tips to get ready for new year

Tips to get ready for New Year

The calendar year just begun or about to begin.Happy New Year , New Years Day .
61. FOOD
The big dinner is sure an important part of this beautiful celebration, and there is a variety of traditional dishes that are prepared specifically for the Chinese New Year. Many of these dishes are served because of their meaning and association with specific energies, as well as on specific days of this long celebration. For example fish in Cantonese sounds like abundance, so there is always a fish dish at the Chinese New Year celebration. The uncut noodles symbolize long life, while the many sweet dishes are expressions of hope for sweetness in the New Year. You can look up the recipes for some of the most popular Chinese New Year dishes, such as Steamed Whole Fish,Longevity Noodles,Buddhas Delight, Jai Vegetarian Dish,Jiaozi Chinese Dumplings. The mandarin oranges are a must at the Chinese New Year table because they are a symbol of good luck, also called golden luck.
62. SOCIAL CUSTOMS
The morning after the New Years day many traditional red envelopes with a bit of money in them are given to children and friends. This symbolises a helping hand from the older generation to the younger one, as well as wishes for prosperity and financial well being. Small gifts are also exchanged between family members and friends. You might be familiar with the lion dance, which is often performed during the Chinese New Year in both businesses, as well as some homes. The meaning of the lion dance is to evict and neutralize all negative energy from the previous year. The firecrackers during this celebration have the same purpose of evicting the evil spirits. Traditionally, the Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days with the festival of Lanterns being the culmination of this big holiday. This is the day when numerous candles are lit on the streets of Chinese communities to symbolize the coming of a fresh new light of the New Year. The beautiful sight of many red paper lanterns with a gentle flickering of fire in them is a welcoming symbol of the hopes and wishes for a beneficial New Year.
63. Dirty Doings
Put your feet up and relax. Certainly the most enjoyable of the Chinese New Year superstitions, sweeping and cleaning is strictly forbidden. The Chinese believe cleaning means you'll sweep all of your good luck out the front door.
64. Time to Come Clean
Before you can enjoy number two, you need to give the house a full spring clean, before putting cleaning tools in the cupboard on New Years Eve.
65. Read Between the Lines
Be sure to stock up on reading materials before Chinese New Year, as Hong Kongs bookshops will be padlocked tight. In Cantonese, book is a homonym for lose.
66. Choppy Waters
Make sure you avoid rough seas in the new year by not buying shoes over the holiday period. In Cantonese, shoes are a homonym for rough.
67. Balance the Books
If you are in debt, its time to dip into your pockets and pay people off. The Chinese believe that if you start the new year in the red, you will finish it the same way.
68. Ghostly Conversations
Caught round a campfire over the holiday period? No ghost stories. Tales of death, dying and ghosts is considered supremely inauspicious, especially during Chinese New Year.
69. Lady in Red
Chinese New Year is packed with colors, and while all the colors of the rainbow bring good luck, its the color red that is considered the ultimate luck bringer.
70. Sweet Year
Hong Kongers have a sweet touch at the best of times, but Chinese New Year offers the perfect chance to raid the sweet shop, as eating candies is said to deliver a sweeter year.