Happy Lunar New Year
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Did you celebrate the ?Spring Festival? this
year? It is commonly known as Chinese New
Year or the Lunar New Year. This is an
annual holiday celebrated by most East
Asians and some Southeast Asians.
The Lunar New Year is based on the lunar
calendar, a calendar with a 12-year cycle,
and it marks the start of the New Year.
Additionally, each year in this cycle is
represented by an animal in the Chinese
Zodiac. The Chinese New Year begins on the
second moon after the winter solstice and
lasts for 15 days, ending on a full moon.
Moreover, it usually happens between the
21st of January and the 20th of February.
All technicalities aside, the Lunar New Year
is more than the simple start of a new
calendar year.It is a special and important
time for family and close friends to meet
and celebrate together. Families gather for a
reunion dinner, which usually falls on New
Year ?s Eve, where they feast on foods
representing their wishes for the New Year.
Foods include fish, which represents
prosperity, and spring rolls, which represent
wealth. Other foods people eat includes:
bakkwa (which is a dried meat), shark fin
soup, loh hei (which is a raw fish salad),
pineapple tarts, love letters, fried rice cakes,
and roasted duck.
After this reunion, the first three days of the
New Year commence with many visiting
their relatives. It is customary to present two
mandarin oranges to the head of the house,
such as the grandparents. These oranges
represent good luck and are exchanged for
two other oranges. It is very disrespectful
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By Car issa N.
not to bring any fruit during visitation.
Married couples and the elderly give red
envelopes of money (or a hong bao? ? ) to
their single relatives and to children. This is
given as a blessing for good health and for
wishes to be fulfilled. When receiving their
hong baos, singles and children accept them
with both hands, bow, and say ?xie xie (?
? )? or ?thank you.?
Apart from visiting relatives, there are other
traditions that are observed. People often
conduct spring-cleaning of their houses
prior to the first day of the New Year. They
usually buy brightly-colored (preferably red)
outfits for the festivities, and they usually
wear these clothes on New Year ?s Eve. These
are done in order to welcome the New Year
fresh and free of bad luck. Long lines of
lanterns are hung from the streets and
houses are decorated with Chinese
firecrackers, red lanterns, and Chinese
symbols symbolizing blessings.
Another item associated with the New Year
is the infamous Lion Dance. The lion is a
puppet-like contraption that is operated by
two people, and when it ?dances,? it is
accompanied by the music of beating
drums, cymbals, and gongs. People usually
give the lion dancers foods to peel, such as
oranges, pineapples, and pomelos, while
they dance.
These are some of the traditions held during
the Lunar New Year. These items and
traditions linked with fear, wealth, good
luck, and prosperity have been celebrated
by millions of people for many centuries.