恭喜发财 - “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, Happy Chinese New Year, 2023.
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) 2023: Jan. 22, Animal Sign Rabbit, Horoscope.Chinese New Year 2023 will fall on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023, starting a year of the Rabbit. What is the Chinese New Year 2023 Animal? — Rabbit ,Chinese zodiac years.The Chinese zodiac gives each year an animal sign. Chinese New Year 2023 is a Year of the Rabbit, more specifically, Water Rabbit, starting from January 22nd, 2023, and lasting until February 9th, 2024.
The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Is 2023 Lucky for You? — Chinese Horoscope 2023 for 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals
How is the Lunar New Year celebrated?
A quarter of the population in Malaysia is of Chinese descent, hence Chinese New Year takes on great importance and is a national holiday. Chinese New Year is the most important annually recurring festival for people of Chinese ancestry all over the world. It has been celebrated for over 1,000 years – possibly much longer, and the traditions involved are deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. For many, it is also a religious holiday, full of prayers, offerings, and other acts of devotion.
In Malaysia, as elsewhere, people prepare for Chinese New Year well in advance. Houses are cleaned out thoroughly before it arrives to “sweep out any bad luck,” but brooms are hidden away on New Year’s Day for fear of “sweeping away the good luck” that the arrival of a new year brings. New clothes, to be worn on New Year’s Day, and a large stash of food for New Year’s Eve dinner, are also purchased in advance, making the shopping centres very busy this time of year. Greeting cards are also commonly exchanged.
Chinese New Year Food
Food plays an integral role for the Chinese as well as most Malaysians. Hence, during the reunion dinner, one will be able to see all sorts of dishes on the table including the famous Yee Sang, stir-fry leeks, stick cakes and others.
Yee Sang
A traditional dish, Yee Sang comprises of thinly sliced pickled vegetables, strips of raw fish (usually salmon), other sauces and condiments like ground peanuts. This dish is also known as the Teochew-style raw fish salad.
Leek
Vegetable in Cantonese is “choy” which rhymes with ‘wealth’. Hence, fresh vegetables are importance to the Chinese especially during festive celebrations. Leek, or “suan” in Cantonese rhymes with “counting and planning”.
“The Tray of Togetherness”
Sticky Cake
Sticky Cake is also known as “nian gao” which means ‘year cake’ when translated. As the name suggests, the cake is sticky as it is made of glutinous rice flour, brown sugar and oil.
Chinese New Year Decorations
Decorations play a huge role as part of welcoming and celebrating Chinese New Year. Chinese prepare to welcome the New Year. These decorations are put up each year and most families keep them in the house even after the celebration to usher in good luck and prosperity throughout the year.
Lanterns
The lantern is one of the most prominent symbols of Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year, also known as the Lantern Festival, the Chinese gather to hold up colourful lanterns at night.
Cherry Blossoms/ Pussy Willows
The Chinese believe that there will be no fruits without flowers; hence, it is very important to have flowers and plants as decorations during Chinese New Year. Plants signify growth and flowers symbolize wealth.
Couplets
Couplets are very much traditionally significant to the Chinese. They are pairs of lines of poetry usually hand-written and seen pasted on the sides of doors of Chinese homes or sometimes in the interior. These couplets are generally written with gold or black ink on red paper and put up a few days before Chinese New Year. Traditionally, it was a way to help children learn how to write Mandarin. However, these days, couplets are put up as decorations to express hopeful thoughts, aspirations and good fortune for the New Year.
Orange and Tangerines
It is almost customary to have oranges and tangerines during Chinese New Year; else it will not feel complete. Oranges, which sounds like ‘gold’ in Cantonese, symbolize wealth while tangerines symbolize good tidings as it sounds like ‘good luck’ in Chinese. Thus, they are symbols of abundant wealth and happiness.
Dragon Dances
Dragons in the Western world are known as gigantic, fire-breathing animals that steal princesses, eat people and ruin their homes.
Ang Pau Packets
Ang Paus, which are little red packets containing new money, play an important part in the Chinese culture.
The origin of Ang Paus dates back to the Sung Dynasty in Chang-Chieu, a village in China. A young orphan boy fought and defeated the evil dragon that was terrorizing the village at that time. All the villagers were delighted and hence, they presented the young boy with an Ang Pau. Since then, Ang Pau became a part of the Chinese tradition.
Ang Paus, directly translated are called red packets. Now, why red and not black or gray? Red, to the Chinese, is a colour that represents prosperity and good luck. The Chinese also believe that it is a colour to scare away evil spirits.
Cat statues in Hanoi
In Vietnam, it's the Year of the Cat.
In Vietnam, where Lunar New Year is called Tết, Jan. 22 is actually the start of the Year of the Cat. Participants enjoy special foods like Thịt Kho trứng (braised pork with duck eggs) and decorate yellow apricot blossoms and other plants.
Across Asia, red and gold symbolize good fortune. Many people wear red during Lunar New Year, and children often receive red envelopes stuffed with money. Families will hold feasts, clean their homes and visit shrines to honor deceased relative. But different communities have distinct ways of ringing in the new year: In Korea, the first day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar is Seollal, when families exchange gifts and dine on rice cake soup and savory pancakes.
Americans are typically most familiar with Chinese New Year celebrations, with dragon parades, boat races and fireworks. The Lantern Festival at the end of the New Year season includes paper lanterns and treats like tangyuan, a dessert of gooey rice balls.
恭喜发财
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