The Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is the most important of the Chinese Holidays
Chinese New Year is based on the Lunar Calendar.
Chinese New Year is celebrated at the end of January or start of February. This year, Chinese New Year's day is on February 14, 2010. For 2011, Chinese New Year is on February 3, 2011. It will be the Year of the Rabbit in 2011.
Occurs on the first day with a new moon and ends after 15 days on Lantern Festival.
The Chinese Calendar also uses a different starting count, just add 104 to the Gregorian Calendar to get the correct year (so 2010 + 104 = 2114 Chinese Year). Below you will find the US-Canada Calendar of Chinese New Year events, Worksheets, Customs, Crafts and Projects, Coloring Pictures and compilation of Chinatowns in the US and Canada.
The main preparation families do for Chinese New Year is to clean up the house. The house is decked in red decorations. Red couplets wishing health, happines and prosperity are hung on the walls during Chinese New Year. Debts are settled, and arguments are set aside. Everyone is also encouraged to get haircuts and wear new (preferably red) clothing. All customs revolve around the idea of letting go of the old and welcoming new beginnings.
Families get together and welcome the new year together. A Chinese New Year dinner is happily served for family to share among themselves and their ancestors. After dinner, the young ones are blessed by the adults with lucky money in red envelopes. The family can also go light firecrackers or watch the Chinese New Year fireworks display.
There are more celebrations after that first day of year. The fifteen day holiday ends on the Lantern Festival, when people go out to carry lanterns or watch a public display of lantern exhibits.
Cleaning the house in preparation for
Chinese New Years is a way go get rid of bad luck, so the New Year is
lucky. For decorations, the color red is used.
The kitchen god watches over the household and gives a report
to the Jade Emperor on the household for Chinese New Year. Often bribed with fruit in
front of him as well as incense.
Drawings of them are put on the gates to guard
the house during Chinese New Year and keep bad things out such as Monsters
and Ghosts that might cause bad luck.
Lion Dances during the New Year are done
to bring Good Luck by chasing away evil spirits with loud noises from the
fire crackers and drums and the face of the Lion.
