HAPPY (CHINESE) NEW YEAR

Jill Day | Editor
Feb 2, 2016
3 min read

2016 is the 4713th Chinese Year.

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. The festival lasts for about 23 days, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the following year in the Chinese calendar. This year the first day of the Red Monkey is February 4, 2016 and Chinese New Year is on February 8

According to historical documents, on the day when Shun, who was one of ancient China’s mythological emperors, came to the throne more than 4,000 years ago, he led his ministers to worship heaven and earth. From then on, that day was regarded as the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. This is the basic origin of Chinese New Year. China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, so Chinese New Year was renamed the Spring Festival.

What do people do?

Many people clean their homes to welcome the Spring Festival. They put up the red posters with poetic verses on it to their doors, Chinese New Year pictures on their walls and decorate their homes with red lanterns. It is also a time to reunite with relatives so many people visit their families at this time of the year.

On Spring Festival Eve, people set off fireworks and firecrackers, hoping to cast away any bad luck and bring forth good luck. Children often receive “luck” money. People wear new clothes and send Chinese New Year greetings to each other. Beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival festivities.

Symbols

The red posters with poetic verses on it were initially a type of amulet but now it simply mean good fortune and joy. Various Chinese New Year symbols express different meanings. For example, an image of a fish symbolizes “having more than one need every year”. A firecracker symbolizes “good luck in the coming year”. The festival lanterns symbolize “pursuing the bright and the beautiful”.

What is a Year of the Monkey?

The Monkey is ninth of the 12 animals in the recurring 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle. Every 12 years there is a Monkey year. (Monkey years are all multiples of 12 — from 12 AD, through 1200 AD, to in 2016.)

The monkey is a clever animal, usually compared to a smart person. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BC), the official Chinese title of marquis was pronounced 'Hou', the same as ‘monkey’ in Chinese. meaning.

2016 Is a Fire Monkey Year —

In Chinese astrology, each year is associated with a Chinese zodiac animal sign and one the Five Elements: Gold (Metal), Water, Wood, Fire, or Earth. Both the sign and element of your birth year are said to affect your personality and destiny. Element-sign combinations recur every 60 years: