Chinese New Year  Happy Chinese New Year
From 101lifeStyle.com
Fifteen Days Of Chinese New Year Celebrations:
Chinese New Year Eve is characterized by gala family dinners and prayers at temples, and gifts given to relatives, friends, neighbours and business associates. Some families to to temples hours before the new year begins to pray for a lucky and prosperous year ahead and light the first incense of the year. Some families hold New Year parties while others watch the special television programs broadcast on New Years Eve.
After the New Years Eve, the festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Each day is specially celebrated and is auspicious in its own way. Day 1:  The first day begins at the midnight when some families light their first incense at temples. The first day is known as Yuan Dan and is to welcome home the deities of heaven and earth. Many people abstain from consuming meat as it is believed that this will enhance longevity, and Buddhists abstain from killing animals as well on this day. Lighting fires and using knives are considered bad luck for some and they prepare food beforehand.
However Buddhists prepare a traditional vegetarian dish called 'Jai' or Buddha's Delight on the first day of the Chinese New Year. This dish contains eighteen different ingredients as the Chinese believe that eighteen is a lucky number and brings wealth and prosperity.
As per Chinese legends, the Goddess Nuwa who created the world also created certain animals on each day and hence each day is considered the birthday of the animal created on that day. Human beings however as per legend were created on the seventh day after the creation of the world. The first day is considered the birthday of chicken.
The most important custom of the first day of the Chinese New Year is the visiting of oldest and senior most members of the family such as parents, grandparents and great grandparents. This visit is believed to strengthen family kinship.
 Another tradition is to welcome guests with tea and sweets which are believed to sweeten the year to come. Sweets and candies and sugared fruits are arranges on a tray having eight compartments for eight types of sweets as the Chinese believe that the number 8 stands for luck. This tray called the 'tray of togetherness is offered to guests. The guests may bring small gifts of Mandarin Oranges, Tangerines as they symbolise gold and hence usher wealth and good fortune.
Some families invite lion dancers for performing lion dances to evict the bad spirits from their premises. Married elders give red envelopes containing money to young ones usually children and teenagers. At work employers give incentives and bonuses in red envelopes to employees. Wherever permitted fireworks and firecrackers are very popularly used.
 Chinese New Year Eve
Fifteen Days Of Chinese New Year Celebrations : Day 2, 3, 4, 5 | 