Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the first day of Chinese New Year! It is the most important holiday in Chinese culture, I have been told and to what I have experienced. While I have never experienced the holiday outside of my family celebrating, it still felt like the most significant holiday of all of them. This may not mean much but my family didn't celebrate many holidays in general. But I certainly remember the traditions of the new years. I haven't been home for the Chinese New Years for several years now; I certainly miss it.

I remember growing up, the eve of the new year, we would have a family dinner when my parents came back from work. This would usually be around ten, which is late for a child. My mother would cook like 12 various dishes served with rice. Each dish being so delicious: Pork with the extra crispy skin, duck, the wonderful bean curd, rice noodles, and so much more delectable dishes. Then, the night would end with the surprise (A surprise at least for the first couple years); a red envelope with money.

Then, the next morning usually with my mom waking my siblings and me up with a piece of brown candy. This brown candy is literally a bar of sugar, awesome right? What kid wouldn't want to start off the day with sugar!? Then, my mother would burn fake paper money and other festive papers, which I think is for paying respect for our ancestors. We also payed our respects by bowing three times. Incenses would also be burned, creating a smell very distinct that reminds me of all the Chinese traditions my family does. What a wonderful smell! It was always a great time when the smoke detectors would go off; what a sight seeing our family trying to stop it. Then we ate a similar meal to the night before. This would happen for multiple days, which was amazing.

Another tradition of many Chinese households is to have a "Fu" symbol, meaning luck/fortune, but it was hung upside down. I somehow knew it was upside down my entire life but I don't know how to read/write in Chinese. Another tradition is not being able to wash your hair on New Years, it is considered bad luck. Is this any worse than walking under a ladder?

While I don't consider the holiday or myself very religious, I really enjoy it. It really brings out how important family is to a person. Of course being a kid, receiving red envelopes filled with money doesn't hurt the reputation of the holiday. The Chinese culture is so strongly present in the new year tradition. The Chinese are strongly family-oriented, very spiritual, and extremely superstitious. It no surprise that on Years of the Dragon, 2012 included, the China sees a bump in births. The dragon is the symbol for strength and goodness. It is no doubt, it is seen superior to the other eleven animals of the zodiac. It's great seeing the dragon dance with the loud and wonderful drums; the dragon chasing the evil spirits away! If you have never seen it, I would highly recommend it! I definitely want to learn more about my heritage, it seems so interesting and I have so much to learn.

I will leave at my zodiac (For those that don't know, it's not only zodiacs but types too [Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, Earth):
Earth Snakes always seem to be calm and content. They’re friendly and approachable and believe that they’ll reap great rewards by working hard and relying on common sense.

What is your zodiac?