by Tammy Lim

Created on: January 28, 2009

Chinese New Year starts with the new moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The Chinese calendar is derived from a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is around twenty and a half days. If we refer to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year will fall on a different date each year. Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family event, a time of reunion and relationship bonding.

During the 15 days of the Chinese New Year, there are many traditional beliefs with meanings. It is a customary practice that the color red is used widely for everything, not just limited to decorations. Most of the time, gold is the accompanying auspicious color for the Chinese.

When visiting a Chinese family for Chinese New Year, please bear in mind the following:
Clothing
Avoid wearing clothes that are black or white as these two colors are used mainly for mourning at Chinese funerals. Do wear red or warm colored clothing like orange or yellow when you go on your visits, as these colors are considered "happy" colors. Red clothing is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year as it is believed that red will drive away evil spirits and bad fortune. Also, Chinese usually wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the Chinese New Year. For the Chinese, wearing of new clothes too represents having more than enough things to use and wear in the New Year ahead.
Red packets

Red packets, also known as (Cantonese "lai see") or (Hokkien "ang pow") or (Mandarin, "hong bao"), are given during Chinese New Year, by married couples or the elderly to unmarried adults, children, maids and employees. Red packets are also called "Ya Sui Qian" which means the money which is for suppressing the evil spirit. Traditionally, red packets were given in pairs, one from the husband and one from the wife, also, the Chinese believe that good things come in pairs, also known as "hao shi chen shuang". For the modern Chinese, for the sake of convenience, just one red packet is given.

Red packets usually contain money, varying from a few dollars to maybe a few hundred. By customary practice, the amount of money in the red packets is mainly in even numbers as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals, known as "bai jin". Six is a lucky number as in Chinese, six or "liu" means smooth, that is having a smooth year. Eight is also a lucky number as it sounds like "wealth", thus, $8 is commonly found in

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