Chinese New Year Celebration
January 31st, 2014
Chinese New Year - Year of the Horse
Happy New Year to all our friends in China, in Hong Kong and around the world!
Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, in China start on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. will fall on Jan. 31, 2014.
The event is celebrated on a different day each year since the Chinese calendar is lunisolar -- taking into account both the earth and moon’s movement.
In China, the holiday is the most important social and economic event of the year-- traditionally linked to honoring the household, heavenly gods and ancestors. Typically the holiday begins on New Year’s Eve (according to the Chinese calendar) and lasts for 15 days. Families tend to clean their homes in the days leading up to the celebration but all dusts and brooms are hidden during holiday so that “good luck can not be swept away.” The holiday itself is usually spent with family, shopping, watching fireworks and in some cases -- a religious ceremony honoring heaven and earth.
Each year corresponds to a different zodiac sign and animal. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals that denote a person’s birth known as shengxiao: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This year we'll celebrate the year of the horse. Each of the animals is named after one favored by the Buddha and is said to influence an individual’s personality.
Published on Friday, 31. January 2014 at 01:36 am
