Chinese New Year: 2014
The Year of the Horse
4712 (or 2014) is the year of the horseChinese
New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese
calendar. The Chinese year 4712 begins on Jan. 31, 2014.
Chinese
months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on
the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first
day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is
brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to
prepare for and celebrate the New Year.
A Charming New Year
Legend
has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him
on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each
one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have
some of that animal's personality. Those born in horse years are
cheerful, skillful with money, perceptive, witty, talented and good with
their hands. Rembrandt, Harrison Ford, Aretha Franklin, Chopin, Sandra
Day O'Connor, and President Theodore Roosevelt were born in the year of
the horse.
Fireworks and Family Feasts
At Chinese New Year
celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper,
and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire,
which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that
shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago,
people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames
would frighten evil spirits.
The Lantern Festival
In
China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather
at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a
feast on New Year's Eve. In the United States, however, many early
Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of
community through neighborhood associations instead. Today, many
Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New
Year events.
The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of
the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art,
painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from
legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry
lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.
In
many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance.
The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of
silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young
men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In
the United States, where the New Year is celebrated with a shortened
schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In addition,
many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements
such as marching bands and floats.
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