TRADITIONS OF CHINESE NEW YEAR!

The Chinese New Year is a time of great excitement and celebration for all Chinese around the world. On New Year’s Eve, family members gather for a huge luxurious feast. Many of the foods served have a symbolic meaning.

Each dish has a prosperous meaning, and the shapes and colors of the foods symbolize health, happiness, and good fortune. The New Year is ushered in joyfully with the thunderous roar of exploding firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits.

The dragon dance is a vital part of this celebration. The dance was originally performed to please the dragon, the god of water, and to ask for rain during periods of drought. The dragon is a symbol of strength, dignity, and success.

During the Chinese New Year, people greet each other with the phrase, "Gung Hay Fat Choy" to wish each other best wishes and prosperity This phrase means " Happy New Year."Families will visit relatives and friends to wish them a Happy New Year.

The younger members visit their elders. The elders give "lucky money" to their younger visitors. "Lucky money"; is money that is placed into specially designed red envelopes. Married couples give "lucky money" to their children and to the unmarried children of relatives and friends.

New Year gifts (oranges, tangerines, and New Year candy) are exchange between relatives and friends.

WHAT A GREAT HOLIDAY! I CANNOT WAIT TO CELEBRATE WITH MIA!