On the 14th of February 2010, the whole world will be covered in red. The West because of Valentine’s Day, the East because of the Chinese Spring Festival or Chunjie. The Spring Festival is the most important Chinese holiday, and they won’t let it pass unnoticed.

It all started in the year 2697 BC, at least according to the Chinese. If we are to follow their calendar, after February 14th, it will be the year 4707. Even though many Chinese are very proud of their country’s long track record, they use the western calendar in their everyday life, out of convenience. Very few people know when this holiday is celebrated without looking at a traditional Chinese calendar because it never falls on the same day. The ancient Chinese used a lunar calendar. On a lunar calendar, the new year begins the first night of the new moon after the sun enters Aquarius. This date is anywhere between January 20 and February 19 (on a solar calendar). Chinese years are grouped in sets of 12 with each year being represented by an animal. The year 2010, or more correctly 4707, is the year of the Tiger. Those born in tiger years are natural leaders and excel as actors, pilots, writers, and managers. They are authoritative, courageous, emotional, and intense.

Each year around Spring Festival, every Chinese is on the move. Chinese busses, trains, airplanes and other transportation vehicles are used to bring Chinese families together, inside or outside of China. It is yearly the largest human migration on earth. The increased economic wealth allows some Chinese families to enjoy this holiday outside their homeland, with favourite destinations being Australia, Thailand, Korea, and the latest: Europe.
It originally lasted for about 4 weeks, but now only lasts for 3-5 days. The exact origin of this holiday is too old to be traced, but many explanations still exist. One idea is that the holiday originated when a beast named Nian (which means year in Chinese) came out the night before the new year and started to prey on the people in the villages. Of course, the people were very frightened by this monster and so a brave old man went up to the beast and said to him that instead of eating the people of the villages, he should eat the other beasts that frightened these people. Nian followed the old man’s request and all of the beasts were chased into the forest. The old man rode away on Nian’s back, and as it turns out, the man was an immortal god. The people of the village were very grateful to the old man for giving them a peaceful life. Before the old man left docufor good, he told the people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at the beginning of each new year because the color red scared the beast. They also set off firecrackers to scare away the horrible beast. This is only one idea about how Chinese New Year began, there are many other ideas about how this celebration began. Most people just celebrate the holiday without really knowing why.

It is common knowledge that Chinese know how to serve a good meal. most delicious dishes are served during the holidays. The foods served at these feasts vary, but what is served is always a tradition for that family. Before they eat, they place their food on alters and make offerings to the gods. A Chinese New Year celebration would not be complete without fireworks. There are many beliefs about why fireworks are used. One is that the noise wakes up the dragon who will fly across the sky to bring the spring rain for the crops. Another belief is that the noise of the fireworks is supposed to scare away all evil spirits and misfortunes, preventing them from coming into the new year. In fact, gunpowder was invented in China over 1000 years ago for that very purpose. Firecrackers are thrown at the feet of the dragons in the parade to keep them awake for the celebration. The dragons are believed to sleep the rest of the year.