85-536: Chinese New Year , or the Spring Festival (see also § Names ), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar . Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring , this festival traditionally takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve , the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival , held on the 15th day of
170-629: A long time before January 1 again became the universal or standard start of the civil year. The years of adoption of January 1 as the new year are as follows: March 1 was the first day of the numbered year in the Republic of Venice until its destruction in 1797, and in Russia from 988 until 1492 ( Anno Mundi 7000 in the Byzantine calendar ). September 1 was used in Russia from 1492 (A.M. 7000) until
255-469: A longer Chinese New Year holiday will celebrate and welcome the gods that were previously sent on this day. This day is the god of Wealth's birthday. In northern China, people eat jiaozi , or dumplings, on the morning of powu (Chinese: 破五 ; pinyin: pòwǔ ). In Taiwan, businesses traditionally re-open on the next day (the sixth day), accompanied by firecrackers. It is also common in China that on
340-547: A new start. Any hair cuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word "hair" (fa) and the word for "prosperity". Businesses are expected to pay off all the debts outstanding for the year before the new year eve, extending to debts of gratitude. Thus it is a common practice to send gifts and rice to close business associates, and extended family members. In many households where Buddhism or Taoism
425-562: A new year. The money was called sui nian qian ( 随年钱 , "money based on age"). In the chapter, "Ending of a Year" ( 歲除 ) in Wulin jiushi ( 武林舊事 ), concubines of the emperor prepared a hundred and twenty coins for princes and princesses to wish them longevity. New Year's celebrations continued under the Yuan dynasty , when people also gave nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes") to relatives. The tradition of eating Chinese dumplings jiaozi ( 餃子 )
510-713: A red string, and the money is called Ya Sui Qian ." The term is still used by Chinese people today. The money was presented in two forms: coins strung on red string or colourful purses filled with coins. In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that the Chinese New Year would fall on 1 Jan of the Gregorian Calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition. In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution , official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. The State Council of
595-472: A substitute, large-scale fireworks display have been launched by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore. The second day, entitled "a year's beginning" (simplified Chinese: 开年 ; traditional Chinese: 開年 ; pinyin: kāinián ), oversees married daughters visiting their birth parents, relatives and close friends, often renew family ties and relationship. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have
680-619: A symbol of good luck, and people started sending them to friends on New Year's Day, calling them by a new name, bai nian tie . The Chunlian (Spring Couplets) was written by Meng Chang , an emperor of the Later Shu (935–965 AD), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period ：" 新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春 " ("Enjoying past legacies in the new year, the holiday foreseeing the long-lasting spring"). As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu , Volume 2: on
765-788: A taxation system labeled the Indiction , the years for which began on September 1. This timing may account for the ancient church's establishment of September 1 as the beginning of the liturgical year, despite the official Roman New Year's Day of January 1 in the Julian calendar, because the Indiction was the principal means for counting years in the empires, apart from the reigns of the Emperors. The September 1 date prevailed throughout all of Christendom for many centuries, until subsequent divisions eventually produced revisions in some places. After
850-484: A thriving view." The practice of worshipping ancestors on New Year's Eve is maintained by Chinese people to this day. Han Chinese also started the custom of visiting acquaintances' homes and wishing each other a happy new year. In Book of the Later Han , volume 27, a county officer was recorded as going to his prefect's house with a government secretary, toasting the prefect, and praising the prefect's merit. During
935-557: A traditional porridge, Laba porridge (simplified Chinese: 腊八粥 ; traditional Chinese: 臘八粥 ; pinyin: làbā zhōu ), is served in remembrance of an ancient festival, called La , that occurred shortly after the winter solstice. Pickles such as Laba garlic, which turns green from vinegar, are also made on this day. For those that practice Buddhism, the Laba holiday is also considered Bodhi Day . Layue (simplified Chinese: 腊月 ; traditional Chinese: 臘月 ; pinyin: Làyuè )
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#17327718321531020-438: Is a practice of depositing money into bank accounts on Lichun which many believe will bring them good fortune. Ipchun is the first season of the new year, so there are many farming-related events. In Ipchun, families, regardless of the city or countryside, put their writings on walls or thresholds as a blessing event. These writings are also called Ipchunchuk, Chunchuk, Ipchunseo, Ipchunbang, and Chunbang. Those who know
1105-420: Is a sizeable Chinese population. Since Chinese New Year falls on different days of the week each year, some of these governments opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. In some countries, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day if the New Year (as a public holiday) falls on a weekend, as in the case of 2013, where the New Year's Eve (9 February) falls on Saturday and
