by Emily Knight and Hadly Patterson
Chinese New Year is often forgotten about in the general area when in fact it is the longest and most important Chinese holiday. Chinese New Year marks the end of winter and is called the “Spring Festival”. Because the Chinese calendar is according to the moon, otherwise known as “luni-solar”, Chinese New Year is a different date every year; it can begin anywhere from late January into mid-February. On the Chinese New Year’s Eve, families get together for a huge dinner which usually includes pig, duck, or chicken. Prior to this, the families clean out their homes for good luck. It is believed that the cleaning will get rid of misfortune in their lives. On the fifteenth day, a lantern festival where children go out at night holding beautiful paper lanterns officially ends the holiday. Last year was the year of the dragon and started on January 23rd. This year in 2013, it will start on February 10th and will be the year of the snake. This has been Emily Knight and Hadly Patterson reporting for the Current OC.