The Chinese Lunar Year is centuries old and gained significance because of several myths and traditions. Monday, February 8 is the date of Chinese New Year 2016: The Year of the Monkey.
The monkey ranks ninth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, in which each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year cycle. Years of the Monkey include 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 and 2028.
Also known as Spring Festival, Chinese New Year is China’s most important traditional celebration, with more than 4,000 years of history. It begins on the first day of the first lunar month (usually in late January or early February) and ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival).
Celebrated as a time for families to be together, festivities include a reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, ringing the New Year bell, lighting lanterns and fireworks, giving children “lucky money” in red envelopes, and sending Chinese New Year greetings. It is also traditional for families to thoroughly clean their homes to make way for incoming good luck and to sweep away any ill-fortune. They decorate their windows and doors with red paper cut-outs printed with popular themes of “happiness,” “wealth,” “longevity” and “good fortune.”
Chinese people may celebrate the occasion in slightly different ways, but their wishes are always
the same; they want the coming year to bring good health and good luck to their family members and friends.
