This year, Chinese New Year falls on February 3rd, 2011, and Chinese households the world over are in a hustle and a bustle of preparations and anticipation. How can you prepare for this most significant of Chinese holidays? Here are a few pointers on essential tasks to do before the holiday – fun things you can do to get into the spirit of the Lunar New Year.
1. Clean the House Top to Bottom
One traditional task that must be accomplished before Chinese New Year arrives is to clean out your house. The Lunar New Year symbolizes a fresh start, and you don't want to jinx your New Year's luck by letting the Old Year's dirt accumulate throughout the New Year holiday. So whip out your sponges and your mops, put on some Chinese opera, and scour your house top to bottom, shooing out any old bad luck that might be hiding in the corners.
2. Buy Food, and Lots of it!
Like most holidays, Chinese New Year is an excuse to feast on delicious goodies. Since your entire extended family will most likely be dropping by at some point during the holiday, you'll want to lay in a good store of food. Pick up some mandarins, clementines, oranges, and other “gold” colored citrus fruits, which symbolize good luck. At your local Asian market, you'll find a new shipment of snacks such as candied fruits and Chinese New Year pudding (“nian gao”). And don't forget longevity noodles (any long noodle will do, but Asian stores carry specific noodles for the holiday) and whole fish (yes, with the head and the tail attached) which symbolize long life, and prosperity, respectively.
3. Go to the ATM and Buy Red Pockets
A side effect of your entire extended family dropping by for Chinese New Year is the expectation that, traditionally, married relatives will give red envelopes full of money to children and unmarried relatives. So you may wish to get a pocket load of cash, and buy a supply of red pockets (available at Asian grocery stores), so you'll be ready with gifts. New bills are best. Of course, this may not apply to you if you are unmarried and/or a child, in which case you'll be on the receiving end of the red pocket train (lucky you).
4. Dust off Your QiPao, Cheongsam or Other Traditional Clothing
What, you don't have the traditional red and gold Chinese costume? Anything with a theme of red and gold will do, as they symbolize luck and prosperity. You may also want to consider festooning your home with banners of red and gold as well, posters of dragons, sticks of incense, and fresh flowers.
5. Brush up on Your Chinese Greetings
You can't celebrate Chinese New Year without practicing the traditional Chinese greetings. In Cantonese, “Gung Hay Fat Choy” means you're wishing someone happiness and prosperity in the new year, and the equivalent phrase in Mandarin is, “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (pronounced “gong shi fa tsai”). Try saying it to your elderly relatives to see if this phrase will magically produce a red pocket for you. Who knows? It might be your lucky year.
Camilla Cheung - Camilla is a Canadian freelance writer currently living on the Central Coast of California. She has a background in teaching and ...
