This 15-day celebration is expected to bring growth, strength and stability, according to the Chinese horoscope. It is a period of great feast, with family and friends getting together to wish each other a happy, prosperous new year.

 

In Chinese culture, red is the most favorable color because people associate it with prosperity and joy. The Chinese people decorate their houses in red and gold for fortune and they also hang all sorts of red banners with their hopes and wishes for the New Year.

Cleaning the house is also a symbolic tradition, to sweep away the bad luck of the past year. But the Chinese do not throw out their trash until later in the holiday.

 

Other activities at the New Year celebration include crafts, live music, telling stories to younger children, ancient traditional Chinese lion dances and presentations on subjects like "How to use chop sticks." Springfield artist Hing Wah Hatch will write children's names in Chinese calligraphy. Here people also learn how to make Chinese lanterns.

 

The event usually attracts 1,500 to 3,000 people each year but let’s see if the number remains the same this year, because the economic recession may steal some of the fizz from Lunar New Year toasts.