Chinese New Year – A little history
Chinese New Year – A little history
Thailand is currently gearing up for the Chinese New Year (CNY), which starts on 22 January 2023. Also known as the Spring Festival, It is the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This year is the ‘Year of the Rabbit’. CNY is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture and also widely celebrated in other countries across Southeast Asia where there is a significant Chinese population.
Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. The evening preceding the New Year’s Day is often regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for an annual reunion dinner. It is also tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Another custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets. Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes.
The Old Phuket Festival takes place around the same time as Chinese New Year, right in the old Sino-Portuguese quarter of Phuket Town. A must-see is the Chinese Dragon Dance Procession, which offers a kaleidoscope of colour in the streets during the 2-day festival. You may have heard of the famous dragon dance performance during CNY. Chinese dragons are believed to have control over water, rain, hurricanes and floods. They also represent power, strength and good luck. The Chinese believe that performing the dragon dance during festivals and celebrations drives away evil spirits and ushers in good luck and blessings for the community.
The dragon dance is a spectacular part of the vibrant CNY celebrations together with noisy firecrackers, and colourful processions. Do take advantage of the excellent shopping bargains!
Contact our Rock Star team to find out where it all takes place: reservations@katarocks.com.
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