Chinese New Year Festival

As we get ready to celebrate the year of the rat, I wanted to reflect on what a special blessing Aidan is. He was born in the year of the Golden Pig, which occurs once every 60 years and symbolizes blessings and prosperity.

Chinese New Year, known in Chinese as the Spring Festival (春节, Chūnjié) or the Lunar New Year (农历新年, Nónglì xīnnián), is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays and is also celebrated by the Japanese, Korean, Miao (Hmong), Mongolians, Vietnamese, Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese. Preparations begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red. The doors and windows are then decorated with paper cuts and couplets with themes such as happiness, wealth and longevity printed on them.The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks.On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family, with two tangerines in their hands, begins visit friends and relatives, showering each other with good wishes and blessings.Nothing bad is to be said or done during this festive period or it will have dire consequences for the rest of the year. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside.The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows. Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary from country to country, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.