Chinese New Year : Chinese New Year, Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.
Other names: Simplified Chinese: 农历 新年; traditional Chinese: 農曆 新年; pinyin: nónglì xīnnián) or “passage of the year” (过年 / 過年, guònián.
The spring festival (春节 / 春節, chūnjié) marks the beginning of the festivities which take place over two weeks and which end with the lantern festival (元宵节 / 元宵節, yuánxiāojié).
Since the Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, the date of the Chinese New Year in the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year, but always falls between January 21 and February 19, during the second new moon since. winter solstice when the sun is in the sign of Aquarius. It is, like all the beginnings of Chinese lunar months, the first day of a new moon. By convention, the astronomical alignment that signals the new moon is determined at the Purple Mountain observatory in Nanjing.
New Year's Eve Meal: The New Year's Eve meal is often held at the homes of the elders of the family. In regions with a traditional way of life, due to patriarchal custom, it is the paternal family.
At New Year's Eve, dinner can only start when the whole family is present (empty places are reserved for members who cannot attend the meal). It is generally plentiful and often includes symbolic dishes to ensure health, studies, etc. Thus the fish (魚 yú), homophone of surplus (馀 yú), must be present at every New Year's meal to guarantee that there will be surplus every year (年年 有 馀 / 年年 有餘, niánnián yǒuyú) and that we will never lack for anything; some even take care not to finish it, in order to render more completely its symbolic meaning. In northern China, a dish of ravioli ((饺子 / 餃子, jiǎozi) is usually served because their shape evokes that of yuánbǎo (元子 / 元寶), ancient ingots. The traditional dessert is niángāo (年糕), "New Year's cake"; gāo, cake, is the homophone of growing up, and eating it is a pledge of growth in all desired areas.
Red envelopes (gifts) containing money are available. Traditionally, they were distributed by the elders to unmarried children and young people, and above all had the symbolic value of bringing good luck throughout the New Year. During solemn distributions by the elders, the person who will receive the envelope sends them a wish or “auspicious word” (Chinese: 吉祥 話; pinyin: jíxiáng huà); the most common is “congratulations, and make a fortune” (恭喜 发财 / 恭喜 發財, gōngxǐ fācái). Many red envelopes contain a modest, even number of banknotes, but sometimes this is the means by which a professionally active person gives their elderly parents or children a whole year of spending money. However, in a massive distribution of red envelopes (eg temples, public institutions… etc), it often contains a round coin with the value "1" (eg 1 €), to symbolize " repetition has to start from the beginning ”(Chinese: 一 元 復 始; pinyin: yī yuán fù shǐ). During visits to family and friends, in the following days, it is customary to offer an envelope to the children of visitors or those visited; many therefore take care to stock up on small new denominations before the holiday season.
Children were allowed that evening to burst firecrackers or to burn bengal fires, while waiting for the chain of firecrackers that each household had to light on the arrival of the first day of the year (midnight to 11st century, but in the past we changed the day at XNUMX p.m.). Nevertheless, because of the more and more frequent accidents due to urban concentration, many countries have banned private firecrackers. Luminous electric models with sound are offered under the name of “electric firecrackers” (电 鞭炮 / 電 鞭炮, diànbiānpào), with varying degrees of success.
An old custom is that we go to bed as late as possible that evening, because that would be a guarantee of longevity; this is called "keeping watch of the year" (守岁 / 守歲, shǒusuì). A television goes a long way in accomplishing this objective, but a game (mahjong for example) is also often chosen, especially since, for some, it is good to try your luck on New Year's Eve. In some regions, games money usually prohibited, were exceptionally authorized during the spring festival.
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