ÃÂHappy New YearÃÂ is heard again in Canada at Chinese New Year, which falls between January 20 and February 20.To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year's Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The biggest thing to do before spring festival is preparations for the New Year, which include thorough housecleaning, paying up debts, and buying new clothes. In many homes, people burns incense at home and asks the gods for good health in the coming months.
The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally, or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with ÃÂspring, happiness, wealth or blessing has arrived ".
Chinese Brush for Writing Calligraphy
Flickr Chinese Dragon Year Statue
Happy New YearWhat's more, spring couplets can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.
People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual, with so much food that some is intentionally left over for the next day to show that the family will have plenty to eat in the New Year. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, because the Chinese words for ÃÂchickenÃÂ,ÃÂ fishÃÂ and ÃÂbeanÃÂ sound like the words for auspiciousness, abundance and wealth. After the dinner, the whole families sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival...