Have a prosperous Year of the Dragon!
-Monday the 23th will be the 1st day of the year in lunar calendar, so it will be the biggest day for the Chinese people. Usually we will greet our parents in the morning, they will then hand out “red-pocket” as a symbol of luck, we put cash in the red-pocket. According to custom the senior will give red-pocket to the young ones, and the married couple will give to the single ones. So you can imagine how excited for the kids during the CNY*, because it is the only time of the year they earn their “income” :)-explains Thomas Tijong, Artistic Director in Cattivo Jewelry Co. Ltd based in Hong Kong and Mainland China. I asked him to drop us, Europeans, a line about Eastern, especially Chinese customs and traditions connected with celebrations of the Lunar New Year.
Cattivo Jewelry Co. Ltd
15/F Oversea Bldg,
14 Hennessy Rd,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Moblile: +852-90909375
-Traditionally, there is performed a lion dance. You may find clips on Youtube. Historically, it was a form of martial art, but nowadays it becomes more like a performance. There are also so many types of food and cakes specially dedicated to this period of time, but I am really not an expert on it, so I can’t tell you much about it. For the first 3 days of the year (it will be 23-25th this year), people usually go around visiting relatives and friends, it is the time of the year people gather together. In mainland China, since a lot of people work far from home, before the CNY*, people will rush back to their hometown, you can imagine when the whole nation of people moving in all direction at the same time, how chaotic it can be, the train/flight ticket are ruthlessly expensive, or even impossible to book!- he added. Many thanks and all the best to Thomas Tijong and all our friends from the East Asia.
*CNY-Chinese New Year