The Celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year
Written by Jenny Ma
Image source: Arnold, Karen. “Year Of The Rat 2020 Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures.” Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures, www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=312277&picture=year-of-the-rat-2020.
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The beginning of the year is usually special for the Chinese. Chinese people always celebrate the Lunar New Year in February. This is one of the most significant festivals in China because it represents the start of a brand new year in China. There are two different types of calendars in China. The most common one is the Gregorian calendar which we use in normal life. The other one is called the Lunar calendar and it is well-known among the Chinese. It depends on the monthly cycles of the Moon’s phases. The Chinese Lunar New Year is based on the Lunar calendar, which means it would take place in a range of dates in February each year. The Chinese Lunar year in 2020 is on January 25th. This year, the year of 2020, is the Year of the Rat according to Chinese Zodiac.
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Chinese people celebrate Chinese Lunar year in numerous ways due to their customs. No matter where you are from, every Chinese will travel back to their hometown and their families will have dinner together before the Chinese Lunar year. Dumplings are one of the most common foods for northern people, while Tang Yuan is a typical type of food for people in the south. Tang Yuan is made of glutinous rice and sesame, and it represents peace and unity.
Furthermore, people in the younger generations will pay a Chinese Lunar call to parents and the elders so that young people will receive red envelopes with expectations and blessings. The Chinese will also watch the Spring Festival Evening Gala during the dinner to spend their spare time. Different people have different ways of commemorating the Chinese new year. One vogue style is to have a “Red War”. Red envelopes with different amounts of money will be sent in the group chat. Afterwards, people will join the “Red War” so that they would get a random fortune from the red envelope to their own digital wallet. This game creates an atmosphere between the people. However, the coronavirus outbreak happened in China at the beginning of this year. It has remarkably affected people around the world. According to the statistics provided by China, more than 4500 have been infected and at least 106 people have been killed. It significantly threatened everyone’s lives. Citizens had no choice but to stay at home in order to keep themselves away from the public, so as not to contract the highly infectious virus. There was nobody on the streets and many people could not meet their family due to the virus. 2020 was a nightmare for those celebrating the new year.
In spite of this year’s circumstance, the Chinese Lunar New Year stands for hope and praise. Everybody has his/her individual way to celebrate Chinese New Year. Although this year was partially distinct from the previous years, the only thing that never changes is the belief that a new start is there for you.
Furthermore, people in the younger generations will pay a Chinese Lunar call to parents and the elders so that young people will receive red envelopes with expectations and blessings. The Chinese will also watch the Spring Festival Evening Gala during the dinner to spend their spare time. Different people have different ways of commemorating the Chinese new year. One vogue style is to have a “Red War”. Red envelopes with different amounts of money will be sent in the group chat. Afterwards, people will join the “Red War” so that they would get a random fortune from the red envelope to their own digital wallet. This game creates an atmosphere between the people. However, the coronavirus outbreak happened in China at the beginning of this year. It has remarkably affected people around the world. According to the statistics provided by China, more than 4500 have been infected and at least 106 people have been killed. It significantly threatened everyone’s lives. Citizens had no choice but to stay at home in order to keep themselves away from the public, so as not to contract the highly infectious virus. There was nobody on the streets and many people could not meet their family due to the virus. 2020 was a nightmare for those celebrating the new year.
In spite of this year’s circumstance, the Chinese Lunar New Year stands for hope and praise. Everybody has his/her individual way to celebrate Chinese New Year. Although this year was partially distinct from the previous years, the only thing that never changes is the belief that a new start is there for you.