People reunite to spend quality time with their loved ones and to celebrate the coming New Year. Chinese New Year 2014 started on January 31st in the Chinese calendar was the year of the Snake. Chinese New Year Eve dinner is a celebration in itself. On the night of New Year's Eve, Chinese families use to have a delicious feast. The dinner starts only when all the family members are present at the table.
This ritual is also called "surrounding the hearth" as they eat the dinner around the family hearth. In this modern era, where nuclear families are becoming so popular, this ritual plays an important part in preserving the roots of Chinese tradition. Many dishes that are been served on Chinese new year eve have auspicious meaning. Like "Long Year Vegetable" (mustard greens) represents "long life" whereas "Whole Chicken", symbolizes wealth for the whole family.
They also prepare Chinese dumplings stuffed with meats and vegetables on Chinese New Year eve. The celebration of Chinese New Year starts from Chinese New Year eve and this festival of togetherness continues till the 15th day when the moon is brightest. They burn fire crackers to keep ill fate away from them. People wear red clothes; decorated with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes and stick to their roots.
The Chinese new year eve is a fifteen day celebration in china and it falls on different each other but the celebration is huge and filled with the spirit of enthusiasm and joy throughout the fifteen long days. The combination of both lunar and solar movement is reason behind the fall of this occasion in the months of January and February.
With the beginning of this day, the whole of china is not only filled with the spirit of joy but all the families and Chinese people, plan this special occasion in a most auspicious and memorable ways. Families decorate their homes with pretty and dangling lights and on the other hand, many of them also prepare traditional food items at their home and enjoy a special and memorable part with a private party at home. During these fifteen auspicious day, the celebration goes on and the Chinese people celebrate on the roads, they come out wearing traditional clothes and enjoy their day at a Chinese new year parade that symbolizes Chinese dragon, signifying power, divinity and good luck.