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CHINESE NEW YEAR 2007 18th February 2007… © Written by Michael Hanna 2007
Are you prepared for 2007?
CLICK HERE FOR PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION Chinese New Year 2007 Chinese New Year (according to the lunar calendar) starts on the second New Moon (18th February 2007) after the Winter Solstice and is celebrated by Chinese all over the world. It heralds new beginnings and a fresh start. At a social level, it is very much a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. Chinese New Year falls on February 18th (Sunday) 2007 (Lunar calendar) 00.14 China, 16.14 (Saturday 17th )United Kingdom, 08.14 (Saturday 17th) California USA, 17.14 (Saturday 17th) Barcelona and because the CNY falls close to midnight in China and because of time differences it will fall what appears to be a day early in most countries. I have done a Chinese New Year world time converter table to assist you. This is the date you celebrate the Chinese New Year with Ang Pow, fireworks etc and not the date you use to place your cures and enhancers in Feng Shui (February 4th 2007). The Lunar Chinese New Year Day is very different from the Solar (Hsia) New Year Day (February 4th 2007). The Lunar Calendar formulates the days of the month according to the cycle of the moon whereas the solar year is governed by the sun. Although the Chinese solar year starts on a different date from the western year, the theory whereby the year is calculated on how long it takes the earth to go round the sun is the same. The lunar cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days and in order that the start of the Lunar New Year is not too far removed from the Solar New Year, the Chinese insert an extra month, this being called an intercalary month, once every few years. This is why Chinese New Year Day falls on a different date in each of the two calendars.
Whilst the solar (Hsia) calendar starts the New Year at the beginning of Spring, which falls normally between the 4th and 5th of February, the lunar (yueh) calendar marks the new year on the second New moon after the winter solstice. In 2007, Lunar Chinese New Year also called the 'Spring Festival', falls on 18th February 2007 which is the New Year that is celebrated by all ethnic Chinese. The solar New Year (4th February 2007) is not celebrated at all and only used for Feng Shui placement. Why has the Chinese New Year come so late in 2007? Typically the Chinese New Year falls around January 22nd to February 10th For example, 2006 Chinese New Year Day was on 29 January 2006. The reason for the late Chinese New Year in 2007 is because year 2006 has had extra lunar month double 7th lunar month (Leap Month). Which is on the 7th lunar day of 7th lunar month. It also pushes down the date of Chinese Moon Festival into October 2006. This means that the Chinese New Year Day comes late on February 18, 2007. The weeks running up to New Year's Day are very important because one must be well prepared for the New Year as it sets the example for the year's luck. For one, all debts have to be repaid before the beginning of the New Year or else you will be in debt to others throughout the year. By the same token, anything lent out to family and friends must be collected before the beginning of the New Year or else one will be lending for the rest of the year.
Making sure that the house is cleaned and dusted is important to ensure that old stagnant qi is cleared away making way for fresh auspicious qi. The whole house must be cleaned before New Year's Day. Cobwebs must be cleared out and any old and broken items thrown away. Following cleaning, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dustpans and other cleaning equipment are put away out of sight. To do otherwise would be to threaten the new qi that is arriving and this is something that everyone wishes to avoid. For our home and office it is a bit of a pain as we treat the western New Year the same as the eastern and we end up doing all these rituals twice every year with such a short space in between.
After flowers come the fruits. Oranges and tangerines are two very symbolic fruits in the celebration of Chinese New Year. They are symbols for abundant happiness. The colour of oranges and tangerines represents gold and, together with a 'hung bao' ang pow, (red packet containing money), they are offered to friends and family as gifts symbolising gold ingots.
Traditionally, the run up to the celebration of Chinese New Year is the 'Reunion Dinner'. An extravagant banquet is laid out to mark the onset of the New Year where young and old gather for a reunion dinner to symbolise family unity. Family members try to get home from different places before or on New Year's Eve to celebrate this special occasion in the family home. Married daughters will spend their reunion dinner in the husband's family home.
Some of the dishes that are laid on the banquet table have superstitious attributes such as: Ginkgo nuts which represent gold ingots and are therefore much appreciated. Black moss seaweed is an indicator of prosperity. This is also true in the case of a whole chicken which is a desirable addition to the feast. Dried bean curd is for happiness and luck. Lotus seed is seen as a fertility symbol and signifies having many offspring. Nian Gao is a traditional sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding, the eating of which will aid growth and abundance. Bamboo shoots as, in Chinese, the words sound similar to the Chinese for "hoping that all turns out for the best". A whole fish with its head and tail intact representing togetherness. Reunion Dinner
Children are bathed and dressed in their new pyjamas and promised the arrival of "Tsai Shen Yeh" (Chai Shen Yeh) (the Wealth God). Whilst they sleep, the parents slip an ang pow (a red envelope with money) under their pillow signifying a visit from 'Chai Shen Yeh'. Children can also expect to receive red envelopes from uncles and aunts with the amount that is given being dictated by the closeness of the family relationship and also the age of the child. Older children can usually expect to receive more than younger ones and so someone who has a large family and who has taken a hammering on the mah-jong tables is in for trouble.
At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and old qi of the past year and to greet the arrival of the New Year. In the UK it is legal to set off fireworks on Chinese New Year as with our normal New Year and Guy Fawkes Night.
