Chinese New Year's Day

Chinese New Year's Day is one of the important days for Chinese. Celebrated on the first day of the first month in Chinese's calendar, it is a time for Chinese to show their feeling of gratitude to God. Usually, on the Chinese New Year's Day, Chinese gather with their families and they eat delicious meals together. In Chinese's tradition, the younger people at home must great the older ones (such as parents and other older relatives) by lumping their hands(the left covers the right hand) and saying "Gong Xi Fa Chai" or "Happy New Year". Then, the older ones will say "Gong Xi Fa Chai", too and give the special red envelopes which is filled with money (the Chinese usually call it "Angpau") to the younger people. After that, they visit their neighbors one by one to solidify the ties of friendship among them. They also invite people from different religions to come to their houses in order to solidify the ties of friendship in the society where they live. The atmosphere is very crowded, especially with the presence of Barongsai (A superhero creature in Chines History whose the body is dog's but the head is lion's). Barongsai usually visits the Chinese's houses one by one and you know what? The Chinese are happy for that. For them, it is a gift and their houses will be blessed for that year. That's why the Chinese always wait for that moment. They give the Barongsai "Angpau" to show their gratitude and the Barongsai will bow it's body to respect the owner of the house.
Because Chinese New Year's Day is an important day for Chinese, there's no doubt that they must do the preparations for it. Well, to welcome that Big Day, Chinese usually clean and repaint their houses every year. These are as symbols that they are ready to live in a new year with clean and new heart, new hope and expectation for a better life in a new year. About several days before the Big Day, they made a traditional cake named "Kue Keranjang(Basket Cake)". The cakes are made from glutinous rice powder, palm-sugar and sugar. So, the cakes are sweet in taste.
However, the most important thing moment is not the Chinese New Year's itself, but a day before it. A day before Chinese New Year's Day, Chinese always do the homage to God. They present some meals, such as meats, rice, cakes, fruits, and drinks. This to show their feeling of gratitude to God for what they have received for a year. Actually, this tradition is derived from the habit of farmers in China. After the harvest, they presented some meals as their presences to God. And they prayed and hoped for better harvest in the following years. And at night, they fired the fireworks. A day after they pray, they celebrated the harvest. They held parties and had fun. They visited and congratulated each other for the result of the harvest. They ate meals and drank the drinks. The point is, they enjoyed the day. The atmosphere was very crowded.
Once, the leader of Chinese Dynasty saw the farmers' habit. So, one day, he ascertained the harvest praying day as the end of the year and the party day as the beginning of a new year.Well, this is the history of the Chinese New Year's Day and it's celebration.
And, on January 26th,2008, Chinese will celebrate Chinese New Year's Day. Em, this year is the first time for me to celebrate this Big Day far from my home. So, I hope that the atmosphere will be as merry as i've experienced at home. I hope I can have fun and enjoy it. And I hope God always gives a better life and other best things to my family.