The Chinese New Year Event is coming and definitely, and the Chinese New Year Traditions and rites would be performed on that day. However, as we all know the Chinese New Year is a very special event and even one of the most important festivals in China. Besides, it is a great festival that celebrates the start of a new year according to the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.
Chinese New Year Traditions
On this day, the Chinese perform some of their traditions and rites which majorly is visiting and dining with family members. And according to their tradition, this event lasts for about two weeks. Because they’d celebrate every day right from the Chinese New Year’s Eve which is on the 31st of January down to the 15th of February when the lantern festival is done.
The Chinese According to tradition follows a table in which the dates and day’s event have been arranged accordingly. So it is now left to the Chinese people to follow the timetable to plan and enjoy the New Year’s event. However, aside from that, the Chinese New Year has a history of over thousands of years ago and it is associated with some myths it is believed that during this day, a mythical beast comes to eat up people and livestock. So according to their tradition to scare away the beast, the people of China on that day displayed red paper, burned bamboo, and lit candles wearing red clothes. And for years till now, that tradition is still ongoing.
What Are The Chinese New Year Traditions?
According to the Chinese New Traditions, there are some certain things you should do on that day and there are also some certain things you mustn’t do. And these things you mustn’t do are called Superstitions according to the Chinese New Year Tradition. The things the Chinese do according to their tradition is to celebrate their New Year event. Some of these things they do include;
Clean and Decorate the House with Red
They do this with the belief that they are sweeping and driving away the bad luck of the preceding year to welcome the good luck of the New Year. For the red, as mentioned earlier, they design their homes with red to drive away the disturbing evil spirits which are believed to come on that day to eat people and livestock. The red color shows prosperity and energy and this is believed to shove away the spirits.
Offers to the Ancestor’s Sacrifices
During this event, they also remember the dead and honor them. So, to do this, many Chinese people visit the grave of their ancestors before the Chinese New Year’s day to offer sacrifices to them before having their family reunion dinner. And this indicates that they are allowing their ancestors to eat first before they can have their own meal.
Have Family Reunion Dinner
This occurs after they have fed and offered sacrifices to their ancestors. Then as families, they come together to have dinner. They use Chinese New Year’s Eve and it is even considered to be the most important time. So regardless of where you are, during that day, you are expected to be home to have Eve’s dinner with your families.
Exchange of Gifts or Red Envelopes
A lot of Chinese give out red envelopes in order to suppress Sui the demon. Then those who receive these envelopes are wished another safe and great new year. These envelopes are however mostly given out to children and also seniors. And the amounts of money which this envelope contains are always in several occasions from a couple of dollars to hundreds and the amounts always begin with even numbers like 8 or 6 and not the number 4. Aside from money, other gifts are also given and these gifts include; alcohol, tea, fruits, and many more.
Watch the Lion and Dragon Dance
The Lion and Dragon dance is performed during this event for the purpose of bringing prosperity and good luck to the New Year. Then the Chinese people would come out to watch this dance.
Things You Should Not Do During the Chinese New Year
As I mentioned earlier, there are certain things you should not do while celebrating the New Year. This is because the Chinese New Year Tradition forbids it. They believe that the way the new year starts is the way it would be throughout the year till it ends. What are these superstitions? These superstitions include;
- Don’t sweep on New Year’s day because if you do, you might sweep all your luck away.
- Avoid eating porridge or even for breakfast so as not to be poor in the upcoming year
- Washing your hair and clothes during the New year might make you wash your fortune away
- Do not say words relating to death, ghost, poverty, or even sickness
- Do not sew for the first five days or else they thought of the new year would be hard and filled with lots of sewing.
Lastly, you shouldn’t use the object scissors as they are thought to be like sharp lips when people are involved in a quarrel or an argument. So using the scissors could invoke quarrels among others in the coming year. Also, the object knife is to also be avoided.