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How to Celebrate Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is
celebrated throughout the world in late January or early February. Here’s how to celebrate.
You will need Date Traditional foods New, red clothing Red envelopes Red, paper lantern
Firecrackers (optional) and drums and gongs (optional). Step 1. Find the next date of
Chinese New Year, which changes with the lunar cycle. Learn which of the 12 zodiac animals
is associated with that year's celebration. Step 2. Before the Chinese New Year arrives,
clean your house, and settle any outstanding debts with friends. According to tradition,
this helps the new year get off to a fresh start. Clean the headstones of deceased relatives
and friends to ensure spiritual favor. Step 3. Get together with friends and family on
the eve of Chinese New Year for a reunion dinner, a large, celebratory feast. Make a
batch of _nian gao_, steamed cakes made with rice flour, which are said to bring good luck.
Step 4. Buy new, red clothes to wear throughout the Chinese New Year celebration; the color
is considered lucky. Step 5. Give red envelopes filled with money to friends and relatives
to invite success and generosity into everyone's lives. Use an amount ending in 8, which is
particularly lucky in Chinese culture, and avoid the number 4. Step 6. Attend a Chinese
New Year parade, one of the most popular ways to celebrate the holiday's hopeful spirit.
You can also light firecrackers and *** drums and gongs to celebrate. Only use firecrackers
or fireworks under close supervision. Know the laws governing explosives where you live.
Step 7. On the 15th night of the new year, light a red paper lantern to mark the end
of the holiday. Then, wish your friends and family "_Gong Xi Fa Tsai_," and prepare for
12 months of prosperity and luck. Did you know In 1980, the Chinese were the 10th-largest
immigrant group in the U.S.; by 2006, they had become the third-largest.