On January the 23rd 2012 the whole of China will be celebrating the New Year, so if you want to be part of it book China Flights with Air China now!
2012 is the year of the dragon that traditionally symbolises power, strength and bring good luck. The children born in the year of the dragon are supposed to be confident and hardworking as it is the luckiest of all animals. A number of Chinese proverbs refer to the Dragon, for instance ‘Hoping one’s son will become a dragon.’
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the biggest Chinese celebration of the year and celebrations traditionally continue for 15 days. It is a time for families to congregate and buy presents, new clothes and have haircuts. Their homes are thoroughly cleaned to sweep out any bad luck from the old year and make room for future good luck.
Cultural customs include dragon dances, which occur in every city and town throughout China. The aim of this is to scare away evil spirits. The dragon is carried on poles to the beat of a drum that represents the dragon searching for wisdom and knowledge. The Dragon can vary in length, from a few metres to 100m long. Chinese people believe that the longer the dragon the more good luck it will bring.
Each home is decorated with red and gold decorations. Red is a lucky colour and is supposed to frighten off the monster Nian, who is thought to come on New Years Eve. Gold decorations are used to bring wealth to the residents. Cities are a sea of red and gold lanterns, which is such an incredible sight that you cannot miss it.
Celebrations for this festival are the most extravagant in Beijing, as it is the capital city of China. The city is filled with excitement and joy as the Bejingers prepare for the most thrilling event of the year. The best place in Beijing to experience Chinese New Year is the Temple fairs. Here there are mass gathers every year because people come to soak up the colourful ambience, watch the entertainment and gasp at the firework display. In addition to this, traditional arts and crafts are sold, games are played and Chinese food is savoured.
At Chinese New Year ‘tikoy’ is eaten, which is a type of dumpling and is stuffed with a variety of different fillings. They can contain different meats, seafood or various Chinese vegetables. The Chinese people often make tikoy in their homes and give them to friends and family as gifts.
Shanghai also puts on a magnificent array of Chinese celebrations including firework displays, which can be enjoyed throughout the city. Fireworks are used to demonstrate the New Year belief of ‘out with the old and in with the new.’ Many more electrifying celebrations occur, including Yangee dancing which is an exciting event where family and friends come together to have tremendous fun. Yangee dancing can be traced back 2000 years ago, when it was a religious activity to greet the Gods and dispel evil. However, today it has a recreational purpose and is particularly enjoyed at this time of year.
If you want to be part of this enormous celebration and experience a once in a lifetime opportunity book China Hotels now! Places soon get booked up because everyone wants to be there, so what are you waiting for?
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