C HINESE N EW Y EAR

LUNAR NEW YEAR Of all the Chinese festivals celebrated the New Year is the most important. In ancient China the New Year was a time to honor the emperor and confirm his position as the ruler. Today, the New year is called Spring Festival, celebrating the coming of spring and the reunion of the family. The holiday is celebrated following the lunar calendar, the start date changes every year. It is celebrated for 15 days, and this year starts on February 14 th.

T RADITIONS Houses are cleaned thoroughly to remove all traces of the previous year and its misfortunes, and to bring good luck for the coming year. New outfits are bought and paid, gates are repainted, and bills are paid, as tradition states that old debts cannot be claimed after New Year’s Day. At this time of year special attention is paid to the Kitchen God, a god that is believed to watch over the house all year. An altar for offerings is placed in front of him and throughout the year they give him the best morsels of food and sweets before every year. At the New Years holiday they slather his lips with honey to get sweet words from him, as he controls the fate of every family.

On New Year’s Eve families have a special feast of seafood and dumplings, followed by a special dessert of New Year’s cake called Nian Gao. Everyone stays up to watch fireworks at midnight. On New Year’s Day everyone goes door to door to visit and exchange gifts with their neighbors and relatives. For the last (fifteenth) day of the New Year the Lantern Festival takes place. During this festival colorful lanterns are displayed. A special treat of the festival is the lion dance. Large lions with flashing eyes parade through the streets accompanied by drums and cymbals.The costume is filled with martial arts dancers, twisting and turning through the streets. In some cities the dragon also comes out. The dragon can be as long as 15ft. It is supported by poles and carried by many people.

T HE DRAGON In Chinese Art, dragons are depicted as long serpentine creatures with four legs. The dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. It is believed that the dragon controls water and rainfall. The dragon dance at the Lantern Festival symbolizes bringing good luck to everyone on Earth.