14th of February 2010
Lunar New Year, Spring festival or commonly known Chinese New year will be shaking the world on the 14th of February 2010. It is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese (Lunar) Calendar. In addition this festival has old and long traditions that are full of myths and emphasize Asian cultural heritage. A Unique Event – The Spring Festival and the celebration lasts for 15 days and is marked at the end of it by the lantern festival.Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, nowadays Lunar New Year is considered a major festival. Furthermore it is an event that has had influence on the new year celebrations of some parts of its geographic neighbors: Korea, Tibet, Bhutan, Vietnam and so on. What is more, it is widely celebrated in the countries that have a significant populations of Chinese: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, and Thailand. So if you are going to Asia, the celebration spirit cannot be avoided.
There is also a popular legend explaining why Chinese New year is celebrated. It is said that long long time ago there was a beast that would come on the first day of New Year to steal and kill livestock, people and destroy crops. Therefore people used to put the food outside their houses, believing that it will feed the beast. One day the creature was scared away by a little child wearing red. As a result, a tradition to hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls outside the houses was born.
The food takes a very important part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Vast amounts of traditional food is prepared for relatives, friends, as well as those close to us who have already died.According to the traditions all of it has to be consumed. The main dishes include the variation of chicken and fish, dumplings and noodles. In addition, many of the meals are symbolic for good fortune, happiness, or prosperity.
Another attribute of the New Year is so called Dragon and lion dance. The symbolic power of these creatures is believed to scare away bad or evil spirits. All in all, Chinese New year is the festival that no one can challenge. It is full of myths, customs and absolutely different from others. Choose China as your next destination and discover a rich history of Chinese New Year.
