When did you born? You can check your year zodiac sign to know couple of things about character. Come and check our five charming facts about Chinese New Year.
Did you know that Chinese New Year falls on a different date and day each year. Chinese New Year works around the “New Moon” and it usually takes place in late January or February.
The New Moon is when the moon is a crescent moon indicating the start of the new lunar cycle. The crescent moon is the moon that is used in the logo for Dreamworks studio. Can you picture it now?
Unlike the traditional Calendar which lasts 1 year, the Chinese Calendar lasts 12 years! This doesn’t mean China has more months than the rest of us, this is to do with Zodiac signs. Usually each month is attributed a Zodiac sign, however in China each year is given a Zodiac sign.
Each Zodiac sign is represented by a different animal. The 12 animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. People who celebrate Chinese New Year believe that if you were born in a particular year you will have some of the characteristics of that animal. For example people born in the year of the Tiger are seen to be fearless, just like a Tiger.
Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days each year. That is a lot of celebrating! Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon and is celebrated until there is another full moon, which takes about 15 days. People in China however don’t get 15 days off work, they typically only get the first three days off. This is when the main celebrations take place. Chinese New year ends with a Lantern Festival, where flying lanterns are released into the sky. Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it!
During Chinese New Year children are given red envelopes from their parents, grandparents and other relatives. These envelopes are typically red in colour and are called “hong bao”. These envelopes are filled with money for the children. The children can use the money to buy anything they like.
Similar to fireworks being set off on New Years Eve, fireworks are also set off at midnight on Chinese New Years Eve. In China, there is a legend that the fireworks are set off to scare off any evil spirits that are around. There is a myth that there is a beast called Nian who appears each Chinese New Year.
It is said that Nian doesn’t like fire or sound of the fireworks and these fireworks scare him away. Dances wearing Lion and Dragon suits are also used to drive away any evil spirits that may be around during Chinese New Year.
We hope you enjoyed learning more things about Chinese New Year as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic the Chinese New Year is, you can move on to learn about world festivals, religions and Myths like: Irish Festival, Festivals in Mexico, Festivals in India, Mexican Tradition, the Day of the Dead in Mexico, Ancient Greek Religion, Anglo-Saxons, Mystical Creatures, Minotaur, Ogres, Midas, Mermaids, 12 Olympians, Celtic Mythology, Zodiac Myths, Cats in Egyptian Mythology, Snakes in Egyptian Mythology, Greek Mythology Books, Greek Mythology Stories, Hideous Creatures, Hecate, Medusa, Athena, Egyptian Gods, Greek Gods, God of Fire in Egypt and Legendary Norse Mythology.
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