The Chinese New Year Festival

The Chinese New Year Festival is the most loved festival in China. This traditional fest has been celebrated for more than four thousand years. It came about from ancient celebrations to mark the end of the long winter season and the beginning of spring. This is why it is also called the Spring Festival. For Chinese people, the Lunar New Year is the celebration of the year, a time for happy reunions, family and friends, rich in colourful traditions and customs. And all over the world, wherever there is a Chinatown, the festivities are a colourful display of dragon dances, lantern festivals and feasts. In western countries, New Year’s Day always falls on January 1 st . In China, New Year’s Day is also the first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar! Therefore, Chinese New Year dates vary each year and could be at the end of January or in February. The New Year celebrations begin on New Year’s Eve, the big party is on New Year’s Day, and the action continues for the next 15 days. It all ends with the first full moon of the year, fifteen days later with the Lantern Festival, another great carnival and the perfect ending to this great holiday season. There are many Chinese traditions associated with the New Year celebrations. Here are a couple of the most popular ones: The Dragon Dance Parade brings good luck and is an important part of any Chinese celebration, specially the Lunar New Year.
The Dragon Dances begin on New Year’s Day, and continue throughout the festivities for the next fifteen days. A cloth dragon is held on poles by a team of a dozen or more members who make the dragon “dance” by raising and lowering the poles.
The Chinese Lion Dance is often mixed up with the Chinese Dragon Dance. The Dragon Dance is performed by a team of ten or more dancers, whereas the Lion Dance team consists of only two. The Lion Dancers perform to the sound of drums for the first three to five days of the New Year. They dance in front of stores and businesses to scare off evil spirits and to bring good luck to everyone.