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Quick Facts : Chinese New Year
| Date: Feb 10, 2013 |
Type: National |
Also Called:
Lunar New Year |
| Celebrations:
Gift exchange, Fireworks, Dragon and
Lion dance, Family gathering |
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Image Courtesy: wikiPedia |
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Chinese New year is one of the most
important traditional holidays in China. The
day is celebrated on the first day of the
first month according to Chinese calendar
and is also known as Lunar New Year. The day
is rooted in centuries old customs and
traditions and is one of the most popular
public holidays in China. Apart from China,
the day is also celebrated in countries like
Korea, Bhutan, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia,
Hong Kong etc., which follows the Chinese
calendar.
According to the popular myth, the origin of
this day lies in the fight against Nian, a
beast in Chinese mythology. The beast would
visit the cities and eat cattle, crops and
even people. In order to protect themselves
from the beast, people would place food at
their doorsteps after which the beast
wouldn’t harm them. However, once the people
saw that the beast was scared of the color
red. From then on, on the first day of every
new year, people would hand red paper
lanterns and other things red to scare off
the beast. They would also light
firecrackers in order to scare the beast
away. After some time, the beast stopped
coming to the city.
In some other cities like San Francisco, the
day has its origins in the famous parade
carried out by their ancestors. In 1849,
many Chinese men came to the city to try
their fortune after the Gold Rush. After
facing hostility from the local people, they
decided to hold a parade in order to
showcase their culture and tradition to the
localities. Ever since, the day is
celebrated with a street parade in San
Francisco.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in different
ways in different parts of the world. The
predominant color in all the celebrations of
this day is red. According to tradition, red
envelopes containing money are given by the
elderly to the young. The money contained in
these red envelopes is always even, which is
determined by the left-most digit than the
right-most one. The red envelopes are
symbolic of staving off evil and bringing in
good luck.
People exchange gifts and light firecrackers
on this day. Other traditions associated
with this day include hanging of the Fu
symbol on the main door of the house which
is supposed to bring good luck and wearing
red color clothes. Dragon and Lion dances
are also very popular during Chinese New
Year. |
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Other holidays celebrated in China
| New Year's Day |
Spring Festival
Golden Week |
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Qingming Festival |
Intl. Children's Day |
| Liberation Army Day |
National Day Holiday |
| Spring Festival
Golden Week |
Intl. Women's Day |
| Labor Day |
Dragon Boat Festival |
| Mid-Autumn Festival |
National Day Holiday |
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Chinese New Year |
Arbor Day |
| National Youth Day |
CPC Foundation Day |
| National Day |
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