{"id":8246,"date":"2018-02-06T16:02:50","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/?p=8246"},"modified":"2018-02-06T16:02:50","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T16:02:50","slug":"chinese-new-year-2018-know-year-dog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/lifestyle\/chinese-new-year-2018-know-year-dog\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese New Year 2018: All You Want to Know About the Year of the Dog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new lunar year is about to begin, and we\u2019ve gathared everything you might want to know about it!<\/h2>\n

The beginning of a new lunar calendar is one of the most important moments of the year in the Chinese culture. But before the big day comes, people make sure their houses are ready to greet the new year, and you can expect to find several small red envelopes in every household. Chinese New Year 2018<\/strong><\/em> falls on February 16, and if you keep scrolling you\u2019ll find everything you want to know about the Year of the Dog.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Holi 2018: Why Is it Celebrated, and Other Questions You Might Have<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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When is Chinese New Year\/Spring Festival?<\/h3>\n

This year, Chinese New Year<\/strong><\/em> falls on February 16. However\u2026 Festivies last for more than two weeks, all the way through the 2nd of March. It\u2019s the biggest celebration of the year, in China!<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Every year, Chinese New Year celebrations fall on a different day. But do you know why?<\/strong> For those of you who aren\u2019t aware of this, the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar used by western societies. And one of the particularities of this calendar is that it\u2019s not static, because neither are the moon cycles!<\/p>\n

\"chinese<\/a><\/p>\n

How is the lunar new year celebrated?<\/h3>\n

Before the festivities can begin, and as we\u2019ve mentioned before, one of the most important rituals is to clean your house. According to the legend, this will get rid of any bad fortunes that might come your way during the new year.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Your typical Lunar New Year\u2019s celebration<\/strong><\/em> would include explosions of light and sound. If you\u2019re celebrating Chinese New Year, expect to hear bells ringing, lighting firecrackers and, of course, the traditional lion dances.<\/p>\n

Families typically gather around the same house to celebrate, and every kid is expected to be given a famous red envelope<\/strong><\/em> with money, commonly known as\u00a0lucky money<\/em>. Nowadays is also very common to see kids and teenagers with\u00a0red envolpe apps\u00a0<\/em>on their phones, to make it easier for their relatives to transfer them the money.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Why is this the Year of the Dog?<\/h3>\n

And what about the Chinese New Year animals? Okay, you might be aware that the Chinese calendar runs on 12 cycles, with twelve different animals that represent different personalities and traits, much like our zodiac signs on the west. The twelve animals are: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon (undeniably a fan favorite), snake, horse, goat, monkey, and rooster.<\/p>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 chinesenewyear2018<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

This year, 2018, will be the Year of the Dog, and people that are born this year will be expected to be\u00a0communicative, serious, and responsible in the workplace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What can you expect to eat?<\/h3>\n

Food is one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture, and one they take most pride in, so you can expect to find amazing food during the Spring Festival. Each dish is usually created to give blessings to the new year, and even the names and the way every dish looks are symbols of prosperity, happiness, and auspiciousness. Here are some of the most common dishes:<\/p>\n

Spring Rolls\u00a0\u6625\u5377 (ch\u016bn ju\u01cen)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"ChineseBecause they look like bars of gold, spring rolls are a wish for prosperity and wealth.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"chinese<\/a><\/p>\n

Dumplings\u00a0\u997a\u5b50 (ji\u01ceo zi)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/h4>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 Taste<\/p>\n

Dumplings are shaped like ancient Chinese silver and gold ingots.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fried Dough Twists\u00a0\u9ebb\u82b1 (m\u00e1 hu\u0101)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

In the past, the region of Daying\u00a0\u00a0was infested with poisonous scorpions. To place a curse on them, every household stretched dough into long strips, thus creating these delicious treats.<\/em><\/p>\n

What about clothing?<\/h3>\n

Marked as a time of new beginnings, you won\u2019t find a single person wearing old clothes. You are expected to be done with the old, and bring in the new. It is also very common to receive new clothes from your family as a gift, although newer generations are not actively engaging with this tradition as before. Here are a couple of options:<\/p>\n

Tang Suit\u00a0(\u5510\u88c5\u2014t\u00e1ng zhu\u0101ng)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 chinesenewyear2018<\/p>\n

A red Tang suit is a very common choice for the Spring Festival.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Qipao (\u65d7\u888d\u2014q\u00ed p\u00e1o)<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 chinesenewyear2018<\/p>\n

Qipao is the most well-known traditional Chinese dress for women.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget your home decorations!<\/h3>\n

And finally, after having properly cleaned their houses to receive the new year and its fortunes, everyone decorates their house accordingly to the special date. Red, being one of the most important and celebrated colors of the Chinese culture, is everywhere. And here are some of the most common home decorations for this time of the year:<\/p>\n

Fortune\u00a0\u798f (f\u00fa)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"chinese<\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 chinesenewyear2018<\/p>\n

Chinese people decorate by hanging up certain words. The most common word is fu, happiness and good fortune.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"chinese<\/a><\/p>\n

Lanterns\u00a0\u706f\u7b3c (d\u0113ng l\u00f3ng)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

The Spring Festival celebration spans a total of 15 days, with different activities for each day, culminating in the\u00a0Lantern Festival.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kumquats\u00a0\u91d1\u6854 (j\u012bn j\u00fa)<\/span>\n<\/h4>\n

\"Chinese<\/p>\n

Photo\u00a0\u00a9 chinesenewyear2018<\/p>\n

The character\u00a0\u6854 (j\u00fa \u2013 tangerine)<\/span>\u00a0looks similar to\u00a0\u5409 (j\u00ed)<\/span>, which means \u201cluck,\u201d while the golden color is festive and represents wealth and fortune.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Celebrate the Year of the Dog w\/ Essential Home!<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\"Chinese<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tMarie dining chair\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Chinese<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tCollins dining chair\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Chinese<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tPolanski rug\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n

\"chinese<\/a><\/p>\n

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KEEP READING:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Easter Brunch: How to Simply Decorate Your Table<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"chinese<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new lunar year is about to begin, and we\u2019ve gathared everything you might want to know about it! The beginning of a new lunar calendar is one of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16,19],"tags":[2649,2646,2651,2648,2650,2647],"class_list":["post-8246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-travel","tag-chinese-calendar-2018","tag-chinese-new-year-2018","tag-chinese-new-year-animals","tag-lunar-new-year","tag-when-is-chinese-new-year","tag-year-of-the-dog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8246"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8277,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8246\/revisions\/8277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}