Chinese New Year

These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of yusheng particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore. . Similarly, 年年有余 (Niánnián yǒuyú), a wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year, plays on the word yú to also refer to 魚 (meaning fish), making it a catch phrase for fish-based Chinese new year dishes and for paintings or graphics of fish that are hung on walls or presented as gifts. Species include:. 歲 (Suì, meaning "age") is homophonous with 碎 (meaning "shatter"), in demonstration of the Chinese love for wordplay in auspicious phrases. Columbines are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera species including Cabbage Moth, Dot Moth, The Engrailed and Mouse Moth. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì píng'ān) immediately, which means everlasting peace year after year. Several species are grown in gardens; the European Columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris, is a traditional garden flower in Britain, and several of the species that are native to North America are popular garden plants there.

Numerous other greetings exist, some of which may be exclaimed out loud to no one in particular in specific situations. They are known for their distinctive flowers, generally bell-shaped, with each petal modified into an elongated nectar spur. In other English-speaking communities with a larger Chinese-speaking population, the Mandarin version tends to prevail especially when multiple dialect groups exist, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. The columbines are a genus Aquilegia of about 70 species of perennials that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the northern hemisphere. The saying is now commonly heard in English speaking communities for greetings during Chinese New Year in parts of the world where there is a sizable Chinese-speaking community, for instance in Australia, Canada and America among others. European Columbine Aquilegia vulgaris. Some of the most common examples may include:. Chiricahua Mountain Columbine Aquilegia triternata.

The Chinese New Year is often accompanied by loud, enthusiastic greetings, often referred to as 吉祥話 (Jíxiánghùa), or loosely translated as auspicious words or phrases. Blue Columbine Utah columbine Aquilegia scopulorum. Template:Sec-stub. Rocky Mountain Columbine Aquilegia saximontana. The following are popular floral decorations for the New Year and are available at the new year markets. Sierra Columbine Aquilegia pubescens. The practice of shopping for the perfect peach blossom is not dissimilar to the Western tradition of buying a Christmas tree. Mancos Columbine Aquilegia micrantha.

These usually open-air markets feature floral products, toys, clothing, for shoppers to buy gifts for new year visitations as well as decor for their homes. Longspur Columbine Aquilegia longissima. Markets (年宵市場) are set up near the New Year especially for vendors to sell New Year-related products. Laramie Columbine Aquilegia laramiensis. Typically the game of mahjong is played in some families. Jones's Columbine Aquilegia jonesii. Chinese New Year is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and lion dances. Graham's Columbine Aquilegia grahamii.

Traditionally, red packets (Mandarin: 'hong bao' (紅包); Hokkien: 'ang pow' (POJ: âng-pau); Hakka: 'fung bao'; Cantonese: 'lai see' (利是)) are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples to unmarried people (usually children). Crimson Columbine western columbine Aquilegia formosa. Depending on locality, the same day may also be celebrated as the Lantern Festival, or as the Chinese Valentine's Day. Yellow Columbine Aquilegia flavescens. The fifteenth and last day of the new year is celebrated as Yuanxiao jie (元宵节) or otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei in Fujian dialect, marked by the eating of tangyuan (Simplified Chinese: 汤圆; Traditional Chinese: 湯圓; Hanyu Pinyin: tāngyuán), a sweet rice ball dumpling soup. Van Houtte's Columbine Aquilegia eximia. On this day, people have preparations to celebrate the Lantern Festival which is held on the fifteenth day (last new year day). Western Red Columbine Aquilegia elegantula.

On the thirteenth day, people traditionally have simple rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse their digestive system after having so much rich food during the past twelve days. Desert Columbine Aquilegia desertorum. From the tenth day through the twelfth day are periods when friends and relatives would be invited for dinner. Golden Columbine Aquilegia chrysantha. On this day, people make offerings to the Jade Emperor. Wild Columbine Canadian columbine, red columbine Aquilegia canadensis. At midnight they offer prayers to the Jade Emperor or the God of Heaven. Colorado blue Columbine Aquilegia caerulea.

