Chinese New Year

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Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, also known as
the Spring Festival, will begin on 26th January
2009. It is the main Chinese festival of the year
and it is not a religious event. As the Chinese
use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the
date of Chinese New Year changes from year to
year. The date corresponds to the new moon (black
moon) in either late January or February. In
China it is the biggest celebration of the year.
                                                 
                             
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The Year of the Ox. The Chinese calendar is made
up of a cycle of twelve years, each of them being
named after an animal. This is very like our
signs of the zodiac. Some people believe that
people born in a particular year such as the Year
of the Dog will have some of the characteristics
of that animal. January 26th 2009 marks the start
of the Year of the Ox.
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Chinese New Year Customs Chinese New Year is a
time when families get together to celebrate. It
is also a special time to remember members of the
family who have died. Every family buys presents,
decorations, food, new clothes. Houses are
cleaned from top to bottom. Doors and windows are
often newly painted in red. On New Years Eve
decorations made from red and gold paper are hung
down the doors to bring good luck.
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New Years Eve Everyone comes together for dinner
which is a feast. A popular food is jiaozi
which are dumplings boiled in water. A coin is
often hidden in one of them. The person who finds
the coin is thought to be lucky. On New
Years Eve lights are supposed to be kept on
until midnight when there is a display of
fireworks and firecrackers which are meant to
scare off evil spirits. People greet each other
by saying 'Kung Hei Fat Choy!', which means Happy
New Year!
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The Dragon Dance There are also processions in
the streets. These are normally led by a dragon,
which is a symbol of good fortune and power.
Dragon dances are also performed to scare away
evil spirits. The dragon model always includes
the colours red, gold and green. It is supported
by a team of dancers and weaves its way round the
streets.
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The Lantern Festival The celebrations end on the
fifteenth day with The Festival of Lanterns.
Everywhere is decorated with lanterns of
different sizes and in the streets there is music
and dancing. The making of lanterns in China is a
tradition which goes back 500 years. Red lanterns
are thought to be lucky.
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CELEBRATE CHINESE NEW YEAR AT ST. MARGARETS
WITH AN AUTHENTIC CHINESE DISH SERVED LUNCHTIME
EACH DAY FROM MONDAY 26TH JANUARY MONDAY
26/01/09 Braised Beef with steamed
vegetables and black bean sauce served with fried
rice TUESDAY 27/01/09 Chicken Char
Suiwith Hoi Sin noodle stir fry WEDNESDAY
28/01/09 Singapore Special Chow Mein served
with soya sauce THURSDAY 29/01/09 Sweet and
Sour Pork served with lemon pepper rice FRIDAY
30/01/09 Szechwan Chicken with
bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and rice noodles