By Pu Jin
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year is the most important celebration observed in China, with cultural and historic significance. Chinese New Year is thought to date back to the 14th century BC, when the Shang dynasty ruled. The festival signals the beginning of spring, and the start of a new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday is traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors that centers around the hope for good fortune and prosperity.
With the popular adoption of the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese joined in celebrating January 1 as New Year’s Day, however, Spring Festival is the holiday of the holidays for the Chinese people as it is celebrated by almost two billion Chinese communities across the world. Millions of people will travel across China, sometimes thousands of miles just to celebrate with their families, feast with relatives, watch the Chinese New Year Gala (CCTV), and pray for good fortune in the year ahead.
The Lunar New Year date is different each year, and is dependent upon one thing: the cycles of the moon. The first day of the festival falls on the new moon each year, the most important date on any Chinese person’s calendar and the longest festival of the year. This year the festival starts from Lunar New Year’s Eve, beginning on January 31, and ending on February 15. February 1 marks the Chinese New Year 2022 and the celebration typically lasts 16 consecutive days but this can occur on any date between January 21 and February 20 depending on the rising of the second new moon after the winter solstice. Only the first seven days, January 31 to February 6, are considered a public holiday this year.
Families observe numerous traditions during the Lunar New Year celebration. The celebrations begin with traditional house cleaning and the Chinese get rid of old and useless things. They do this to throw away the misfortunes of the past year in order to start the New Year off with a clean slate. Many people also buy new clothes during this time. Red-coloured decor and items are quite prevalent. It’s common to see a lot of red undergarments and clothing sold in stores for those who were born under that year’s Chinese zodiac to wear throughout their year. According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, people nowadays spend more than 820bn Yuan on shopping and dining during this period.
The Chinese calendar goes in a cycle of 12 years and each year is associated with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, based on ancient Chinese mythology. This year is the year of the Tiger, and it is believed that children born in the year ahead will be brave, competitive and strong. As Chinese people strongly believe that if you are born in a particular year then you will have some of the characteristics of that animal.
Your Chinese zodiac is a Tiger sign if you were born in the following years: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, and 2022. If you were born in a Tiger Year, not only do the aforementioned traits align with your personality, but you share a commonality with a number of notable celebrities – including Queen Elizabeth II, Lady Gaga, Leonardo DiCaprio, to name a few. Those born during a Tiger Year are said to possess some of the qualities of the animal itself, including courageous, assertive and natural leaders. Tiger signs are said to be hungry for thrill and crave attention, not to mention short-tempered but capable of generosity.
However, Chinese zodiacs are based on the Heavenly Stems and Branches system, which coordinates one of five elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) to each Tiger Year on a rotating basis. That means every 60 years, one element will apply to the Zodiac sign and have certain personality traits associated with it. 2022 is the Year of the Water-Tiger. Those born this year are said to have great interpersonal relationships and be very family-oriented. The last Water Tiger year was 1962.
Other recent years include 1950 and 2010’s Metal Tiger, 1974 and 2034’s Wood Tiger, 1926 and 1986’s Fire Tiger, and 1938 and 1998’s Earth-Tiger. Metal Tigers are said to be natural leaders with a rebellious side, but are also sympathetic to those on their team. Wood Tigers love to learn, have excellent memories, and are creative with a solid group of friends. Fire Tigers are detail-oriented, talented, and strong-willed – but hate discussion. Earth Tigers are said to be generous but can have an arrogant side as well. Either way, they love to help.
The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs, and has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations of its 56 ethnic groups, such as the Losar of Tibet, and of China’s neighbours, including the Korean New Year (Korean: Seollal), and the Tết of Vietnam. It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries that house significant overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, including Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, the United States, Mauritius, as well as in Nepal, Peru, Canada and Europe.
In Mandarin, people say “Xin Nian Kuai Le”, which simply means “Happy New Year”. In Cantonese, the language of southern China and Hong Kong, the New Year greeting is “Gong Hei Fat Choy”, which means “wishing you prosperity.”
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