Chinese New Year is really just around the corner. The Chinese will definitely be busy running errands to make sure the Chinese New Year celebration is well prepared. Some may choose to start as early as a month before the celebration, which also means the last month in the Lunar Calendar. In this way, they manage to plan the things they need to have for the celebration and little by little they distribute the tasks among the members of the family and then carry them out.

Since Chinese New Year is the most important celebration among the Chinese, the celebration is always grand where family members gather at home to eat, chat and play games. Noises are definitely one thing you won’t miss during the celebration. If you are thinking that Chinese New Year is just a one- or two-day celebration or just over the weekend, then you are sorely mistaken.

The Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year for a full 15 days and 16 days if Chinese New Year’s Eve is counted. But it doesn’t make any difference because the mood can be felt when stores started selling Chinese New Year products, restaurant started promoting their Chinese New Year menu, shopping malls started having Chinese New Year performance. It’s the love of the holiday season for everyone.

Let’s start with the necessary preparation for the Chinese New Year. First on the list is spring cleaning. Since the Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival, spring cleaning is normally used to indicate that the entire house must be completely clean to usher in the new year. Every corner of the house will be clean and free of dust. Old items that are no longer in use will be disposed of or given away as second-hand items. Think of it as the annual charity event for your family.

When the cleaning is done, decorate the house with Chinese New Year decoration, auspicious home decoration for your family to have a prosperous and well-being year. Decorations can include paper cutouts, red package cutouts, red lanterns, thriving orange trees, Spring Festival couplets, and many more. The orange tree known as ‘kum quat’ in Cantonese is a favorite among many home decorations. They are usually placed in front of the house. ‘Kum’ sounds similar to gold, hence its use. It looks like you are producing ‘gold’ when you grow this tree.

The decorations used are mainly symbolic with prosperity and luck where red colors are everywhere in the house. New curtains are also generally used to freshen up your home a bit. The reason for having all these decorations is mainly to wish a better year for everyone in the family and to be blessed. When you are done with all the decorations, the mood for Chinese New Year becomes thicker and slower, you will hear people playing Chinese New Year songs from the house.

Not only the house has to be new. You yourself need a little change too. The Chinese will normally buy a few pairs of new clothes, shoes and bags and even accessories to go with it! You checked the purchases and now you are on your way for a new hairstyle. Everyone needs to look new and fresh to ring in the New Year. Children will definitely love it as they will also be able to buy firecrackers.

Then comes the busy preparation of a feast. Some bake for the purpose of selling, some bake for the purpose of giving a gift to family and friends. Either way, they still bake. Cookies are always a popular Chinese New Year snack in addition to candy, nuts, and crackers. They then stock up on some important food ingredients to ensure they have a full kitchen during Chinese New Year. Stacks of tangerines and drinks are a must in every home. They must be prepared to give the gift in return to their guests.

Then the Chinese will also prepare the food list for the Chinese New Year’s Eve reunion dinner. It is the time when all members of the family really come together for dinner. Sounds similar to Western Thanksgiving dinner. Dishes that symbolize prosperity will be prepared and everything will be fun if you can get everyone to help.

Last but not least, prepare the red packets. It has been a Chinese New Year tradition to hand out red packets. The amount of money inserted is not important but the meaning of the act is very important. The red packet is known as ‘lai see’ in Cantonese and means lucky money. The red packets will usually be prepared by adults and given to children during Chinese New Year as a blessing.

That is all the preparation that needed to be done before ushering in the first day of the Lunar Calendar. Although it sounds simple, there is actually a lot to do.