Gong Hey Fat Choy!!! Happy New Year!!

     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 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 -year cycle. This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is only  accoring to the solar calendar , the chinese new year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's eve  and new years day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving.  The celebration is traditiona;y highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honour of heaven and earth the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacifice to the ancestors , the most vital of all the rituals , united the living members with those who have passed away. Separated 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 community feast is called "surrounding of the stove" or weilu.  It symbolizes family unity and honours the past and the present generations.

         The fifiteen day celebration of Chinese New year!!!!!!!!

1st day- the first day of the lunar new year is welcoming of the gods of the heavens and the earth. many people abstain from meat on the first day of the new year because it is  believed that this will ensure long and happy lives for them.

A chinese tradition is that family members are to give young children and single family members hongboa with money in it. Hongboa is red envelopes.Here is Miss Diva with hongboa from me , mom and Jeannette. She thought it was great. I am loving that I am learning so much about her culture and can follow through with it. We love you missy!!!