On this day, the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner. Smallflower Columbine Aquilegia brevistyla. For many Chinese, this is a day to avoid meat, and to enjoy 'jai', a vegetarian meal. Oil Shale Columbine Aquilegia barnebyi. This is a tradition that is not commonly practiced by Chinese in other parts of the world. This is celebrated primarily among the Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

People get together to toss the colorful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity. It is also the day when tossed fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. The seventh day traditionally is known as the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. Many people also visit temples to pray for good fortune and health.

From the sixth to the tenth day, people visit their relatives and friends freely. In north China, people eat Jiaozi (dumplings) on the morning of Po Wu. Traditionally, people do not visit families and friends on the fifth day because it is believed it will bring both parties bad luck. This is the day when people stay home to welcome the God of Wealth.

This day is called Po Wu (破五). The third day of Chinese New Year is not appropriate to visit any relative because it is known as "chec hao" (赤口), meaning easy to get into argument. It is also believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well.

On this day, the Chinese offer prayers to their ancestors as well as to all the deities. It is the second day of Chinese New Year for sons-in-laws to visit their parents-in-law. Chinese red firecrackers will also be on display where the deafening explosions of each firecracker is believed to scare evil spirits away. Some families will invite a Lion dance troupe to their home as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to force-evict bad spirits out of the premises.

This has been in practice for many centuries. The venue of the aforementioned Renunion Dinner is usually, if not always, at the eldest and most respected family member's residence. Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time where family members, in order of their seniority, will pay a visit to their oldest and most senior member of their family, usually their parents or grandparents, or even great grandparents. Employers may also give red envelopes to their employees on the first working day after the festival.

Red packets are also given to unmarried visitors but the sums are often smaller than the envelope given to family members or close friends. In some families this tradition has evolved into the practice to substituting money-like instruments (stocks, bonds, unit trust) in place of large sums of cash. The gift was originally a token amount but these days it is not uncommon to receive large sums in affluent families. However, this is not strictly adhered to.

Similarly "multiples of 2" such as $1.10 and $2.20 were also acceptable. Amounts like $2 , or $20 were acceptable. Red packets traditionally consisted of amounts which were considered multiples. It is at this gathering that red envelopes are given by senior members of the family, usually married, to unmarried junior members of the family.

Usually family members gather on the morning of New Year's Day. New Year's day is also celebrated within the family. Many people abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them. The first day (初一 or "chu yi") is for the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth.

However, mandarin oranges are the most popular and most abundant fruit during Chinese New Year amongst Chinese simply because of, inter alia, how the name of the fruit is phonetically similar to gold -- Jin ju (金橘子) or Kamm (金) in Cantonese. This gold nugget is called 金元宝 (jin yuán bǎo). Most Northerners serve dumplings as the main dish on this festive season, although most Chinese around the world would do the same because it is believed that dumplings (饺子--jiǎo zi) 饺子 is wrapped in the semblance of Chinese gold nuggets (illustrated) used in ancient China. Because certain things and/or food sound alike to certain Chinese well-wishes, the belief is that having one will lead to the other.

Hakka will serve kiu nyuk (扣肉) and ngiong tiu fu. A type of black hair-like algae, pronounced "fat choy" in Cantonese, is also featured in many dishes since its name sounds similar to "prosperity". Fish (魚, yú) is included, but not eaten up completely (and the remaining stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase 年年有餘; (nián nián yǒu yú, or "every year there is leftover/surpluses") is a homophone for phrases which could mean "be blessed every year" or "have something leftover every year" or phrases to that effect, since "yú" is also the pronunciation for "leftover" or more accurately, surplus. The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and traditionally includes chicken.

A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. Homes are decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets (short phrases) that speak of "happiness," "wealth," "longevity.". Some people give their homes, doors and windowpanes a new coat of red paint. All brooms and dust pans are put away on New Year's Eve so that good luck cannot be swept away.

It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes their homes ready for good luck to arrive. On the days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families give their home a thorough cleaning. In the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, on a date between January 21 and February 21. This occurs around the time of the full moon as each lunation is about 29.53 days in duration.

