One of the longest and most important holidays in the Chinese calendar is the lunar new year. It is a 15-day celebration filled with festivities, family reunions, gift giving, dragon dancing, and packages known as "hong bao." All these festivities are dyed deep red. This is because the Chinese consider the color red to be the color of luck.
In this article we are going to explain everything you need to know about the lunar new year and its curiosities.
Chinese New Year
The lunar new year is also known for the name of chinese new year or spring festival. This is because they begin precisely with the second moon after the Winter SolsticeThis is a date that can range from late January to mid-February. This year, it was celebrated beginning on Saturday, January 25th. This is where the year 4717 began, the year of the rat.
Unlike New Year's celebrations in the rest of the world, here the celebrations don't last just one day. The celebrations begin on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar and extend for 15 days when the full moon arrives. Throughout this time, family members gather and travel long distances to reach their loved ones. This is considered one of the greatest human migrations. For many people, it's the only time of year they have time to return home and bring bags of gifts to their loved ones.
The lunar new year celebration has a specialty in each of the 15 days that it lasts. Each day has the celebration with its own traditions. On the eve of the new year, the family gathers for dinner together. It is one of the customs to stay at home to receive good fortune or visit the soils. In addition, one of the most symbolic gifts is the delivery of money in a red envelope. These envelopes with money are known by the name of "hong bao" and are special because they bring good luck thanks to the deep red color. They are usually given to children and adults and partner.
There will also be the tradition of launched fireworks. This comes from an old custom of lighting bamboo stalks to ward off evil spirits. One of the most curious elements of the lunar new year is the show made up of half dragon half lion. It is known by the name of Nian and is quite famous all over the world. Legend has it that he comes out of hiding during the lunar new year in order to attack people. However, your ears are your weakness. This makes that in the old days people set fire to bamboo stalks to scare this entity. With time and the development of technology, this resulted in the launching of fireworks to generate noise.
Lunar New Year Superstitions
The lunar new year ends with the lantern festival. It is celebrated at night with parades and displays of lanterns decorated with the theme of the moment. It is the main event of the day and is characterized by the dragon dance. It is a very interesting event in which we can see beautiful dragons made of paper, silk and bamboo and are held on the heads. All of this gives the feeling that they seem to be dancing during the parade.
The Lunar New Year is also characterized by various superstitions. The first one is that you can't take out the trash. The reason for this is that looking at garbage during the Lunar New Year can erase luck and prosperity. This means you should spend time with your family, especially your in-laws and your partner's relatives. This should be done on the second day, which is considered the beginning of the year.
By contrast, during the third day it is better not to visit anyone. This is due to the fact that it is considered a day where this is more prone to discussions, according to tradition. It is already on the seventh day when you can celebrate. Red is the color that can not be missing at any time. This color is associated with luck and prosperity. Mainly the color red is used in order to provide protection to loved ones. It is also used to scare the monster Nian, since it is the color that scares him.
Lunar New Year migration
Since it is one of the most important events of the Chinese, it is the protagonist of one of the largest migrations of human beings in all of history. During the lunar new year there are usually 3.000 billion trips that take place in a 40-day season in China. Most of these journeys take place between January 9 and February 18. All these people travel to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Therefore, it is considered the largest human migration on the planet.
From all these trips 440 million will be made by rail, about 79 million by plane, although the majority is done by car or motorcycle. Because it is one of the most anticipated events of the whole year, the Chinese do whatever it takes to see their loved ones. This year we have had the great problem of the coronavirus pandemic, so this lunar new year has been affected by the outbreak.
One of the most interesting curiosities of the lunar new year is that they identify with animals. Chinese legend has it that Buddha summoned all the animals to meet him on New Year's Day. He summoned a total of 12 animals in. So in the Chinese calendar you can see that all these animals are the dog, the pig, the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the sheep, the monkey and the horse. This tradition also says that all people born in each animal year have some trait of the personality of said animal.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the lunar new year.