Chinese New Year

New Year

Chinese culture has been greatly influenced by Confucian ideas and in Chinese tradition, the New Year is the most important holiday of the entire year. This festivity celebrates the beginning of spring and is the most celebrated day of the year. This holiday is based on the lunisolar calendar. The new year takes place on the day of the second blue moon after the winter solstice.

On this special day in Chinese culture, families clean and decorate their houses to symbolize preparing for the new year’s good fortunes. Relatives and neighbors come together at night for a reunion where they fest on specialties like Peking duck and sticky cake. Meanwhile, parades, firework shows, and other forms of entertainment crowd the streets. The next day, children receive money wrapped in special red envelopes. They are red envelopes because they are thought to be the color of happiness. This color is so important in this holiday that it shades all aspects of the festivities, from the clothes to the firecrackers. This red envelope also allows the receiver to measure the strength of the social relationship between the children and parents, one of Confucius' five relationships he most stressed in his teachings. 

This tradition, however, does not only happen in China. Different moderations are made on this holiday all over the world in several different cultures like Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia,  and Mauritius. Many countries that have adopted Confucianism as well celebrate this festivity.