There are many traditions which revived during Chinese New Year which we will discuss below.
The people of china are very possessive about their age old customs and they would not let them go. The Chinese as a whole are proud of these activities and try their best to keep them alive by celebrating them at regular interval.
The Chinese New Year is a time when you get to see Chinese traditions in full bloom. A hub of traditional activity explodes onto the scene during the first few weeks of the Chinese New Year. The Chinese have a complete set of beliefs and traditional practices with regards to the welcoming of a new year. One can pretty much see how deeply the age old traditions are embedded in the Chinese culture by looking at all the traditional practices that are brought into light during New Year celebrations.
There is however another reason why China has kept these ancient traditions alive. With the explosion of the mass media the country knows how intrigued the rest of the world is by their mysterious culture. Hence they aim to cash in on their ancient traditions by keeping them alive so that they can attract lots of tourists and hence develop a thriving tourism industry.
The New Year celebrations once they commence carry on for next fifteen days. In fact the celebrations start one two days previous to the New Year. If you are eager to do business in China this is a good time as people love to spend a lot as they are so happy.
The house cleaning ritual is part and parcel of New Year tradition. Chinese homes take a new look and everything becomes shining and clean. All this is meant to drive away the misfortune of the previous year and make the house pure for New Year.
Doors and windows are painted red as per tradition. Red is the color of New Year in China. The traditional belief is that it wards away all sorts of evil spirits and omens and keeps the house protected from any harm.
If you visit China during the New Year you will find a good number of decorations in all houses. There are couplets as well as paper cuttings which are the signs of contentment and wealth and so on. There are different wall papers, paintings and scrolls which people put up to beautify their homes.
The Chinese prefer to celebrate the New Years Eve with their complete family as is the tradition and it is done with a lot of enthusiasm. A special dish is cooked for this occasion known as jiaozi which is actually dumplings in boiled water and it is together with all family members.
Playing games and watching televisions are some activities that the Chinese indulge in on the New Years Eve. They watch special programs all night long on the television to remain awake. They also keep the lights on the whole night as they believe that doing so their parents will receive long and healthy life.
The real day begins with good wishes, presents, lantern parades, Kung fu acts, concerts and other various forms of celebrations that last a whole two weeks and end with the dragon dance with the fireworks on the night of the first full moon putting an end to the show of ancient traditions in modern times.
Chinese traditions can differ in different parts of China . If you are interested in reading further on the Chinese New Years dragon click on the preceding hyperlink.
