The Introduction of The Chinese New year Josephine

The Introduction of The Chinese New year Josephine Huang

Area • Mainland China, • Indonesia, • Malaysia, Singapore , • Vietnam, • Chinatowns Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Taiwan,

Custom • pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. • cleans the house to sweep away any illfortune • Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets

family reunion dinner • Fish: is usually eaten or merely displayed on the eve of Chinese New Year. The pronunciation of fish (魚yú) makes it a homophone for "surpluses • Turnip cakes: A dish made of shredded radish and rice flour, usually fried and cut into small squares.

• Nian Gao: Most popular in eastern China (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai) because its pronunciation is a homophone for "a more prosperous year (年高 lit. year high)". . Known as Chinese New Year pudding, nian gao is made up of glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, salt, water, and sugar. The colour of the sugar used determines the colour of the pudding (white or brown).

• Melon Seed: Other variations include sunflower, pumpkin and other seeds. • Dumplings: Eaten traditionally in northern China because the preparation is similar to packaging luck inside the dumpling, which is later eaten

Red envelopes • during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, it is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children

Gift exchange • Gifts are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gift.

Clothing • Clothing mainly featuring the colour red or bright colours is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it was once believed that red could scare away evil spirits and bad fortune

Shou Sui • occurs when members of the family gather around throughout the night after the reunion dinner and reminisce about the year that has passed while welcoming the year that has arrived. Some believe that children who Shou Sui will increase the longevity of the parents.