1190-417: Is a term often associated with Chinese New Year as it refers to the sacrifices held in honour of the gods in the twelfth lunisolar month, hence the cured meats of Chinese New Year are known as larou (simplified Chinese: 腊肉 ; traditional Chinese: 臘肉 ; pinyin: làròu ). The porridge was prepared by the women of the household at first light, with the first bowl offered to the family's ancestors and
1275-540: Is according to the "new" (revised) Julian calendar or the "old" (standard) Julian calendar, depending on which is used by a particular Orthodox Church. Hence, it may fall on September 1 on the civil calendar, or on September 14 (between 1900 and 2099 inclusive). The liturgical calendars of the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches are unrelated to these systems but instead follow the Alexandrian calendar which fixed
1360-654: Is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries that house significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia. These include Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and
1445-450: Is auspicious into dumplings such as dates, which prophesy a flourishing new year; candy, which predicts sweet days; and nian gao ( 年糕 , "year cakes"), which foretells a rich life. In the Qing dynasty , the name ya sui qian ( 壓歲錢 , "New Year's Money)" was money given to children during New Year's. The book Qing Jia Lu ( 清嘉錄 ) recorded: "elders give children coins threaded together by
1530-603: Is celebrated but not an official holiday, see the table below. Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. The air is filled with strong Chinese emotions. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trend[s]. Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. During
1615-634: Is considered an unlucky day to have guests or go visiting. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told. In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal. Other areas that have
1700-462: Is customary to make jiaozi or dumplings which are eaten at midnight. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese sycee . In the South, it is customary to make a glutinous new year cake ( niangao ) and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends in the coming days. Some families visit local temples hours before midnight to pray for success by lighting the first incense of
1785-525: Is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra , lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. People normally return to work by the eighth day, therefore
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#17327718321531870-402: Is especially unlucky , because it is sounded as si (Mandarin: 死 ), which means death. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Kowloon, Beijing, Shanghai for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain precincts of the city. As
1955-507: Is located in the Line Islands , a part of the nation of Kiribati , and has a time zone 14 hours ahead of UTC . All other time zones are 1 to 25 hours behind, most in the previous day (December 31); on American Samoa and Midway , it is still 11 pm on December 30. These are among the last inhabited places to observe New Year. However, uninhabited outlying US territories Howland Island and Baker Island are designated as lying within
2040-429: Is not called the 'winter ice meets the spring wind and melts in the spring wind' thaw, but the 'east wind' thaw, because Lü Shi Chun Qiu said that the east is associated with wood, and wood generates fire, so the air is warm and causes ice to thaw. (凍結于冬遇春風而解散不曰春而曰東者呂氏春秋曰東方屬木木火母也然氣溫故解凍) Lichun traditionally signifies the beginning of spring. Chinese New Year is celebrated around this time. Farmers often celebrate
2125-408: Is observed, home altars and statues are cleaned thoroughly, and decorations used to adorn altars over the past year are taken down and burned a week before the new year starts on Little New Year , to be replaced with new decorations. Taoists (and Buddhists to a lesser extent) will also "send gods back to heaven" (Chinese: 送神 ; pinyin: sòngshén ), an example would be burning a paper effigy of
2210-458: Is still a commonly-used translation for people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Along with the Han Chinese inside and outside of Greater China , as many as 29 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China also celebrate Chinese New Year. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines celebrate it as an official festival. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing
2295-552: Is still practised and believed to add to parental longevity. The first day, known as the "Spring Festival" (simplified Chinese: 春节 ; traditional Chinese: 春節 ) is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and Earth on midnight. It is a traditional practice to light fireworks, burn bamboo sticks and firecrackers, and lion dance troupes, were done commonly as a tradition to ward off evil spirits. Typical actions such as lighting fires and using knives are considered taboo, thus all consumable food has to be cooked prior. Using
2380-569: Is that bai nian tie was derived from the Han dynasty's name tag, men zhuang ( 門狀 , "door opening"). As imperial examinations became essential and reached their heyday under the Tang dynasty, candidates curried favour to become pupils of respected teachers in order to get recommendation letters. After obtaining good examination marks, a pupil went to the teacher's home with a men zhuang to convey their gratitude. Eventually, men zhuang became
