Chinese New Year 2011 – Year of the Rabbit
by Steph Cheng
February 3, 2011 kicks off this years’ Chinese New Year (Chinese Lunar New Year). It is also called the Spring Festival.
Chinese New Year is the oldest tradition and most important period for Chinese people and overseas Chinese. Countries and cities that celebrate this holiday include Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and any other place where Chinese are prominent.
Click here to find out more about the Year of the Rabbit and your horoscope this year
The Legend
Every year a mythical beast called the Nien would haunt Chinese villagers by eating their livestock, crops and killing villagers. To distract the beast, villagers would put food in front of their doors as an offering. One day, a villager saw that the beast was scared of a child who was wearing red and started to hang red lanterns and set off firecrackers to scare the beast away. Nien was eventually captured by the Taoist monk Hongjun Laozu.
Celebrating Chinese New Year but don’t know how?
Here are some tips on some Chinese traditions
Days before the New Year
Hanging red lanterns
Giving out red envelopes
Cleaning the house
Burning paper money to Zao Jun the Kitchen God
Eating fish, dumplings, and niangao or rice cakes
A new haircut and new clothes
Avoid using sharp items like scissors, knives
First Day of the New Year
Visiting your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
Watching a lion dance and setting off fireworks
Second Day of the New Year
Married daughters visit her birth parents
Believe that today is the birthday of all dogs
Third Day of the New Year
Stay at home and relax
Fifth Day of the New Year
Birthday of Chinese God of Wealth
Shoot firecrackers
Sixth Day of the New Year
Re-opening of businesses
Seventh Day of the New Year
Tossed raw fish salad common among Malaysians and Singaporeans
For Buddhists, they don’t eat meat on this day
Eighth Day of the New Year
Another family dinner
Everyone’s back at work
Ninth Day of the New Year
Hokkiens offer sugarcane and prayers to the Jade Emperor
Incense, tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig is offered
Thirteenth Day of the New Year
Eat pure vegetarian food
Day is dedicated to Guan Yu, God of War
Fifteenth Day of the New Year Marks the end of festivities
Celebrate the Lantern Festival
Eating of rice dumplings called tanyuan a glutinous rice ball in soup (peanut or sesame)
Candles are lit to guide spirits home
Carry around lanterns
Malaysians and Singaporeans treat this day like Valentine’s Day
Special Holiday sayings:
Xin nian kuai le "Happy New Year"
Guo nian hao "Have a good year"
Mei nian you yu "Every year having fish"
Interesting Facts
Chunyun – the largest human migration in the world. In China 2.28 billion people made the journey home to celebrate Chinese New Year with their families
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