Chinese New Year

Imagine yourself as a tourist whom just visited singapore for a vacation around late january and mid february. As you enter the city, you see fireworks in the air; firecrackers sounding the streets; little boys and little girls all dressed in red ethnic costumes running around playing with sparklers. You begin to wonder, what on Earth are this people doing? Well, this scene is seen throughout many asian countries during Chinese New Year. This is a time when families reunite, exchange red packets.
How did this festival come about? There was a legend about how Chinese New Year came about. There was a mythical beast called 'nian' or year. It would visit a village during the start of Chinese New Year and wreak chaos. The villagers seek a wise old man whom drifted in to town not long before the attack. The wise old man told the villagers that the beast was afraid of loud noises and the colour red. The villagers heed the old man words and prepared for the next attack. They pasted red clothes on their door, dressed themselves in red clothings and prepared many items that could produce loud sounds, this includes cymbals and drums. When the beast came to attack the village, the villagers were all prepared. The beast were afraid to attack the villagers this time as they were all dressed in red. The villagers saw this and started making loud noises with the cymbals and drums. The old man heated a sealed bamboo and let it crack. The beast was frightened by this and dared not attack the village any more. The villagers treated this as a celebration and practised it every year. That is how Chinese New Year came about. However there are many different legends on the start of Chinese New Year and this is just 1 of them.
Every holidays has its own superstitions and believes, but what superstitions does Chinese New Year hold? Well many believed that on the festival date, it is appropriate to open all doors and windows to usher in the good luck. Switching on the lights is good luck to scare away the misfortunes that may affect the new year. Sweets are eaten to ensure a sweet year ahead. Cleaning up the entire house from top to bottom to welcome the good luck for the coming year, however, this is to be done BEFORE Chinese New Year. This is because that cleaning the house during Chinese New Year means that you are sweeping away the good luck. Buying books on that day is bad luck as books in chinese sound like lose. Avoid clothes that are black and white in colour, wear red clothes.
What about its practices? Red packets are often exchanged when visiting relatives. Inside the red packets contains cash. Usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundreds. However, you will never find a red packet containing $4 as the word 4 sounds like death in chinese. People often buy new clothes on this festive season to symbolize the beginning of a new year. Often red is worn. During the festivals, you will find many people who hang the character 福 upside down on their doorsteps as it symbolizes the arrival of prosperity.
If you see any of your Asian friends next time, celebrating this festive season, be sure to greet them 'gong xi fa cai' which means congratulations and be prosperous.