2465-741: The East-West Schism in 1054. Separations between the Catholic General Roman Calendar and Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar grew only over several centuries' time. During those intervening centuries, the Latin Church Catholic ecclesiastic year was moved to the first day of Advent , the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day (November 30). By the time of the Reformation (early 16th century),
2550-542: The Jin dynasty (266–420), people started the New Year's Eve tradition of all-night revelry called shousui ( 守歲 ). It was described in Western Jin general Zhou Chu 's article Fengtu Ji ( 風土記 , 'Notes on Local Conditions'): "At the ending of a year, people gift and wish each other, calling it Kuisui ( 饋歲 , 'time for gifts'); people invited others with drinks and food, calling it Biesui ( 別歲 , 'sending off
2635-678: The Kitchen God , the recorder of family functions. This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household's transgressions and good deeds. Families often offer sweet foods (such as candy) in order to "bribe" the deities into reporting good things about the family. Prior to the Reunion Dinner, a prayer of thanksgiving is held to mark the safe passage of the previous year. Confucianists take
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2720-807: The Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8) and Exaltation of the Cross (September 14) to the celebration of Nativity of Christ (Christmas), through his death and resurrection (Pascha/Easter), to his Ascension and the Dormition of the Theotokos ("falling asleep" of the Virgin Mary , August 15). This last feast is known in the Roman Catholic church as the Assumption. The dating of "September 1"
2805-522: The Tang dynasty , people established the custom of sending bai nian tie ( 拜年帖 , "New Year's greetings"), New Year's greeting cards. It is said that the custom was started by Emperor Taizong of Tang . The emperor wrote " 普天同慶 " ("whole nation celebrates together") on gold leaves and sent them to his ministers. Word of the emperor's gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. Another theory
2890-605: The Warring States period (475 – 221 BC). In the Lüshi Chunqiu , in Qin state an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called "Big Nuo ", was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. Later, Qin unified China , and the Qin dynasty was founded; and the ritual spread. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one's house thoroughly in the days preceding Chinese New Year. The first mention of celebrating at
2975-459: The sack of Rome in 410, communications and travel between east and west deteriorated. Liturgical developments in Rome and Constantinople did not always match, although a rigid adherence to form was never mandated in the church. Nevertheless, the principal points of development were maintained between east and west. The Roman and Constantinopolitan liturgical calendars remained compatible even after
3060-458: The winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month occurs). In more than 96 per cent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring ( lichun ) according to the calendar. In the Gregorian calendar , the Chinese New Year occurs on
3145-536: The 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu 's attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year. The sixth day is Horse's Day, on which people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by throwing out the garbage stored up during the festival. The ways vary but basically have the same meaning—to drive away the Ghost of Poverty, which reflects the general desire of the Chinese people to ring out
3230-674: The Gregorian calendar . Based on the used calendar new years are often categorized between lunar or lunisolar new years or solar new years . The new year of many South and Southeast Asian calendars falls between April 13–15, marking the beginning of spring. The early development of the Christian liturgical year coincided with the Roman Empire (east and west), and later the Byzantine Empire , both of which employed
3315-632: The Gregorian calendar. During the Middle Ages in Western Europe , while the Julian calendar was still in use, authorities moved New Year's Day, depending upon locale, to one of several other days, including March 1, March 25, Easter, September 1, and December 25. Since then, many national civil calendars in the Western World and beyond have changed to using one fixed date for New Year's Day, January 1—most doing so when they adopted
3400-606: The Julian year : Over the centuries, countries changed between styles until the Modern Style (January 1) prevailed. For example, A more unusual case is France, which observed the Northern autumn equinox day (usually September 22) as "New Year's Day" in the French Republican Calendar , which was in use from 1793 to 1805. This was primidi Vendémiaire , the first day of the first month. It took quite
3485-414: The New Year celebration, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning. There is a Cantonese saying "Wash away the dirt on nin ya baat " (Chinese: 年廿八，洗邋遢 ; pinyin: nián niàn bā, xǐ lātà ; Jyutping: nin4 jaa6 baat3, sai2 laap6 taap3 (laat6 taat3) ), but the practice is not restricted to nin ya baat (the 28th day of month 12). It is believed the cleaning sweeps away the bad luck of
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3570-533: The New Year's Day (10 February) on Sunday. Depending on the country, the holiday may be termed differently; common names in English are "Chinese New Year", "Lunar New Year", "New Year Festival", and "Spring Festival". For New Year celebrations that follow Chinese-inspired calendars but are outside of China and Chinese diaspora (such as Korea's Seollal and Vietnam's Tết ), see the article on Lunar New Year . For other countries and regions where Chinese New Year
