Traditional Activities for the Chinese Lunar New Year
Unlike the more widely celebrated new year, the Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar. It's a 15-day celebration that culminates in what is festively called the "Lantern Festival," a nighttime celebration marked by lights and fire. Chinese New Year is also heavily family-oriented. Families congregate for dinners and celebrations, and passed ancestors are honored. There is a rich body of traditions that are practiced for this holiday.
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Color
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Symbolic color abounds during Chinese New Year celebrations, and people incorporate these colors into their celebratory activities. "Hong bao," or decorative red envelopes, have practical and symbolic significance. The color represents good luck and prosperity, and the envelopes are often stuffed with money and gifted to children or jobless adults. People also adorn themselves in red clothes and may even paint their doors red. Gold is another symbolically significant color and indicates wealth and abundance. Conversely, celebrants avoid the colors black and white since they signify morbidity and mourning.
Food
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Many ethnic holidays count food among their most important traditional activities, and Chinese New Year is no exception. The New Year's Eve dinner is typically a feast attended by numerous friends and relatives. Typical dishes include won ton soup, tang yuan soup, eight treasures rice, chicken and duck entrees and song gao (a kind of sweet rice cake.) Celebrants continue feasting during the entire 15-day festival.
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Dragons
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The dragon is a widely recognized symbol of Chinese New Year and its traditional significance dates back very far in Chinese culture. Dancing dragons figure heavily in street performances and parades. Elaborate multi-person dragon costumes (normally colored red) celebrate the ritual importance of this mythical creature, which also signifies good fortune and success.
Lanterns
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Red lanterns represent another traditional Chinese New Year activity. Streets are decorated with the glowing lanterns, and during the Shang Yuan Festival (the Festival of Lanterns) children carry the lit lanterns. The festival marks the end of Chinese New Year in a luminous, festive way. Rabbit-themed lanterns (or lanterns bearing the image of the current year's zodiac animal) are also frequently incorporated in celebratory activities.
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