Chinese New Year in 2024: Facts
If you are a follower of Asian culture, we will tell you some interesting facts about the Chinese New Year in 2024.
In this regard, millions of people are looking forward to the Chinese New Year in 2024, as it is one of the most important festivals of the year.
We cannot forget that the Lunar New Year marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar.
This year it falls on February 10, kicking off the 15-day Spring Festival.
Whether you know it or not, it would be good to refresh some curiosities of the Chinese New Year in 2024.
In China, the Chinese New Year in 2024 is framed by the Spring Festival festivities.
Chinese New Year in 2024 begins with the second moon after the winter solstice, a date that can range from late January to mid-February in the Gregorian calendar.
Chinese New Year in 2024: Facts
It should be noted that the Chinese New Year in 2024 begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and lasts for 15 days, when the full moon arrives.
It is a time when families usually gather and travel long distances to get home to see their loved ones.
The tradition was threatened two years in a row by the coronavirus. For many, this is the only opportunity of the year to return home and bring bags of gifts.
A large family reunion dinner is usually held on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which this year falls on February 9.
The menu at Chinese New Year in 2024 includes fish (the Chinese word also sounds like “surplus”), puddings and foods that look like gold bullion.
Each of the 15 days that make up the celebration has its own traditions.
On Chinese New Year’s Eve in 2024, for example, families gather for dinner together.
There is also the custom of staying at home to receive good fortune or visit in-laws.
On the other hand, money in a red envelope, called “hong bao”, is given to children and adults without a partner. In recent years, the gift has migrated to digital.
The fireworks in the Chinese Lunar Year
The tradition of setting off fireworks comes from the custom of lighting bamboo stalks to ward off evil spirits, such as the half-dragon, half-lion monster “Nian”, who according to legend comes out of hiding on Lunar New Year to attack people.
But his ears are his weakness, so in ancient times people used to set fire to bamboo stalks to scare him, this tradition was replaced by fireworks.
And the Lunar New Year ends with the Lantern Festival, celebrated at night with parades and displays of decorated lanterns.
The main event of this day is the Dragon Dance: beautiful dragons made of paper, silk and bamboo are held above the heads and appear to dance during the parade.
2024: The Year of the Dragon
Although incredibly complex, the Chinese zodiac calendar is best described as a 12-year cycle represented by 12 different animals, in this order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, which means that 2024 will welcome many baby dragons into the world.
Those born in 2025 will be snakes, and so on.
Its followers believe that, for each Chinese zodiac sign, luck will depend largely on the positions of the Tai Sui.
Warding off bad luck
Preparation for the Lunar New Year includes the aforementioned placement of red banners with auspicious phrases and idioms (called fai chun in Cantonese, or chunlian, in Mandarin) at home, starting at the front door.
These will serve a dual function: keeping Nian away and inviting good fortune.
In addition, in Chinese New Year 2024, a big cleaning should be performed in homes on the 28th day of the last lunar month, which this year falls on February 7.
But on the second day, you can’t take out the garbage, as it is said that this way you erase luck and prosperity.
On the third day, on the contrary, it is better not to visit anyone. It is a day prone to arguments, according to tradition. By the seventh day you can celebrate.
The goal is to rid your home of any bad luck accumulated over the past year.
And don’t clean anything again until February 12, or you’ll be wiping out all that good luck that came at the start of the new year.
Another holiday in the celebration of the Chinese New Year in 2024, is the Lantern Celebration, the highlight of the entire Spring Festival; it is celebrated on the 15th and last day (February 24, 2024).
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