3655-537: The People's Republic of China announced that the public should "change customs" and have a "revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival." Since people needed to work on Chinese New Year's Eve, they would not need holidays during the Spring Festival. In 1980, the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations were reinstated. Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories where there
3740-553: The Roman Catholic general calendar provided the initial basis for the calendars for the liturgically oriented Protestants, including the Anglican and Lutheran Churches, who inherited this observation of the liturgical new year. The present-day Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar is the virtual culmination of the ancient eastern development cycle, though it includes later additions based on subsequent history and lives of saints. It still begins on September 1, proceeding annually into
3825-542: The Store owners will host a lunch/dinner with their employees, thanking their employees for the work they have done for the whole year. New Year The New Year is the time or day at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar , the most widely used calendar system today, New Year occurs on January 1 ( New Year's Day , preceded by New Year's Eve ). This
3910-760: The Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 330°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315°. In the Gregorian calendar , it usually begins around February 4 and ends around February 18 (February 19 East Asia time). It is also the beginning of a sexagenary cycle . Lichun signifies the beginning of spring in East Asian cultures. Each solar term can be divided into 3 pentads (候). They are: first pentad (初候), second pentad (次候) and last pentad (末候). Pentads in Lichun include: It
3995-489: The United States, as well as in many European countries. The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for
4080-543: The adoption of both the Anno Domini notation and 1 January as New Year's Day, with effect from 1700, via December 1699 decrees (1735, 1736) of Tsar Peter I . Because of the division of the globe into time zones , the new year moves progressively around the globe as the start of the day ushers in the New Year. The first time zone to usher in the New Year, just west of the International Date Line ,
4165-432: The ancient Chinese. Poet and chancellor of the Tang dynasty , Lai Gu, also described this tradition in his poem Early Spring ( 早春 ): " 新曆才將半紙開，小亭猶聚爆竿灰 ", meaning "Another new year just started as a half opening paper, and the family gathered around the dust of exploded bamboo pole." The practice was used by ancient Chinese people to scare away evil spirits, since bamboo would noisily crack and explode from firing. During
4250-491: The annual reunion dinner . It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Another practised custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets . Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness , wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes . In Chinese,
4335-459: The beginning of Lichun with special village events, worship and offerings to the Taoist and Buddhist gods and ceremonies for a blissful and prosperous new year. People eat chūnbǐng (春餅) on this day, especially in northern China. According to some schools of Feng Shui, if you are born after Chinese New Years but before or even on the first day of Lichun you are considered the zodiac animal of
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#17327718321534420-450: The broom, swearing , and breaking any dinnerware without appeasing the deities are also considered taboo. Normal traditions occurring on the first day involve house gatherings to the families, specifically the elders and families to the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, and trading Mandarin oranges as a courtesy to symbolize wealth and good luck. Members of
4505-428: The city's fortune through kau cim . The third day is known as "red mouth" (Chinese: 赤口 ; pinyin: Chìkǒu ). Chikou is also called "Chigou's Day" (Chinese: 赤狗日 ; pinyin: Chìgǒurì ). Chigou , literally "red dog", is an epithet of "the God of Blazing Wrath" (Chinese: 熛怒之神 ; pinyin: Biāo nù zhī shén ). Rural villagers continue the tradition of burning paper offerings over trash fires. It
4590-463: The color red and loud noises. Then the tradition grew when New Year was approaching, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors and used firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu , an ancient Taoist monk. Before the new year celebration
4675-459: The date on which each consul first entered the office. This was probably May 1 before 222 BC, March 15 from 222 BC to 154 BC, and January 1 from 153 BC. In 45 BC, when Julius Caesar 's new Julian calendar took effect, the Senate fixed January 1 as the first day of the year. At that time, this was the date on which those who were to hold civil office assumed their official position, and it was also
4760-595: The day of New Year's Eve, the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor's bedroom door. It is believed that placing the couplets on the door to the home in the days preceding the new year was widespread during the Song dynasty . The famous Northern Song politician, litterateur, philosopher, and poet Wang Anshi recorded the custom in his poem " 元日 " ("New Year's Day"). 爆竹聲中一歲除， 春風送暖入屠蘇。 千門萬戶曈曈日， 總把新桃換舊符。 Amid
