Hi all,
Chinese New Year will take place on the 23rd of January this year and the coming year will be the year of the dragon. In Chinese mythology dragons are signs of power, luck and strength and so I think you will agree that this is a good start to the year!
A great time to send your loved ones
Chinese new year e cards and well wishes, this is also a fantastic chance to get involved with the celebrations by visiting a New Years parade (many cities will have street events planned for this occasion
click here for some information on what is happening across the globe here) or by holding your own Chinese New Year event.
The legend of the first New Year begins with 'Nian' - a mythical creature that terrorised villages on News Years Day by eating crops, livestock and villagers. People realised that if they left food out for Nian, he would not hunt for anything else. They also realised that the creature was scared of the colour red and from then on, people have left red lanterns and spring rolls outside of their doors to warn Nian away.
Celebrated for a number of days, many famillies will get together for a special meal on new years eve. Traditional food includes fish and chicken dishes, as well as dumplings, mandarin oranges, melon, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, noodles and many other dishes. On this night gifts are also exchanged with friends and relatives and elders will give money to younger generations within red envelopes.
This is a magical celebration full of tradition and myth and great fun to get involved with. If you want to hold your own celebration, here are some ideas of things that you can do:
- Visit your local Chinese supermarket to buy some red lanterns to hang outside of your home, or if you do not have somewhere you can go locally - there are some beautiful ones available to buy online here at Asianideas.com
- Make some fact - cards that you can put on your table for your guests to learn about the myths and traditions of the event. This is a great way to get kids involved in the occasion as well as help them learn about it as they can research the traditions, fill the cards with interesting facts and then decorate them using their new knowledge.
- Make some of your own fresh and crispy spring rolls. You can hang some outside (kids will love doing that) or just have them with your wonderful dinner. Here is a great recipe I found by Ching-He Huang
- Make a selection of other traditional dishes to celebrate with your loved ones. Click here for a fantastic list of recipes that you might like, alternatively you could try finding somewhere to buy pre-made food or order in (if you can find anywhere that is open!)
- An alternative to gift-giving for your guests is to buy red envelopes for each of your dinner guests (you will find them in your local stationary store or if not you can get a great selection here on Amazon) and fill them with some chocolate coins. This is a cheap yet fun way to honor the tradition.
- Ask your dinner guests to dress in red
- Add more excitement to your celebration by setting off fireworks (safely) in your garden
I hope you have a fantastic time celebrating!
Please do share any tips of advice by commenting, I love to have your feedback.
Katie x
P.s. Beautiful, animated and musical e cards for all occasions. Send unlimited e cards within your membership for a small subscription fee.
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