15 Days of Chinese New Year

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An important preparatory date for the celebration is December 24 of the lunar calendar.

Many Chinese believe that on this December 24th the "Kitchen God" goes back to heaven to render a report to the Jade Emperor, who is believed responsible for rewards and punishment. Since the god in charge of the kitchen is believed to be an envoy from the Jade Emperor, people want to get on his good side, hoping he will hide their bad deeds and only speak about the good deeds when he makes his report. So, in order to get his favor, they clean his shrine over the stove thoroughly and offer him cakes and candies. Some even burn paper money to help the Kitchen God with his travelling expense or burn a paper horse for him to ride on.

Others go a step farther. Feeling that it is not safe enough just to bribe the Kitchen God, they try to get the god drunk to make sure he does not give a bad report on them. They do this by dipping a portrait of the Kitchen God in wine. At midnight they send him off with a burst of firecrackers. They desire that he "send a good report to heaven and herald peace to the earth."

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During the few days before the new year, the markets are more crowded than usual as everyone is buying extra food for the special meal and for the New Year holidays, during which time the markets are closed.

This dragon's body goes far south down Third Avenue in the direction of Union Station. Signs along street read: Chop Suey Noodles; Lun Wo & Co. Chinese General Merchandise; and The H.F. Norton Co. - Hides, Pelts, Wool & Furs, Art Leathers.

Photo Credit: Georges Sequin (Okki) / Wikimedia Commons

People also like to buy flowers for the festive season. It is the time for the narcissus to bloom, so you will see many hawkers selling narcissus bulbs in the market. Peach blossoms and miniature mandarin trees are also very popular. The color seen most at this time of the year is bright red, which is considered a happy color.

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First & Second Day

On the first and second days of the new year, whole families can be seen going from place to place visiting. In addition to gifts, they carry a generous supply of red packets with varying amounts of money in them to distribute to children.

Understandably, these red packets are very popular with children, as this provides them with a little money to buy candies and toys. In theory, any unmarried person is entitled to receive red packets, but in practice very few single grown-ups accept them.

When visitors arrive they are offered sweetmeats and melon seeds. Sometimes they are also invited to drink some sweet juice and have some New Year cakes. Though such hospitality is greatly enjoyed by children, the grown-ups often view it with less enthusiasm. After feasting on such an abundance of rich food for a few days, people frequently suffer from indigestion.

Third Day

According to custom, people avoid visiting on the third day of the new year, for they believe that doing so will cause them to quarrel with their friends throughout the year.

Though many no longer believe this, most still abide by the custom, for it gives them a chance to rest a bit after two busy days of visiting.

Fourth Day

In those communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for only two or three days, the fourth day is when corporate "spring dinners" kick off and business returns to normal.

Fifth Day

People eat dumplings in the morning. It is also common in China that on the 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers in the attempt to get Guan Yu's attention, thus ensuring his favor and good fortune for the new year.

Seventh Day

The seventh day of the new year is considered an important day. It is called "Everybody's Birthday." According to ancient custom, the first day of the new year is considered the rooster's birthday, the second day the dog's, followed by the birthday of the pigs, goats, cattle, horses, with the seventh day assigned to humans.

The Cantonese customarily gather together for another family meal on this seventh day. Thus ends the first phase of the New Year celebration. Though in the past the celebration would go on till the fifteenth day, the busy life people lead nowadays seldom allows them to continue it that long.

Eighth day

Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. However, everybody should be back to work by the eighth day.

All government agencies and business will stop celebrating by the eighth day. Store owners will host a lunch/dinner with their employees, thanking their employees for the work they have done for the whole year.

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Ninth day

The ninth day is traditionally the birthday of the Jade Emperor. Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, thanks will be offered to the Emperor of Heaven. Tea, fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and gold paper is served as a customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person.

Tenth day

The Jade Emperor's party is also celebrated on this day.

Eleventh & twelfth day

Nothing of extreme significance, traditionally, takes place during the eleventh and twelfth days.

Thirteenth day

The Chinese eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the past two weeks.

This day is dedicated to the General Guan Yu, also known as the Chinese God of War, God of Wealth or the God of Success.
Guan Yu is considered the greatest general in Chinese history, representing loyalty, strength, truth, and justice.

Almost every organization and business in China will pray to Guan Yu on this day. Before his life ended, Guan Yu had won over one hundred battles and that is a goal that all businesses in China want to accomplish.

Fifteenth day

The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as Yuanxiao Festival (otherwise known as Chap Goh Mei "the fifteen night" in Fujian dialect). This day marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities. Rice dumplings, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day is celebrated as the Lantern Festival, and families walk the street carrying lighted lanterns.

In Malaysia and Singapore, the 15th day is celebrated by individuals seeking a love partner, a different version of Valentine's Day. Normally, single women would write their contact number on mandarin oranges and throw it in a river or a lake while single men would collect them and eat the oranges. The taste is an indication of their possible love: sweet represents a good fate while sour represents a bad fate.

The most popular New Year greeting is "Kung hei fat choy," meaning, "May you have good fortune and riches." It seems that people in general consider material riches the greatest success and most desired goal in life. In fact, in many communities in China the fifth day of the new year is considered the day of the 'Money God.' On that day people receive the Money God into their houses with offerings of incense and sacrifices, hoping that this will bring them prosperity in the new year. Years ago, in the city of Shanghai, people used to stay up all night on the eve of the Money God's return to set off firecrackers to show their welcome.

As one might expect from the popular greeting, many of the New Year customs are closely related to fortune. Some religious persons offer incense at the temples in an effort to obtain good fortune in the year to come. They also offer food there, and then take the food home and give it to the children to eat, believing that this will bring them good fortune. Also, many avoid using any sharp instruments, such as knives and scissors during the New Year festival, thinking that these might cut off their good fortune. Many put up good-luck posters over their doors.

There are certain taboos during the New Year festival that are closely related to fortune. For example, many persons will not sweep the floor during this festival, since they fear they may sweep good fortune out of their homes. All sweeping is done before New Year's Eve. Not only that, any who do sweep up dirt are careful in the way they do it; it must be swept inward, lest good fortune be swept from the house.

So, from the welcoming of the Money God, to the traditional New Year greeting, and even to the sweeping of the floors, it can be seen that the desire to get rich figures prominently in the Chinese New Year celebration