Getting ready for Chinese New Year
CHINESE homesteads in Durban will soon take on festive colours as families prepare for New Year next month.
“The Chinese New Year is a huge festival and means a lot to Chinese people. It’s also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year. It’s virtually the biggest event of our lunar calendar,” said Frank Lin Wu, co-dean at the Confucius Institute, based at the Durban University of Technology.
The institute, which promotes Chinese language and culture, is also preparing to celebrate the New Year on February 16.
“Although the Chinese New Year starts at the first day of the lunar calendar, the celebratory activities won’t be limited to one day.
“People are busy cleaning the house, preparing and cooking. This festival is intended to ring out the old year and usher in the new, to celebrate the bringing -in of the harvest and to pray for good luck in the coming year,” he said.
Red is the favoured colour to signify good fortune and joy, and red Chinese lanterns are a popular decor item.
On the eve of the new year, a reunion dinner is held, called “nian ye fan”.
Wu said traditional dishes were prepared, such as dumplings which come from northern China.
After the dinner, families attend prayers at temples to pray for a good new year.
“However, in modern times, families host parties and a countdown,” he said.
There is a tradition of handing out red packets to children, which contain money. He said families also write couplets, a form of poetry, on their front doors, which contain words of happiness and hope.
Other important representations include a Chinese New Year painting, which is filled with bright colours and images that also contain good wishes for the year ahead, as well as paper decorations which are hung at the windows.