4845-723: The family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash known as lai see (Cantonese: 利事 ) or angpow ( Hokkien and Teochew ), or hongbao (Mandarin: 红包 ), a form of a blessing and to suppress both the ageing and challenges that were associated with the coming year, to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers may also give bonuses in the form of red packets to employees. The money can be of any form, specifically numbers ending with 8 (Mandarin: ba 八), which sounds similar to fa (Mandarin: 发 ), meaning prosperity, but packets with denominations of odd or unlucky numbers, or packets without money are usually not allowed due to bad luck. The number 4
4930-407: The festival is commonly known as the "Spring Festival" (traditional Chinese: 春節 ; simplified Chinese: 春节 ; pinyin: Chūnjié ), as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun , the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the Chinese New Year. The name was first proposed in 1914 by Yuan Shikai , who
5015-461: The festival, people around China will prepare different gourmet dishes for their families and guests. Influenced by the flourished cultures, foods from different places look and taste totally different. Among them, the most well-known ones are dumplings from northern China and Tangyuan from southern China. On the eighth day of the lunisolar month prior to Chinese New Year, the Laba Festival ,
5100-485: The household deities. Every member of the family was then served a bowl, with leftovers distributed to relatives and friends. It's still served as a special breakfast on this day in some Chinese homes. The concept of the "La month" is similar to Advent in Christianity. Many families eat vegetarian on Chinese New Year eve, the garlic and preserved meat are eaten on Chinese New Year day. On the days immediately before
5185-491: The letters write themselves, and those who do not know how to write, ask others to write them. It is said that it is good to attach it at the time of Ipchun, but it is not written in the house where the funeral is held. Lichun is mentioned in literature, including in Du Fu 's (杜甫) shi (詩), simply titled Lìchūn (立春): 春日春盤細生菜 忽憶兩京梅發時 盤出高門行白玉 菜傳纖手送青絲 巫峽寒江那對眼 杜陵遠客不勝悲 此身未知歸定處 呼兒覓紙一題詩 This poem tells us about
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#17327718321535270-474: The messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the second day of Chinese New Year, blessing business to strive in the coming year. As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung , a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing. A representative from the government asks Che Kung about
5355-671: The nearest or largest or most convenient political and economic locales with which each associate. By the time Howland Island sees the new year, it is 2 am on January 2 in the Line Islands of Kiribati. Lichun The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms . The first one is known as lichun in Chinese, risshun in Japanese, ipchun in Korean, and lập xuân in Vietnamese. It begins when
5440-404: The new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before
5525-401: The old and ring in the new, to send away the previous poverty and hardship and to usher in the good life of the New Year. The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common person's birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng ,
5610-466: The opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Some people do not give a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. The day before Chinese New Year is usually accompanied with a dinner feast , consisting of special meats as a main course and an offering for the New Year. This meal is comparable to Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner. In northern China, it
5695-496: The opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.) The second day also saw giving offering money and sacrifices to the God of Wealth (Chinese: 财神 ) to symbolize a rewarding time after hardship in the preceding year. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, " Cai Shen dao !" [The God of Wealth has come!]." Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward
5780-476: The preceding year and makes their homes ready for good luck. Brooms and dust pans are put away on the first day so that the newly arrived good luck cannot be swept away. Some people give their homes, doors and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers do a year-end rush of business prior to Chinese New Year. Homes are often decorated with paper cutouts of Chinese auspicious phrases and couplets . Purchasing new clothing and shoes also symbolize
5865-420: The previous Chinese lunar year. In the lunisolar calendar, New Year's Day might be before or after Lichun. A year without Lichun is called 無春年 ( no spring year ). 無春年 is also known as 寡婦年 ( widow year ) in northern China or 盲年 ( blind year ) in southern China. Marriage is believed to be unlucky in a year without Lichun. In the Republic of China, Lichun has been Farmer's Day since 1941. In Singapore, there
5950-405: The same in the Chinese language. After gunpowder was invented in the Tang dynasty and widely used under the Song dynasty , people modified the tradition of firing bamboo by filling the bamboo pole with gunpowder, which made for louder explosions. Later under the Song, people discarded the bamboo and started to use paper to wrap the gunpowder in cylinders, in imitation of the bamboo. The firecracker
6035-457: The sound of firecrackers a year has come to an end, The spring wind has wafted warm breath to the Tusu wine. While the rising sun shines over each and every household, People get rid of the old couplets and put up the new ones. The poem Yuan Ri ( 元日 ) also includes the word bao zhu ( 爆竹 , "exploding bamboo"), which is believed to be a reference to firecrackers, instead of the previous tradition of firing bamboo, both of which are called
