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Chinese New Year is a very old celebration, a time for repaying debts, enjoying feasts, giving "red envelopes" of lucky money to friends and relatives, and remembering ancestors.Yan Yat - The seventh day of the Chinese New Year is called Yan Yat, "Everybody's Birthday."
There are many delightful ancient stories and superstitions surrounding this holiday. A most popular story is the ancient story of Nian, which went something like this:
Once upon a time ....
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Which explains why people in China believe the color red signifies joy and luck, and why noise makers are rattled on Chinese New Year. At midnight, firecrackers, paper dragons, noise makers, the waving of red ribbons and banners all help to drive away any lingering evil spirits from the old year. (In case "Nian" is still lurking about somewhere!)
On Chinese New Year Eve, parents encourage children to stay awake as long as possible, because legend says that the longer children stay awake the longer their parents will live.
The Kitchen God was an important ancient deity. Once each year, right before the new year, this god's job was to make an annual report about the behavior of the household to his boss, the "Jade Emperor".
Today, as part of the Chinese New Year celebration, sweets are often exchanged so that the kitchen god's report will be sweet and flattering. (Nobody believes in the kitchen god anymore, but almost everyone likes the treats!)
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Learn more about Chinese New Years
Countdown to Chinese New Years
Animals of the Chinese Calendar
Wonderful FREE Chinese New Year Clip Art
Free PowerPoint presentations about Chinese New Year
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