Chinese Culture > Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year: 2/7/2008
Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.
The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
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Pure of heart, Boars are generous and kind. Because they are full of inner strength and courage, Boars can take on any task. They are driven by their passion and pleasure for life. They are sincere and trustworthy, enabling them to be very good listeners, as well as friends. Although Boars are blessed with many lifelong friends, they are prone to marital strife. Avoid other Boars. They are most compatible with Rabbit, Ram, and Dog. Years of the Boar (Pig) Born in 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019 THE SIGN OF THE PIG The Pig type is usually an honest, straightforward and patient person. He/she
is a modest, shy character who prefers to work quietly behind the scenes. When
others despair, he/she is often there to offer support. This type of person is
reserved with those they do not know too well, but as time passes and they gain
confidence, those around them may discover a lively and warm-hearted person
behind that mask of aloofness. Despite those born in the year of pig having a
wide circle of friends and acquaintances, they have few close friends who
understand them and share their inner thoughts and feelings. It is easy to put
trust in pig type; he/she won't let you down and will never even attempt to do
so. Such people simply want to do everything right according to social norms. |