6120-674: The start of a new year was recorded during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD). In the book Simin Yueling ( 四民月令 ), written by the Eastern Han agronomist Cui Shi (崔寔), a celebration was described: "The starting day of the first month, is called Zheng Ri. I bring my wife and children, to worship ancestors and commemorate my father." Later he wrote: "Children, wife, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all serve pepper wine to their parents, make their toast, and wish their parents good health. It's
6205-552: The time zone 12 hours behind UTC, the last places on Earth to see the arrival of January 1. These small coral islands are found about midway between Hawaii and Australia, about 1,000 miles west of the Line Islands. This is because the International Date Line is a composite of local time zone arrangements, which winds through the Pacific Ocean, allowing each locale to remain most closely connected in time with
6290-647: The traditional annual date for the convening of the Roman Senate. This civil new year remained in effect throughout the Roman Empire, east and west, during its lifetime and well after, wherever the Julian calendar continued in use. In the Middle Ages in Europe a number of significant feast days in the ecclesiastical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church came to be used as the beginning of
6375-405: The villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of
6460-569: The wandering ancient Egyptian calendar to the Julian year . Their New Year celebrations on Neyrouz and Enkutatash were fixed; however, at a point in the Sothic cycle close to the Indiction ; between the years 1900 and 2100, they fall on September 11 during most years and September 12 in the years preceding a leap year . During the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire , years began on
6545-400: The year'); on New Year's Eve, people stayed up all night until sunrise, calling it Shousui ( 守歲 , 'guard the year')." The article used the phrase chuxi ( 除夕 ) to indicate New Year's Eve—a phrase still used today. The Northern and Southern dynasties book Jingchu Suishiji describes the practice of firing bamboo in the early morning of New Year's Day, a New Year's tradition of
6630-692: The year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture . It has influenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year , such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Korean New Year , and the Ryukyu New Year . It
6715-413: The year. Today many households hold parties. Traditionally, firecrackers were lit to ward off evil spirits. The household doors are sealed and not reopened until dawn in a ritual called "opening the door of fortune" (simplified Chinese: 开财门 ; traditional Chinese: 開財門 ; pinyin: kāicáimén ). The tradition of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve is known as shousui (Chinese: 守岁 ). It
6800-741: Was also the first day of the year in the original Julian calendar and the Roman calendar (after 153 BC). Other cultures observe their traditional or religious New Year's Day according to their own customs, typically (though not invariably) because they use a lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar . Chinese New Year , the Islamic New Year , Tamil New Year ( Puthandu ), and the Jewish New Year are among well-known examples. India, Nepal, and other countries also celebrate New Year on dates according to their own calendars that are movable in
6885-625: Was at the time the interim president of the Republic of China . The official usage of the name "Spring Festival" was retained by the government of the People's Republic of China , but the government of the Republic of China based in Taiwan has since adopted the name "Traditional Chinese New Year". The festival is also called "Lunar New Year" in English, despite the traditional Chinese calendar being lunisolar and not lunar . However, "Chinese New Year"
6970-513: Was established under the Ming dynasty at the latest. It is described in the book Youzhongzhi ( 酌中志 ): "People get up at 5 in the morning of new year's day, burn incense and light firecrackers, throw door latch or wooden bars in the air three times, drink pepper and thuja wine, eat dumplings. Sometimes put one or two silver currency inside dumplings, and whoever gets the money will attain a year of fortune." Modern Chinese people also put other food that
7055-576: Was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of harvest in autumn. However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival , during which Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. In the Classic of Poetry , a poem written during Western Zhou (1045 BC – 771 BC) by an anonymous farmer, described the traditions of celebrating the 10th month of the ancient solar calendar , which
7140-410: Was in autumn. According to the poem, during this time people clean millet-stack sites, toast guests with mijiu (rice wine), kill lambs and cook their meat, go to their masters' home, toast the master, and cheer the prospect of living long together. The 10th-month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year. The records of the first Chinese new year celebration can be traced to
7225-507: Was still called bao zhu ( 爆竹 ), thus equating the new and old traditions. It is also recorded that people linked the firecrackers with hemp rope and created the bian pao ( 鞭炮 , "gunpowder whip") in the Song dynasty. Both bao zhu ( 爆竹 ) and bian pao ( 鞭炮 ) are still used today to celebrate the Chinese New Year and other festive occasions. It was also during the Song dynasty that people started to give money to children in celebration of
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