Here comes Chinese New Year 2018 in the month of February. The Chinese have an undoubtedly intriguing tradition and culture, be it their matcha tea or the seeds of immortality, or their medicine, everything has always stood slightly different from the world. And this difference has never dragged the beautiful land behind, instead it has always made it shine brightly. Wish you a very Happy Chinese New Year 2018!
Chinese New Year in 2018
Chinese New Year in 2018 is on February 16, 2018. It is the year of the dog. On this day, families and friends get together to celebrate the beginning of a new year. The little ones enjoy a lot, for the celebrations, and also because they get red envelopes with money!
I once read in my English workbook about the Chinese years having a particular animal. The animal which represents each year affects the stars and destiny of people in a particular way. Though don’t confuse it with your destiny as future is uncertain and it always keeps changing.
This is the story behind Chinese New Year
According to the age old legends, there was a beast known as Nian, the literal meaning of which is year. Every new year eve, he would come and harm the innocent people, animals and their innocent properties. Nian used to eat the villagers, especially little children and the people were so terrified of him that they used to hide themselves discreetly.
Once upon a time, an old man said that he is sick of hiding and that he’s going to fight with him. The villagers tried to make him understand at first but then later left him alone considering him a lunatic.
But the old man was left unharmed the next day. This giant had the body of an ox, the head of a lion and had his home in the sea and was believed to be scared of fire and loud noises, just like every wild beast.
He also loathed the color red and therefore in order to keep him away, the Chinese started lighting red lanterns, putting red paper symbols on their door and even lightening fireworks, as done by the old man. The beast was terrified and forced to retreat which gave rise to numerous celebrations which are now called as the Chinese New year 2018 celebrations.
When is the Chinese new year 2018?
The Chinese New year 2018 is on sixteenth of February 2018, and the day is a Friday. The Chinese New year is also known as Spring Festival as the date marks the blossoming of the beautiful spring season, the Chinese believe the new year starts with the commencement of the time when life itself starts shimmering and blooming, the season of happiness and flowers.
The Chinese New year 2018 is also called as the Lunar new year as the dates are based on the Chinese Lunar calendar. As the western calendar is based on solar movements, the date of Chinese New year 2018 is somewhat different from the western New year.
The Chinese New year 2018 in Malaysia shall begin on February 16 and end on February 17, the end still marking the commencement of a new year of progress and prosperity. The same is with Singapore.
What is the animal for the Chinese new year 2018?
Every Chinese year is said to be the year of an animal according to a twelve year circle. The year 2018 is the year of dog. The Chinese horoscope mentions the year to be the year of a male earth dog which is also known as the year of brown dog.
The festival is a time to honor both the gods and the ancestors. Chinese New year 2018 is not just native to China, it is celebrated in all the places where there is a significant Chinese population, mostly in the areas bordering China with the people who migrated but kept their culture alive with themselves.
Some countries where celebrations for the spring festival are witnessed are Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia, and the Philippines. The spring festival is one of the most popular and widely celebrated festivals. The largest annual mass human migration is a characteristic of this festival. The day before the new year’s eve is a day of family gathering and there’s an annual reunion dinner. The houses are cleaned thoroughly to wipe away the past’s baggage and clean the omens dirt brings with itself. On the day if festival, the Chinese decorate their Windows and doors with red colored paper cuts which is supposed to ward off the evil and invite fortune and good luck. The Chinese light firecrackers and also exchange money in red coloured envelopes.
The celebrations last for about fifteen days, a sign that the Chinese still know how to find time between the chaos and culture between the technology and modernization, this two weeks long celebration ends with the lightning of sky lanterns and the family gathering again to celebrate it cumulatively. The schools remain closed and the children get to celebrate it in a full fest manner, even allowed to skip for a month. The seventh day of the fifteen days celebrations is considered to be the birthday of common man as the Chinese believe that the Goddess Nuwa created humans on this day with the yellow clay.
