February 7, 2008 will mark the
beginning of the Year of the Rat
and Year 4705 of the Chinese Calendar.

 Click here for New Year Activities and Recipes Links

Chinese New Year (Xin Nian) typically lasts two or three days, but the New Year season extends from the middle of the previous years' 12th month to the middle of the 1st month of the new year. It is a holiday celebrated by Chinese the world over.

In preparation, the house is given a thorough cleaning-- a sweeping away of any misfortune or bad luck during the year departing to make way for the incoming good luck and good fortune that will surely arrive during the new year. Doors and windows are given new coats of paint, and paper cutouts with the themes of 'happiness,' 'wealth' and 'longevity' are used as decoration around the home. Special flowers and fruits are also often used as symbolic decorations for prosperity and good fortune. Peach blossoms are said to bring long life; good fortune is represented by the kumquat's golden fruits. Offerings of food may also be left at the altar of ancestors.

New Years' Eve is carefully observed, with all members of a family dining together. Supper is a joyous feast, with jiaozi served-- dumplings boiled in water. (The word literally means 'sleep together and have sons,' a traditional good wish greeting for a family.) Fish is also traditionally served (the Chinese character for fish sounds the same as that for 'abundance'.) There is also served a vegetarian dish with a special seaweed called fat choi, a word similar in sound to that for prosperity. Noodles accent the wish for long life.

Every light in the house is supposed to stay lit for the whole night. At midnight, the sky erupts in a colorful display of fireworks and firecrackers.

The New Year has arrived!

Early in the morning, after sunrise, the children receive their hong bao (red packets, often containing money) from their parents. Then the family visits door-to-door to exchange New Years greetings-- first to relatives, then to neighbors. In some Chinese neighborhoods, mandarin oranges are also exchanged as offerings of good will and good fortune.

The New Year is a time of reconciliation. Old grudges are set aside, and the atmosphere is marked by warmth and friendliness. The visits continue for several days, marked by a great deal of gift giving. Passersby greet one another in various dialects: Sun Nean Fai Lok and Xin Nain Kuai Le (Happy New Year) or Kung Hey Fat Choi, and Gong Xi Fa Cai (May Prosperity Be With You).

Fifteen days after New Years' Day, the celebration's end is marked by the Festival of Lanterns. It is a time for lantern shows and folk dances ... and another reason to feast. Another kind of dumpling is traditionally served-- tang yuan-- sweet rice balls that are stuffed with sweet or spicy fillings.

For more information, visit: www.chinapage.com/newyear.html or www.chinesefortunecalendar.com.