Chinese New Year
National Holiday in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia , Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan. Regional Holiday in Thailand.
| Year | Date | Animal |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | February 3 | Rabbit |
| 2012 | January 23 | Dragon |
| 2013 | February 10 | Snake |
| 2014 | January 31 | Horse |
| 2015 | February 19 | Sheep |
| 2012 Holidays | ||
| Monday 23rd January 2012 | ||
China Hong Kong Indonesia Malaysia Singapore Taiwan Thailand (regional) |
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| Tuesday 24th January 2012 | ||
| China Hong Kong Malaysia Singapore Taiwan |
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| Wednesday 25th January 2012 | ||
| China Hong Kong Taiwan |
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| Thursday 26th January 2012 | ||
| China Taiwan |
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| Friday 27th January 2012 | ||
| China Taiwan |
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The Chinese New Year has a great history. In other traditions, by this time in the year, most resolutions have been forgotten or put back to the following year. However, all hope is not lost, as there's a second chance to get it right with the celebration of Chinese New Year.
The Chinese New Year is very similar to the Western one, swathed in traditions and rituals.
The origin of the Chinese New Year is itself ancient and obscured by the amount of time. It is popularly recognised as the Spring Festival and celebrations last 15 days.
Preparations tend to begin a month from the date of the Chinese New Year (similar to a Western Christmas), when people start buying presents, decoration materials, food and clothing. A huge clean-up gets underway days before the New Year, when Chinese houses are cleaned from top to bottom, to sweep away any traces of bad luck, and doors and windowpanes are given a new coat of paint, usually red.
The eve of the New Year is perhaps the most exciting part of the event, as anticipation creeps in. Here, traditions and rituals are very carefully observed in everything from food to clothing.
Rituals include cleaning the house, putting up new posters of "door gods" on front doors, fireworks before the family union dinner, which should be at least 10 course meal with a whole fish entrée symbolizing the abundance of the coming year.
It's usual to wear something red as this colour is meant to ward off evil spirits - but black and white are out, as these are associated with mourning. After dinner, the family sit up for the night playing cards, board games or watching TV programmes dedicated to the occasion. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks.
On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbours. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside.
The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows.
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