In your finest and newest clothes New Years Day itself starts with the exchange of good wishes amongst the family. Married couples present the young ones, children and unmarried adults alike with a Hung-Bao. In Chinese culture, instead of giving a wrapped up present as we do at Christmas in the UK, it is a customary to give this red envelope containing some money. The amount contained has to be in even numbers. Even numbers are auspicious unless it is a single Chinese i-ching coin on its own. For example, it could be two dollars, ten or twenty dollars. It is amazing how much one can accumulate in a day. If you follow this link you will find an article on red envelopes and how they used for Chinese New Year; if you follow this link you will find more details angpow2007.htm
You will also find a piece on Chinese talismans, this is really is superb and you must read it; follow this link after you have finished this article. talismans2007.htm
The day continues with visits to relatives. The visiting rota has its unspoken hierarchy arrangement. The oldest get to sit at home and wait for the younger relatives to visit them to exchange good wishes. This is a very exciting time for the children as for nearly every 'Kung Xee Fa Chai' (it means Congratulations and May you be Prosperous) we recite, we get an ang pow (red envelope containing money) for it.
The second day of Chinese New Year is named 'Kai Nien' meaning "Year Beginning" which starts with a very early morning breakfast. Again special dishes with symbolic names will be served. The special dish of the day is long noodles which are served with everyone competing to toss the noodles as high as possible with their chopsticks. The tossing of noodles is a symbolic gesture of longevity. This means that, unless you are unable to do so, you stand up and raise your arms full stretch in the air holding the noodles aloft. In order to get extra lift off, some people use super long chopsticks and stand on chairs so you do have to make sure the ceiling fan is turned off.
Unlike in the west, Chinese New Year is not a time for alcoholic excess. In fact, alcohol is generally not drunk as people limit themselves to enormous amounts of Chinese tea. Some will have a Chinese wine with their meal but, particularly as the emphasis is so much on the family nature of the celebrations, nobody goes over the top.
Normality returns with business as usual on the fourth day. Many businesses will choose a specific day to start business with the assistance of their Feng Shui Practitioner and initiate the new trading year with a spectacular display of Lion Dance and fire crackers. It is a very noisy and happy affair.
Greetings and an air of festivity remains for another eleven days through to the full moon of the first lunar month when another celebration follows but this time it is to mark the closing of the Spring Festival. Day 15 is also called the 'Spring Lantern Festival' (Yuan Xiao Jie). This wonderfully romantic celebration takes place under a full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the year.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this and may you have a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year in 2007. There are many links below on the Chinese New Year and traditions.
Are you prepared for 2007?
Visit the pages below for further details on Chinese New Year etc. Chinese New Year 2007 ** How to make your own Ang Pow **Chinese Talismans for 2007 ** Chinese animal predictions for 2007 ** Flying star Xuan Kong 2007 ** Salt Water cure information ** Avoid the fury of the Grand Duke, three killing etc ** Chinese New Year world time converter ** 2007 Cures and enhancers kits ** How to take a compass reading ** How to determine your facing direction ** Feng Shui software ** Feng Shui resource **
© Feng Shui Store 2007 The below copyright information does not apply to anyone who wants to copy our content or send to a friend or even store on your computer for their own personal use and development. Please feel free to copy and paste or share with as many people you like. The below is intended for the many people who steal our content and claim it to be their own work. Copyright law protects this material and we use the latest software to track theft from copy & paste or other saving techniques. We are more than happy to share our content, all you need to do is ask our permission and agree to give us credit for our hard work and a link back to our website. Contact michael@fengshuiweb.co.uk for more details.
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This
is also the time to renew protective 
In
readiness for the New Year the house must be decorated with live blooming
plants which symbolise rebirth and new growth. Flowers such as pussy willow,
azalea, peony and water lily or narcissus symbolise wealth and high position
in one's career. If there are no flowers, the result would be a lack of
fruit later in the year. It is considered very lucky for the household
if a plant blooms on New Year's Day as they can then expect a year of
prosperity. Plum blossoms and bamboo are also displayed to symbolise perseverance,
reliability and longevity.
About
a week before Lunar New Year, traditional families will be busy preparing
the religious ceremony performed with tributes and offerings in honour
of Heaven (Tien Shen) and Earth (Ti Tu), and of the various deities of
the household together with family ancestors. One of the most well know
deities is the 
This
is a family banquet of special dishes and delicacies artistically named
with auspicious symbolic meanings. The dinner will start with a prayer
of tribute and offerings to the ancestors and deities at the family altar.
It is a very colourful and lively affair when every light is supposed
to be kept on the whole night.
The
Reunion Dinner is a very busy affair. The women buzz around the kitchen
with the dinner preparation whilst the men either watch TV or (guess what?)
play mah-jong. Mah-jong is an extremely important part of Chinese culture
and is played by men and women alike, often in halls exclusively dedicated
to the game. Mah-jong is linked with gambling with huge sums of money
being won and lost by the players. An excellent memory is required to
remember which tiles have been laid down and which remain. Once a certain
point in a hand has been passed, you need to pay special attention as
if you are the one to put down the tile that enables another player to
win that hand, you not only have to pay your own losses on the hand but
those of the other two losing players as well. This can mean serious money.
Two
days of overeating and general fun and games are quite a lot as the Chinese
do not hold back on these occasions. The Chinese relationship with food
is close all the year but at no time more than at New Year. Many dishes
have particular significance especially at this time. Even everyday dishes
like fish and turnips have special meanings and none more so than fish
balls and meat balls both of which suggest reunion, a most important element
at this time. However, after two days, even the Chinese can have enough
and recognise that energy levels need to be restored. The third day is
therefore a day of calm. Traditionally, it is not a day for risks or adventure.
The young ones will venture out to see friends but it is a quiet day.
No offices or businesses are open on this day.
On
this day, old and young carry a colourful lantern and gather in a neighbouring
public place. They gather to admire and appreciate the first full moon
of the year (very similar to the Mid Autumn Festival). In China, there
are still villages which hold a big Tang Yuan (rice dumplings) cooking
and eating session. The dumplings are round and symbolise family unity
and completeness. The mid-month Lantern Festival traditionally brings
the seasonal passage of the New Year to a conclusion.
