Are you interested in properly celebrating the Chinese New Year of 2016 this coming Monday, Feb. 8? If your answer is yes, then it is important to know the common customs and traditions of the Chinese during the New Year celebration.
Chronicle Live compiled a list of common customs and traditions during the Chinese New Year. The first tradition is cleaning the house days before the New Year. It is done by Chinese families to eliminate the evil spirits from their houses.
The next tradition is putting up decorations in houses, offices and streets. Lanterns, red decorations and monkey dolls and pictures should be expected by everyone for the Year of the Monkey.
A family reunion dinner is also a tradition during the New Year's Eve. Plenty of food needs to be prepared since family members and relatives are going to come together to wish each other peace and success for the New Year. "Beginning on New Year's Eve, the list of things you must gorge on includes fish, chicken, roast pork, moss, rice cake, dumplings, uncut noodles and a heap of other dishes," shared Huffington Post.
The next on the list are fireworks and firecrackers. Fireworks are lit up after midnight as a way of driving away evil spirits. Before midnight, small firecrackers are set off while the bigger ones are set off during midnight.
Another custom during the Chinese New Year is Shou Sui or the dinner after New Year's Eve. This requires the family members to stay awake after midnight.
Lastly, a common tradition for the Chinese New Year involves the parents or grandparents giving monetary gifts placed inside red envelopes or packets to children and teens. ChineseNewYears.info shared the reason behind this tradition. "It was believed that the money in the red packet will suppress the evil from the children, keep them healthy, and give them a long life."
