The Chinese New Year is the most important of the holidays for
Chinese. It is defined to be the first day of the first month in the
traditional Chinese calendar. Unlike the Christian New Year which is
based on a solar calendar, the Chinese New Year is based on a
traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar whose date indicates both the
moon phase and the time of the solar year.
A lunar month is around 2
days shorter than a solar month. In order to "catch up" with the solar
calendar, an extra month is inserted every few years. This is why,
according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a
different date each year.
Normally, the celebration will start from the New Year's Eve and will
last for around 15 days until the mid of the first month. Before the
celebration, people will normally do a complete cleaning of the house
and put on the traditional New Year decoration. Family reunion is the
most important part of the Chinese New Year celebration.
The New Year's
Eve is the time for family reunion. Following by the reunion, people
will normally visit relatives and friends, doing shopping, watch some
traditional Chinese shows, launch some fireworks, and plan for the
coming year.
The celebration will sometimes be highlighted with a
religious ceremony given in honor of heaven, earth, and other gods, as
well as the family ancestors. In modern China, working professionals
will normally have 7 days of holiday including weekend to celebrate.
After the family reunion, some modern Chinese may take the chance to
visit some tourist destinations.
New Year's Eve Dinner
The New Year's Eve dinner is the most important dinner for Chinese.
Normally this is the family reunion dinner, especially for those with
family member away from home. In the New Year's Eve dinner, normally
fish will be served.
Dumplings are the most important disk in northern
china. These two dishes mean prosperous. Other disks are depending on
personal preference. The majority of Chinese will have New Year's Eve
dinner at home instead of restaurant.
Fireworks
Fireworks are used to drive away the evil in China. Right after the
12:00PM of the New Year's Eve, fireworks will be launched to celebrate
the coming of the New Year as well as driven away the evil. It is
believed that the person who launched the first Fireworks in the New
Year will get good luck.
Shou Sui
Shou Sui means after the New Year's Eve dinner, family member will
normally stay awake during the night. Some people just stay until the
mid night, after the fireworks. According to tales and legends, there
was a mythical beast called the "Year". At the night of New Year's Eve,
the "Year" will come out to harm people, animals, and proprieties.
Later
people found that the "Year" is afraid of red color, fire, and loud
sound. Therefore, at the New Year's Eve night, people will launch
fireworks, put on some fires, and stay awakes the whole night to fend of
the "Year".
Red Packets
Red packet is a red envelope with money in it, range from one to a
few thousand Chinese Yuan. Usually the red racket is given by adults,
especially married couple, and elderly to young children in the New Year
days. It was believed that the money in the red packet will suppress
the evil from the children, keep the children healthy, and long living.
New Year Markets
At the New Years days, a temporarily market will be setup mainly
selling New Year goods, such as clothing, fireworks, decoration, foods,
small arts, etc. The market is usually decorated with a large amount of
lanterns.
Small Year
Small year is the 23th or 24th of the last month of the year. It is
said that this is the day the food god will leave the family to go to
the heaven to report the activity of family to the Emperor of the
heaven. People will have some religious ceremony to farewell the food
god, including take down and burn the paint of the food god. After the
New Year's Day, people will buy a new paint of the food god and post it
at the kitchen.
Cleaning
A few days before the Chinese New Year, people will do a complete
cleaning of the house and house ware; means get rid of the old and
welcome the new. In old days when bath is not often, people will
normally take a throughout bath to welcome the New Year.
Decoration
After the cleaning, people will decorate the house to welcome the New
Year. Most of the decorations are red in color. The most popular New
Year decorations are upside down fu, dui lian, lantern, year paint,
papercutting, door god, etc..
Spring
Festival has a series of activities, or rather, must-does. They are
acknowledged as Spring Festival Custom collectively, which is handed
down from generation to generation and hence is an important part of the
very traditional China.
However, in different regions,
there exits minor differences, therefore major conventions are listed
below in time sequence for reference only.
祭灶
Kitchen God Worshipping
Kitchen God Worshipping is also known as the Small New Year
(小年) in Beijing. The offerings include several bowls of Tangguo, a bowl
of water, and a bowl of grass. Tangguo is a sort of candy made from
glutinous millet and wheat germ.
It is very sticky. When the Kitchen God
eats the candy, he will have his mouth stuck down so that the god
cannot report the bad deeds to Emperor Jade, who has traditionally been
regarded as the king of the gods by Chinese Taoists.
The water and grass
are offered to the Kitchen God’s horse. In old Beijing, only men were
allowed to worship Kitchen God. Now with the improvement of sexual equality, women can do the worshipping, too.
Kitchen God Worshipping generally takes place on Lunar December 23rd or
24th. It is an influential and popular traditional activity of China,
which indicates the beginning of Spring Festival. Kitchen God refers to
the god residing in the kitchen. Chinese believe each family has a
Kitchen God who protects and supervises the family.
There is often a
small holy shrine for the god in each kitchen. Those who don’t have a
shrine in their kitchens
often stick a portrait of the god on the kitchen wall. Sometimes, you
may come across a family who has a portrait of both Kitchen God and
Kitchen Goddess, the wife of Kitchen God.
Why do the Chinese worship Kitchen God and offer sacrifice to him when
the Chinese New Year draws near?
It is because they believe at the end
of each year the god will ascend to the heaven to report to Jade
Emperor, the king of all Chinese gods, what the family has done during
the year, both good deeds and bad deeds.
Jade Emperor will judge by the
report whether the family should be punished or awarded. Therefore, what
the Kitchen God reports to the Jade Emperor is directly connected with
the family’s future fate. They offer sacrifice to please the god hoping
that the god can put in a good word for them.
The couplet beside the
portrait often reveals the hope. It reads: “Report good deeds in heaven,
protect the family on earth.”
Spring
Festival has a series of activities, or rather, must-does. They are
acknowledged as Spring Festival Custom collectively, which is handed
down from generation to generation and hence is an important part of the
very traditional China. 
kitchens
often stick a portrait of the god on the kitchen wall. Sometimes, you
may come across a family who has a portrait of both Kitchen God and
Kitchen Goddess, the wife of Kitchen God.
