With the Chinese New Year marking its first day tomorrow, here is all you need to know about the Year of Rabbits!
*Chinese New Year will commence on January 22 and the lantern festival on February 5 will mark its climax.
*The celebration will go on for up to 16 days. However, only the first 7 days, from January 22 to January 29 are declared a public holiday, making it the longest holiday in the country.
*The Chinese New Year was originally celebrated to pray to gods for a good harvest season. However, there is a myth that a monster who would come every New Year's eve was once defeated by a child who fought him off with crackers. Ever since, the Chinese have been extensively bursting fire crackers on the New Year.
*Chinese New Year is celebrated to make the transition between signs. 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, while 2022 was the Year of the Tiger.
*Rabbit is fourth in the list of zodiac animals. According to astrology, men who have this zodiac are believed to be “extraordinarily polite” and women are “social and hate violence”.
*Unlike what outsiders may think, the people who belong to the zodiac of the year are believed to be the “unluckiest”. In fact, to dodge bad luck, the colour red is used in clothing, decoration etc as red was also believed to scare the monster away back in the day. The superpowers of the colour are so prominent that many people even wear red underwear to protect themselves!
*Chinese New year is also referred to as the spring festival where the country officially marks the end of winter and welcomes the harvest season.
*Unlike Western culture, where there is a set date for festivals, the Chinese new year has no fixed date and can range anywhere from January 20 to February 20.
*Interestingly, Chinese New Year causes the “largest human migration” in the whole world as the occasion mandates families to stay together irrespective of which part of the world they reside in, they all travel back home.
*Known as “lucky money” children receive money inside red envelopes from adults who hope for the money to bring about fortune to their offspring. They also decorate their homes with red colours, lanterns and hangings.
*Unlike the Indian New year when we are forced to take a bath, clean our homes etc to ensure we follow it for the rest of the year, in China bathing is strictly prohibited on the day of the new year and throwing the garbage away is also not allowed till Feb 5 in China. This is to ensure one doesn't “wash away the good luck.”