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Another interesting thing about Chinese New Year is that very few people know when this holiday is celebrated without looking at a traditional Chinese calendar because it never falls on the same day. The ancient Chinese used a lunar calendar. (Today we use solar calendars.)
During the time period before New Year, people acquire and prepare the necessary food and new clothing to wear. Food has a major prominence in all Chinese festivals, and New Year is no exception. This is the time for purchasing and eating huge quantities of dried meats and fruits, special sausages, sweet and salty cakes, and numerous other delectables. Many foods have symbolic value. The Chinese eat leafy Mustard Greens which is called "Longevity Vegetable", a glutinous rice including eight various meats and vegetables called "Eight Treasure Rice", and fish. The Chinese word for fish rhymes with their word for surplus. By eating half of a fish on New Year's Eve and saving the remainder for the next day, families can transfer their surplus luck to the New Year. Families are supposed to clean out their houses, wash all household utensils and discard unwanted items. People also make symbolic sacrifices in honor of the Earth God.
The high point of the season is New Year's Eve. Every member of every family returns home on this day, if possible, to share a sumptuous dinner with his/her family. Children receive "red envelopes", or lai si, containing gifts of lucky money. Sleep is not easy on this night as the New Year is ushered in with the thunderous roar of exploding firecrackers and whistling rockets calculated to frighten the fiercest of evil spirits and venerate the gods. This continues sporadically until after dawn on New Year's Day. With the coming of daylight, homes again become a buzz of activity as ceremonial candles are lit, incense and paper money burned and the cacophony of firecrackers begins anew. Spring poems or couplets, consisting of lucky phrases written in black or golden ink on red paper are pasted on or around every family door. Breakfast on this day is followed by a round of visits. The first stop, traditionally, is made at a local temple, where respects are paid to the gods. Next come visits to relatives and friends.
Certain precautionary measures are taken to insure that the New Year will be a good one. Every house gets a thorough cleaning before New Year's Day so that the coming New Year will commence fresh and clean. No sweeping is done on New Year's Day, for in sweeping any dirt from the house the family's good luck might also be swept away. Care must be taken not to break any dishes, and the use of knives, scissors, and any sharp instrument is to be avoided for these things could cause harm, and thus bad luck in the coming year. Hair must be cleaned and set prior to the holiday, for to do so during the New Year season would invite a financial setback. Beauty shops and barber shops take advantage of this by hiking their fees twofold just before the New Year.
New Year is also a time of some trepidation for debtors, since this is when accounts are traditionally settled so that the coming year can be started off with a clean slate. The days following New Year include more religious ceremonies. The eleventh day is a time for inviting in-laws to dine. The Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day after New Year, marks the end of the New Year season.