Gong Xi Fa Cai…
1.) Know when the New Year will be. Due to the way that the Chinese calendar works in combining the lunar and solar movements, the actual date of the New Year changes.
2.) Decorate. This is a fun and easy way to add to the aura of festivity. This should certainly include live flowers and plants, which play a large part in the traditional festivities.
3.) Buy tickets if needed. On New Year’s Eve, traditionally there would be a reunion dinner.
4.) Wear new clothes, especially red and gold as these colors ward off evil and invite wealth. You and your loved ones will feast on rich and delicious foods. Money is given in red envelopes to the younger people and everyone celebrates the older members of the family. This is also a time when the Chinese communities might host banquet dinners and you would see the lion or dragon dancers in the streets or at private parties.
5.) Return to your parent’s home on the second day if you are a married daughter. A newlywed husband is to bring a gift with him.
6.) Go to bed early on the night of the third day. This is due to the charming legend that the mice marry off their daughters during this night and need the time to perform their ceremonies.
7.) Prepare your food offerings for the return of the Kitchen god on the fourth day.
8.) Visit the temple to lay out offerings or gifts to the Jade Emperor whose birthday is the ninth day just after midnight. Sugarcane and tea were customary offerings during this time.
9.) Invite friends and relatives to dinner and celebrations during the tenth through twelfth days and evenings.
10.) Light the night with your lanterns on the fifteenth evening. The Lantern Festival traditionally brings an end to the New Year’s celebration.
Along with the parades of lanterns, there are typically fireworks where permitted, lion and dragon dancers, and lots of delicious Tang Yuan (Tikoy) to eat.
