gung hay fat choy

[niyad]

the spring festival
Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year's Eve in Meizhou, Guangdong, China
Also called Lunar New Year, Spring Festival
Observed by Chinese communities worldwide<1>
Type Cultural, Religious
(Buddhist, Daoist, Confucian)
Significance The first day of the Chinese calendar (lunisolar calendar)
2011 date February 3
2012 date January 23
Celebrations Dragon dances/Lion dances, fireworks, family gathering, family meal, visiting friends and relatives (拜年), giving red envelopes, decorating with duilian (對联).
Related to Lantern Festival, which concludes the celebration of the New Year.
Mongolian New Year, Tibetan New Year, Japanese New Year, Korean New Year, Vietnamese New Year


Chinese New Year - often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar - is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Despite its winter occurrence, in China it is known as "Spring Festival," the literal translation of the Chinese name 春节 (Pinyin: Chūn Jié), owing to the difference between Western and traditional Chinese methods for computing the seasons. The festival begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: Zhēng Yuè) in the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner, is known as Chú Xī (除夕) or "Eve of the Passing Year."

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunisolar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.

Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, such as Mainland China, Hong Kong,<2> Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,<3> Taiwan, Thailand, and also in Chinatowns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), Tibetans and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese (Tết), and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).

In countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Australia Post, Canada Post, and the US Postal Service issue New Year's themed stamps.

. . . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

[Hardrada]

1. I remember hearing about the Vietnamese Tet.

Sort of in the same category as the Sicilian Vespers.

[renate]

2. oh wow... thanks for the sweet memories!

My kids celebrated Chinese New Year in kindergarten; I haven't thought of "Gung Hay Fat Choy" in years. The kids were all so cute, going down the hall chanting... :loveya:

[niyad]

3. you are most welcome. I was surprised at how very few people around here know this celebration-

guess I was spoiled in CA

[dynasaw]

4. Actually You Should Enjoy it for

fifteen days. Day 7 is "everybody's birthday." Chinese New Year is also a time to collect red packets with money in them. These are given in lieu of gifts.