The Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is the most important haliday for the Chinese people. For the Chinese, the New Year comes on the first day of the First Moon between January 21 and February 19.

One week before the New Year, people start to clean their homes for the New Year. They buy new pictures, too. New Year's pictures often have oranges in them. In Chinese, the word for "oranges" sounds the same as the word for "gold". It is a lucky word. People buy new clothes for the New Year. It is important to start the New Year in new clothes.

On New Year's Eve the family gets together to eat a big meal. The meal starts late in the afternoon of New Year's Eve. There are many special dishes on the table. There are usually oranges and a dish of fish. Every family tries to eat fish. At the end of the meal, they leave some extra fish on the plate to bring good look.

The New Year is an importnt time for the family. It is a tradition for the younger people to bow to the older people. The Chinese call this "k'ou t'ou" or "kowtow". This means "to touch the ground with the forehead." Then the older people give children gifts of money in red envelopes. Red is a lucky colour for the Chinese.

At midnight there are fireworks. It is New Year's Day or the first day of the First Moon Yuan Tuan. In the morning the shops are closed and the streets are empty. People dress in their new clothes and try to be kind and polite to each other to start the New Year well. Later, they go to visit their friends and relatives.

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