Can you remember that we celebrated National Cheese Lovers Day & Martin Luther King Jr Day with you previously? As well, today is the time to celebrate Chinese New Year! Whether you’re of Chinese descent or simply appreciate the rich culture and history behind this celebration, there are countless reasons to embrace Chinese New Year. So, the World’s #1 Source of Research-Based Content, The daily Top 10, thought to share with you the Top 10 Reasons Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year.
Unlike the western New Year, the date of this colorful explosive celebration is ever-changing based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Since it takes place on the new moon of the first Lunar month and, among other things, it marks the approach of spring and the passing of winter’s cold weather. Today Chinese New year is celebrated around the world by a variety of nationalities in numerous countries. Also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring festival, it is a major holiday in many Southeast Asian countries.
This vibrant and festive holiday marks the beginning of a New Lunar Year. It is a time for families and friends to come together, exchange gifts, and enjoy traditional foods and activities. So, Let’s go back to the article’s main idea and see the Top 10 Reasons Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year.
What is the Major Reason Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year?
If you want to know more about Chinese culture, check out the Top 10 Most Interesting Facts About Chinese Culture. However, Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is China’s most important traditional holiday. It marks the beginning of a New Lunar Year and is typically celebrated for 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival. During Chinese New Year, families and friends come together for reunion dinners, give children red envelopes filled with money, and participate in traditional activities such as lion and dragon dances. It is also a time for cleaning the house to sweep away bad luck and make way for good fortune in the New Year. Many Chinese people around the world celebrate the Chinese New Year with parades, fireworks, and other cultural events.
Do you have any guesses on the major reason for celebrating Chinese New Year? Keep it in your mind, and check out the rest of our list now!
TOP 10: Gifts and Celebrations
The Chinese New Year is associated with the tradition of bringing gifts when paying visits. Most of the time, people shared sweets and chocolates in red. While some gifts like Clarks, shoes, and umbrellas are forbidden as New Year gifts, as mentioned in Living English.
Besides, it wouldn’t be Chinese New Year to pass out to children and young relatives without a red envelope. According to National Today, about 8 billion red envelopes are shared throughout Chinese families worldwide. Each envelope contains chocolate coins or cash as a way of wishing good luck. Also, the red color, which features the New Year decorations, symbolizes prosperity. While burning firecrackers also mark the New Year and ward off monsters.
TOP 9: Ensure Good Fortune
As stated in China Highlights, Chinese New Year is a time when many people take steps to ensure good fortune and prosperity in the coming year. Some of the ways that people try to ensure good fortune during Chinese New Year include:
- Cleaning the house
- Wearing red
- Giving red envelopes
- Eating traditional foods
- Decorating with lucky symbols
- Using Fireworks
- Following customs and traditions
- Make New Year’s resolutions
These are all ways that people may try to ensure good fortune during Chinese New Year, but the most important thing is to be with your loved ones and to enjoy the time with them.
TOP 8: Celebrate a Year of Hard Work
Chinese New Year holidays last for about 15 days and are associated with traditional customs and traditions. The significance of it to the Chinese is like the combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It means a great deal to each Chinese person since it is about bringing families together, being grateful, and sharing goodness.
According to Forbes, a good way to gauge the sheer size of this spring festival is by comparing it to a Thanksgiving ceremony which celebrates a year of hard work, celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. As an act of giving thanks, grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God.
TOP 7: Appease the Traditional Deities
There are traditional deities who play significant roles during the Chinese New Year holiday, the God of wealth and the Kitchen god, as mentioned in China Simplified. Among them, the most popular and prominent divine being during the spring festival is the God of wealth. People make offerings to him and ask God to accept them on the altar, inhale the incense with the wish for wealth for the coming year.
Meanwhile, some households hang an image of the kitchen god near their stoves throughout the year and will burn the paper image on New Year’s day as a type of offering. Also, people used to offer sticky rice cakes to appease the Kitchen God, also known as “Nian Gao,” a Chinese homonym for “higher year.” She is considered good luck to eat since it symbolizes maximizing prosperity every year. So these domestically oriented rituals for popular deities can be identified as an integral part of the festivities.
TOP 6: Wealth of Food
There are many traditional foods that vary by region but are typically rich in symbolism. Dumplings are especially associated with wealth. According to The Foodellers, Chinese tradition reveals the fact that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year. At the same time, holding feasts for ancestors is believed to be a bonding tool that brings both worlds together.
Certain dishes are eaten during Chinese New Year for their symbolic meaning. And lucky food is served during the 16th-day festival season to bring good luck for the coming year. The auspicious symbolism of these food items is based on wealth, prosperity, fullness, family togetherness, higher income, happiness, longevity, etc. Which actually qualifies Chinese New Year as a festival that should be celebrated.
TOP 5: Family Togetherness
As stated in Du Chinese, the Chinese Spring festival travel season is the largest human migration in the world. This is because many family members travel from cities and countries to homes for family reunions. Most of the time, these family gatherings include a great variety of dishes and are considered the most important get-together meal of the year.