Chinese New Year starts on the first day of the new year containing a new moon (some sources even include New Year's Eve) and ends on the Lantern Festival fourteen days later. The same calendar is used in countries that have adopted the Confucian and Buddhism tradition and in many cultures influenced by the Chinese, notably the Koreans, the Tibetans, the Vietnamese and the pagan Bulgars. The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar calendar. However, Chinese believe that on the third day (年初三) of the Chinese New Year it is not appropriate to visit family and friends, and call the day "chec hao" (赤口), meaning "easy to get into arguments".

The celebrations end on the important and colourful Lantern Festival on the evening of the 15th day of the month. The first week is the most important and most often celebrated with visits to friends and family as well as greetings of good luck. New Year season lasts fifteen days. Also like many other countries in the world, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day when the New Year falls on the weekend.

Since Chinese New Year falls on different dates on the Gregorian calendar every year on different days of the week, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accomodate a longer public holiday. Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories in the where are sizeable Chinese population resides. See Chinese astrology for a list of Chinese New Year dates for every year from 1900 to 2020, covering one full sexagesimal cycle (1924–1983) and portions of two others. Many online Chinese Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, incorrectly using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Chinese New Year dates.

This means that anyone born from January 1 to 25 January 1990 was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on 26 January 1990. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on 6 February 1989.

Because the Chinese New Year starts in late January to mid February, the Chinese year of dates from 1 January until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. Many non-Chinese people confuse their Chinese birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. The dates of the Spring Festival from 1996 to 2019 (in the Gregorian calendar) are listed below with pinyin romanizations for the earthly branches associated with the animals, which are not their translations. .

Chinese New Year is also the time when the largest human migration takes place when Chinese all around the world return home on the eve of Chinese New Year to have reunion dinners with their families. Celebrated internationally in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered to be a major holiday for the Chinese as well as ethnic groups such as the Mongolians, Koreans, the Miao (Chinese Hmong), the Vietnamese (see Tết), Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese (see Losar) who were influenced by Chinese culture in terms of religious and philosophical worldview, language and culture in general. These customs led to the first New Year celebrations. The Chinese learned that Nian was sensitive to loud noises and the color red, and so they scared it away with explosions, fireworks and the liberal use of the color red.

According to legend, in ancient China, Nian ("Nyan"), a man-eating predatory beast could infiltrate houses silently. (The next time this occurs is in 2033.) The Chinese New Year period ends with the Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the festival. In such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice. This is the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice, unless there is an intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year.

It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year (Traditional Chinese: 春節 or 農曆新年; Simplified Chinese: 春节 or 农历新年; Pinyin: Chūnjíe or Nónglì Xīnnián), also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Chinese New Year. While the first two words of this phrase had a much longer historical significance (legend has it that the congratulatory messages were traded for surviving the ravaging beast of Nian, although in practical terms in may also involve surviving the harsh winter conditions), the last two words were added later as capitalism and consumerism ideas took greater significance in Chinese societies around the world.

Traditional Chinese: 恭喜發財; Simplified Chinese: 恭喜发财; pinyin: Gōngxǐ fācái; Hokkien Keong hee huat chye (POJ: Kiong-hí hoat-châi); Cantonese: Kung hei fat choi (also spelled kung hei fat choy or kung hey fat choi), although the actual pronunciation is much closer to "goong hei faht choi"; Hakka: Kung hee fat choi, which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous." Often mistakenly assumed to be synonymous with "Happy new year", its usage dates back several centuries, with the Cantonese transliteration said to have first entered English usage in the 1800s, for instance. And 过年好 can be used from the first day to the fifth day of chinese new year. But in northern part of china, traditionally people say Simplified Chinese: 过年好; pinyin: Guo Nian Hao, instead of Simplified Chinese: 新年快乐, to make difference from the international new year. A more contemporary greeting reflective of western influences, it literally translates from the greeting "Happy new year" more common in the west.

Traditional Chinese: 新年快樂; Simplified Chinese: 新年快乐; pinyin: Xīnnián kuàilè; Hokkien POJ: Sin-nî khòai-lo̍k; Cantonese: Sun nin fai loh. The word "hair" is a homonym to the word for "prosperity". A hair-cut is considered inauspicious when done during over the holidays. kwatji.

Candy. Fish. Chrysanthemum (symbolises longevity). Narcissus.

Kumquat plants (symbolises prosperity). Peach blossom (symbolises luck). The first two days. The first three days.

The first three days. The first five days.