About Me
No doubt, the Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in history for Chinese, with the celebration taking as long as 15 days. Even people who don't have Chinese blood in them have come to celebrate and respect this holiday. Every year, Chinese spend lavishly on these performance arts in the hopes of bringing good luck and prosperity.
And just as the New Year is a time when they spend thousands on food and fireworks, it is also a high time consulting their fate in Chinese horoscopes and astrology. Chinese people, after all, are among the most superstitious people in the world. Superstitions, in fact, abound during the Chinese New Year itself, both before and during the holiday. On the days before the celebration, Chinese families spend their time cleaning their houses to sweep away the bad luck for the coming new year. On the holiday eve, buying a pair of shoes is considered bad luck, since according to them the word "shoes" is a homophone for the word "rough" in Cantonese. Eating candy, on the other hand, brings good luck in a way that their coming year will become sweet.
Now more than ever, people are interested in what Chinese horoscope has to say about their lives for the New Year. And the interest in Chinese astrology isn't limited to just Chinese businesspeople alone. Even foreigners, (i.e. Westerners) are just as willing to delve into Chinese horoscopes, perhaps even more so. Over time, Chinese people have passed on their beliefs to the next generation, continuously sharing them until they have woven a very detailed and comprehensive nexus of beliefs and wisdom. From the Chinese come Feng Shui, and Chinese astrology, and i-ching, and other sources of time-tested knowledge that will always define the Chinese culture. Which is why deep inside everyone, Chinese-blooded or not, there is a vast and unlimited belief in Chinese superstitions and other ancient wisdom, whose only aim is the betterment of people's lives.
On the day itself, an ancient custom called Hong Bao, meaning Red Packet, takes place. This involves married couples giving children and unmarried adults money in red envelopes. Then the family begins to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then their neighbors. Like the Western saying "let bygones be bygones," at Chinese New Year, grudges are very easily cast aside.
The end of the New Year is marked by the Festival of Lanterns, which is a celebration with singing, dancing and lantern shows.
Although celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members and friends.
People greet each other by saying 'Gung Hay Fat Choy!
which means Happy New Year.
