The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese people. For the Chinese, the New Year comes 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 pictures often have oranges in them. In Chinese, the word for "oranges" sounds the same as the word for "gold". It is a lucky word. People buy new clothes for the New Yea r. It is important to start the New Year in new clothes.
On New year's Eve, the family gets together to eat a big meal. The meal start late in the afternoon of New Year's Eve. There are many special dishes 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.