Chinese Celebration of New Year

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Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is one of the most dynamic, stimulating and colorful festivals celebrated by the Chinese. Celebration of Chinese New Year varies widely all over China. People spend huge amounts of money to buy presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. As the day nears, excitement mounts and spirits soar high.

It is the tradition of every family to clean their houses to sweep away any ill-fortune with hopes for good incoming luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red colored paper cuts and couplets with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth” and “longevity”. In the evening, the streets burst at the seams with colorful fanfare and festivity. People perform cultural dances while brightly-lit floats gliding on the water adding magic to the night.

On Chinese New Year Eve, families gather for a sumptuous reunion dinner. For 15 days, home visits to families and friends are sweetened with traditional New Year goodies like love letters (crispy egg rolls), pineapple tarts and barbecued pork. Gifts of mandarin oranges are exchanged for blessings while children receive “hong baos” (red envelopes filled with money) for good luck. “Yu Sheng” a tantalizing raw fish salad which symbolizes prosperity adds specialty to the evening.