Chinese New Year 2018

T

he celebrations of the color Red and the Dog are all set to exuberate in China and all around the world from Friday, February 16 this year. The Chinese zodiac moves in a 12-year cycle and this year will be of the Earth Dog. The gala marks its beginning with the first new moon between January to February. The Earth Dog along with its elements will make it apparent, how and what the year shall bring for us and like every year, a bunch of legends and old wives’ tales will be belling around.
 

Myths

Many myths and stories explain to us the grand celebration and tradition the Chinese New Year encompasses. The myth of the sharp-horned beast, Nian is believed to be the essence of the Chinese New Year. Nian dwelled in the depths of the sea and appeared on every New Year’s Eve to satiate his hunger by preying on people and livestock. One fortunate year an old man put red papers all over the village and burned firecrackers. Nian was scared away by the red inferno and it never made its way back to the village. That year forth, the people followed the same course of blazing crackers and quilting their villages in red and this has become a significant festivity and merrymaking ever since in traditional and modern fashions.
 

 

Chinese Zodiac Animal of the Year

The year 2018 is the year of Earth Dog. All of the integral and watchful qualities that bound a dog will influence the year in a fair, liberal and more responsible aspect and will be equal and successful.
 

 

Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival puts the days of revelry to an end till the next year. It is a splendid and lit up sight to experience and feel with a collection of traditional tales of its own.
 

 

What to Eat

The 16-day festival is filled with the most sumptuous food menu in its course, each of them carrying certain auspiciousness with them. Traditionally meat, chicken, pork and fish are eaten in the form of various delicious and scrupulous dishes, majorly dumplings, spring rolls, noodles and the delectable niangao (glutinous rice cake). The first feast of the festival is Buddha’s Delight, an illustrious vegetarian dish to mark the beginning of the fortunate period of gala and also to bless the upcoming year and the families with prosperity and peace. Fortune fruits also fill the basket of the traditional food like tangerines and oranges along with dried fruits in red and black Chinese candy boxes.
 

 

What to Wear

Adorn yourself with the brightest or fiercest red you’ve got. Legend has it that red drove away the evil and brought good luck and so, every New Year, people wrap themselves up in red or other bright colors. A major fashion phenomenon revolutionizes during this period. Brands and fashion houses are lined up with new and exotic collections blasting with glamour and shimmer of the fashionable spirit of the festival. The Tang Suit, qipao, cheongsam and the hanfu are some of the traditional Chinese clothing which are now donned in new and modern ways.
 

 

Events

It begins with the invocation of the deities and the din of the firecrackers followed by the official beginning of the New Year. Grand gala celebrations are held and deities are worshipped and exalted. Feasts and dinners are offered to people and are served with utmost happiness symbolizing the prosperity and fortune which will follow. The exuberance concludes on the fifteenth day with the Lantern Festival