In a few days, we will again witness how well-off Chinese tradition is when it comes to welcoming New Year. Also called as Spring Festival and Lunar New Year, Chinese considers this event as their longest and most significant festivity in Chinese calendar.
January 23, 2012 will be the start of the new year and it is now in year 4709 by Chinese calendar. Welcoming the year of the dragon will surely have its people busy. Lots of our Filipino-Chinese friends will have a demanding schedule for a week. Surely, China Town in Binondo will be jam-packed with people who want to have fun and experience Chinese new year.
So, how will our Filipino-Chinese friends celebrate their yearly tradition?
Traditions of Filipino-Chinese in New Year
1. FOOD (TIKOY) - Also called as nian gao. Of course, who doesn’t know this sticky food made of rice? I’ll bet every Chinese household have this. According to wikipedia, it is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to 年, meaning "year", and the word 糕 (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to 高, meaning "high".
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2. DRAGON AND LION DANCE - It’s always a tradition in a Chinese New Year to have a dragon and a lion dance. Made out of colourful fabrics that we’ll surely catch everyone’s attention for it is simply remarkable.
3. ANG PAO - It is the money bag for Chinese. Also called as the “Red Envelopes” this is the best place to put your token of appreciation for someone or a monetary gift. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to deflect evil spirits.
4. LUCKY CHARMS – According to Chinese traditions, it’s better to have charms in welcoming new year. Different charms for wealth, love, health and other aspects of your life that you want to improve. And because it’s the year of the dragon, lots of dragon charms and items spread out the market, they have the Dragon Jade Charm, Dragon Jade Necklace, Dragon Purple Jade, Crystal Dragon and more.
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