The Year of the Pig

This year's Spring Festival or Chinese New Year will be celebrated from as early as February 4th culminating with the Lantern Festival which is 15 days after New Year's Day (February 18th). The New Year is based on the Chinese lunar calendar which was created about the same time as our Gregorian calendar. There are 12 lunar months of 28 days with every four years being a leap year. For the Chinese, this is the equivalent of the western Christmas holiday.

On New Year's Eve, fireworks are used to drive out the "monster", Nian, who only comes once a year. Traditionally, most Chinese will stay awake all night to make sure the monster is driven out. Fireworks also bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. As I sit here on New Year's Eve, I hear constant fireworks combined with the sound of car alarms which the noise of the fireworks triggers. I expect the fireworks will last much of the night.

Chinese families will gather together and eat special dumplings called jaiozi, watch festivities on TV, or go out and set off fireworks. It is also the tradition to visit relatives at the New Year, although many people will travel to their traditional home to celebrate the New Year. The Chinese government has declared a holiday from February 17 to February 25th. However, some people are still unable to travel long distances so they make their visits by telephone and even e-mail. The most important people in the family are visited first but one must be sure to make contact with all the important people in one's life. It is now a national tradition to watch CCTV on New Year's Eve much like westerners watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Year's Eve. Children are given gifts of money which is presented to them in little red envelopes.