtual red packets of money via apps like WeChat. A widely used phrase associated with red packets is roughly translated as “congratulations and be wealthy, please give me a red packet” (romanized pronunciation: gongxifacai, hongbaonalai).
Image from Pixabay
Chinese New Year is my favorite festival, and it vividly represents cultural diversity. After all, the holiday emphasizes the concepts of “family” and “beginning.” Remember to get involved in this joyful festival, and be prosperous in the rest of the year!