Chinese New Year or also called as the Lunar New Year, is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. In Chinese culture, Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays and it is associated with several customs and myths.
The Chinese New Year and often referred to as Lunar New Year and Spring Festival is rapidly approaching on February 1. The 15-day holiday, which heralds and marks the start of spring on the lunar calendar, is one of the most significant celebrations in Asian culture, especially in the Chinese culture. And the way we view our typical New Year on January 1 is fairly similar.
Filipinos adopt Chinese cultures with close ties and history with China, including celebrating the Chinese New Year.
A lot of individuals wash, clean, and decorate their homes in preparation for the Chinese New Year before the festival. To experience luck, health, and wealth throughout the year, the ideal feng shui environment must be created.
A traditional Chinese practice is feng shui. It entails setting up your space so that there is harmony between your energy and the energy of your surroundings.
Chinese and some people start to decorate their homes approximately ten days prior, and Chinese traditionally do the majority of the decorating on New Year’s Eve. Almost all of the ornaments used are colored red which symbolizes good fortune. As 2023 is the Year of the Tiger, decorations with rabbits will be seen.
Chinese lanterns are used during significant celebrations like the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year through the Lantern Festival) and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
During the Chinese New Year, lanterns are widely hung on trees in the streets, at work, and on home doors. A red lantern hung in front of the door is thought to fend off bad luck.
Given that even numbers are considered lucky and auspicious in Chinese culture, well wishes for the New Year are typically posted in pairs. Couplets are black ink on red paper brush works of the Chinese calligraphy.
The couplet’s two typically seven or nine character lines are attached to the opposite sides of a doorway. Some are declarations of what the locals value or hope for, such as peace or prosperity. And these can last till the following Chinese New Year when they are renewed.
Cutting designs from paper of any color, but usually red during the Spring Festival and attaching them to a contrasting backing or a transparent surface is the craft of paper cutting. People in central and northern China have a tradition of sticking red paper cuts to their windows and doors.
A picture of a lucky plant or animal frequently serves as the inspiration for the New Year’s paper cutting. Additionally, every type of plant or animal represents a different aspiration.
Keeping a kumquat tree at home therefore represents a longing for both money and luck. Particularly in South China’s Cantonese-speaking provinces of Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, and Guangxi, kumquat trees are a particularly popular plant displayed during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival, marks the beginning of spring. Homes are typically decorated with blooming flowers, which indicate the coming of spring and convey wishes for a fruitful new year.
The most popular blooming plants at this time of year include plum blossom branches, orchids, peonies, and peach blooms.
In order to decorate and wish people a happy new year, New Year Paintings are pasted on doors and walls over the holiday season. Lucky legendary figures and greenery are depicted in the artwork.
If you haven’t seen boxes of Tikoys on grocery stalls, your experience of the local Chinese New Year isn’t complete. Tikoy or Nian Gao is a sticky rice delicacy made from glutinous rice. And this delicacy is the star of any Chinese New Year table celebrations in the Philippines.
Tikoys bring good fortune and prosperity to those who consume them. Eating this, therefore, ensures a better year for you the next year. Additionally, they are the ideal presents for this occasion.
Everyone like receiving Ampaos. The red envelope contains lucky money to wish the children to grow up securely in the New Year. Children are the only ones who traditionally receive red envelopes from their elders. Ampaos are filled with cash, but there’s more than that; the Chinese value the envelope itself.
The round Tray of Togetherness, which is frequently divided into six or eight compartments, stands for peace and harmony among the family. Put a variety of little snacks on the tray, such as dried fruit, nuts, or candy like this strawberry Lucky Candy. These homemade Chinese almond cookies are another option.
Because they are said to bring happiness and luck, oranges, kumquats, tangerines, and pomelos are frequently given as gifts during the Chinese New Year. The gold color of these fruits also represents success, as do the Chinese terms for “orange” and “tangerine,” which sound a lot like the phrases for “luck” and “rich.”
This dish is particularly fortunate because its Chinese name, nian gao, sounds exactly like the phrase “higher year.” Originally, the sticky rice flour cake served as an offering during religious rituals. It is now consumed on January 1 in order to promote improved health, riches, and happiness.
Spring rolls are believed to bring wealth and fortune because they resemble gold bars. These deep-fried rolls can be filled with a variety of ingredients, such as pork, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, cabbage, and numerous other vegetables.
A lot of Filipinos commemorate this unique Chinese holiday, whether they are Chinese or not, in order to bring luck and wealth for the remainder of the year. To celebrate the start of a new year and a new stage of life, the entire family comes together.
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