The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese people.
For the Chinese, the New Year come on the first day of the First Moon, between January 21 and February 19.
One week before the New Year, people start to clean their homes and buy new thing.
Some people paint their homes for the New Year. They buy new pictures, too.
New Year's picture often have oranges in them. In Chinese, the word for "oranges"
sound the same as the word for "gold" It is a lucky word.
People buy new clothes for the New Year. It is important to star the New Year in new clothes.
One New Year's Eve, the family get together to eat a big meal.
The meal stars late in the afternoon of New Year' Eve,
There are many special dished on the table .
There are usually oranges and a dish of fish.
Every family tries to eat fish. At the end of the meal, they leave some extra fish on the plate to bring good luck.
The New Year is an important time for the family.
It is a tradition for the younger people to bow to the older people.
The Chinese call this k'ou t'ou or kowto.
This mean "to touch the ground with the forehead"
Ten the older people give children gift of money in red envelopes.
Red is a lucky color for the Chinese.
At midnight, there are fireworks. It is New Year's Day or the first day of the First Moon, Yuan Tuan. In the moring, the shop are closed, and the streets are empty.
People dress in their new clothes and try to be kind and polite to each other to star the New Year well.
Later, they go to visit their friends and relatives.