Apparently, New year’s eve is the time for thanksgiving and reunion with the feast for ancestors, where their spirits are also meant to celebrate the coming New Year together with the living. Hence, it paves the way for families to reunite and strengthen their bonds once a year. So, the families who may have separated due to career choices, education, etc., would serve as an opportunity to gather because of this festival.
TOP 4: Honour Ancestors
On New Year’s day, all family members sit around a big table to have a New year’s eve dinner, which is known as “Nian Ye Fan,” as mentioned in Rmg. Along with that, they burn incense for ancestors, hold a feast and worship their late ancestors. Holding feasts for ancestors is believed to be a bonding tool that reinforces the unity of the group. Ancestor worshipping family is considered a united group of dead and living relatives in Chinese culture. Kinship values like family loyalty, filial piety, and continuity of the family lineage are being cultivated through this honor for ancestors.
At this feast, most families set a place for ancestors to honor the generation’s past and present, which is actually a kind of respect for dead family members. Because, It is believed that the spirits of ancestors are with them, protecting their family members and helping them to become prosperous. It is a family affair consisting of homes, serving as communication and greetings to the prayers.
TOP 3: Value Traditional Customs
Chinese New Year is prosperous with legends and myths. According to Lam Museum, one of the most popular legends is about the beast Nian which destroyed livestock, crops, and people on the eve of the New Year. So, people put red lanterns and red scrolls on their doors and windows to stop Nian from coming inside. The beast is afraid of loud noises, bright lights, etc. They pave the way for red color decorations pertaining to the New Year celebration that indicates the continuation of tradition until the present.
That’s how the Chinese New Year celebrations were born, and that’s why they organize lantern festivals, parades, firecrackers, lion dances, etc. So every year, people celebrate Chinese New Year to value those customs and traditions with the intention of giving them from generation to generation.
TOP 2: Lucky Rituals
Chinese New Year has specific symbolic values and rituals associated with good luck for the coming year. For example, the most important is a thorough house cleaning to wash away the old year and hang holiday decorations. Here, the cleaning is restricted once the New Year dawns unless it should clean before the New Year to get rid of the bad luck of the previous year.
According to Hakkasan, in Chinese, the word “dust” is a homophone for the word “old.” Thus there is a symbolic representation of cleaning houses in order to drive away the bad luck of the previous year to allow for a new start. Additionally, rituals like placing taboos to preserve an auspicious atmosphere and showering with pomelo leaves can be identified as rituals that are considered to enhance prosperity and good health in the coming year.
TOP 1: Celebrate the Astrological Shift
Marking the beginning of a New Lunar Year and bringing good luck and prosperity for the coming year is one of the major reasons to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The lunar calendar is an important aspect of Chinese culture and tradition, and the Chinese New Year marks the start of the New Lunar Year. During the celebration, many people participate in customs and traditions that are believed to bring good luck and prosperity for the coming year, such as giving red envelopes filled with money, eating traditional foods, and decorating with symbols of good luck.
Additionally, it is also a time for families to gather together, exchange gifts, and participate in traditional activities such as lion and dragon dances. It is a time to start afresh, leave behind the negative things of the past, and look forward to a bright future. As mentioned in China Highlights, 2023 is the year that represents the zodiac sign Rabbit. It will start on January 22nd of 2023 and end on February 9th of, 2024. So, this Lunar New Year, or the spring festival, marks the transition of the Chinese zodiac sign from one animal to the next. So, Astrological Shift can be introduced as the Major Reason Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year.
What are the Top 10 Reasons Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year is a time-honored tradition that is celebrated by millions of people around the world. From the colorful parades and fireworks to the delicious traditional foods and the opportunity to spend time with loved ones, there are countless reasons to embrace this special holiday. Whether you’re of Chinese descent or simply appreciate the rich culture and history behind this celebration, Chinese New Year is a wonderful time to come together, exchange gifts, and ensure good fortune for the coming year.
Here is the list of the Top 10 Reasons Why We Should Celebrate Chinese New Year:
- Celebrate the Astrological Shift
- Lucky Rituals
- Value Traditional Customs
- Honour Ancestors
- Family Togetherness
- Wealth of Food
- Appease the Traditional Deities
- Celebrate a Year of Hard Work
- Ensure Good Fortune
- Gifts and Celebrations
So, let us celebrate Chinese New Year with open arms and embrace the customs and traditions that make this holiday special. It is a time to forget the past, embrace the present, and look forward to a bright future! We, The Daily Top 10, have a good suggestion for you. Do you like to write to us? We will accept the Top 10 guest posts each month, so what are you waiting for? Contact us for guest post opportunities.
Author: Saumya M.
Saumya M. is a passionate content writer known for her impeccable storytelling and research. She has covered topics ranging from travel and lifestyle to entertainment, community, and education. She helps people live their best lives and reach their full potential.
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