First Day to 15th day of the Chinese New Year

First Day of the New Year
New Year's day is also celebrated within the family. Usually family members gather on the morning of New Year's Day. It is at this gathering that red packets are given to unmarried members of the family. The age of the recipient is not material to receiving the packets. Married couples usually give out two red packets on the first new year after being married. This is because the wife presents one and the husband presents one. In subsequent years they may give one as a couple.
Red packets traditionally consisted of amounts which were considered multiples. Amounts like $2 (two piece of $1), or $20 were acceptable. Similarly "multiples" such as $1.10 and $2.20 were also acceptable. However, this is not strictly adhered to. The gift was originally a token amount but these days it is not uncommon to receive large sums in affluent families. In some families this tradition has evolved into the practice to substituting money-like instruments (stocks, bonds, unit trust) in place of large sums of cash.
Red packets are also given to unmarried visitors but the sums are often smaller than the packets given to family members or close friends.
Second Day of the New Year
The second day of the new year is usually for visiting the family of the wife if a couple is married. A large feast is also typically held on the second day of the new year.
Seventh Day of the New Year
The seventh day traditionally is known as the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older. It is also the day when tossed fish salad, yusheng, is eaten. People get together to toss the colourful salad and make wishes for continued wealth and prosperity. This is only celebrated amongst the Chinese in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore.
15th Day of the New Year - Lantern Festival
The New Year celebrations ended on the 15th of the First Moon with the Lantern Festival. On the evening of that day, people carried lanterns into the streets to take part in a great parade. Young men would highlight the parade with a dragon dance. The dragon was made of bamboo, silk, and paper, and might stretch for more than hundred feet in length.

新春福虎送吉祥

新春福虎送吉祥，金虎进家富满堂，肥虎祝你寿延长，奶虎为你送健康，耕虎愿你粮满仓，红虎祝你事业

新春佳节，祝你虎年大吉大利，大显身手，虎气冲天！

虎年祝你财源滚滚，发得象肥虎，身体壮的象头虎，爱情甜的象奶虎，好运多的象虎毛，事业蒸蒸象大虎！

◎春光万道、虎威千山
◎春日春起色、虎年虎生威
◎岁是春作首、虎是百兽王
◎新年生虎气、祖国起龙图
◎虎胆英雄气、龙魂志士心
◎道祖骑牛去、赵公跨虎来
◎宏谋抒虎啸、士气奋鹰扬
◎山岚呈虎性、春色暖人心
◎春风春起色、虎岁壮虎威
◎燕飞水花俏、虎跃山势雄
◎龙引千江水、虎越万重山
◎虎跃龙腾碧海、莺歌燕舞春风
◎人间喜庆康平世、虎岁承欢幸福春
◎虎跃龙腾生紫气、风调雨顺兆丰年
◎一代英豪生虎气、三春杨柳动莺歌
◎江山一统腾龙日、岁月三春入虎年
◎虎踞龙盘今胜昔、花香鸟语旧更新
◎春光春色源春意、虎将虎年扬虎威
◎人入虎年增虎劲、门添春色发春辉
◎丑旧寅新宏图展、牛归虎跃春意浓
◎丑去寅来人益健、牛奔虎跃春愈新
◎人入虎年鼓虎劲、景添春色扬春辉
◎中华虎年虎添翼、神州龙骧龙腾空
◎龙腾虎跃人间乐、鸟语花香天下春

给你虎虎的祝福，虎虎的甜蜜，虎虎的运气，虎虎的健康，虎虎的快乐，虎虎的心情，虎虎的欣慰，虎虎的顺利，虎虎的幸福

虎年送头虎，全家乐悠悠。虎蹄为你开财路，虎尾为你拂忧愁，虎耳为你撞鸿运，虎背为你驮康寿，让这头虎伴你左右，你不虎也虎

10 days before the chinese new year

10 Days before the New Year Day - Sweeping of the Grounds
Preparations for the Chinese New Year in old China started well in advance of the New Year's Day. The 20th of the Twelfth Moon was set aside for the annual housecleaning, or the "sweeping of the grounds". Every corner of the house must be swept and cleaned in preparation for the new year. SpringCouplets, written in black ink on large vertical scrolls of red paper, were put on the walls or on the sides of the gate-ways. These couplets, short poems written in Classical Chinese, were expressions of good wishes for the family in the coming year. In addition, symbolic flowers and fruits were used to decorate the house, and colorful new year pictures (NIAN HUA) were placed on the walls (for more descriptions of the symbolism of the flowers and fruits.

chinese new year 2010

Chinese New Year (Chinese: 春節, 春节, Chūnjíe; 農曆新年, 农历新年, Nónglì Xīnnián; or 過年, 过年, Guònián), also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day, celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, i.e. the day of the second new moon after the day on which the winter solstice occurs, unless there is an intercalary eleventh or twelfth month in the lead-up to the New Year—in such a case, the New Year falls on the day of the third new moon after the solstice. (The next time this occurs is in 2033.) The Chinese New Year period ends with the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the month.
The origin of the Lunar New Year Festival can be traced back thousands of years, involving a series of colorful legends and traditions. One of the most famous legends is Nian, an extremely cruel and ferocious beast that the ancients believed would devour people on New Year's Eve. To keep Nian away, red-paper couplets are pasted on doors, torches are lit, and firecrackers are set off throughout the night, because Nian is said to fear the color red, the light of fire, and loud noises. Early the next morning, as feelings of triumph and renewal fill the air at successfully keeping Nian away for another year, the most popular greeting heard is "gong xi fa cai", or "congratulations."
To ensure good luck in the coming year, the Taiwanese always give every dish a special name. This dish is called the "Five Blessings for the New Year" and represents longevity, wealth, peace, wisdom, and righteousness. (Photo by Su-ching Chang) Even though Lunar New Year celebrations generally last for only several days, starting on New Year's Eve, the festival itself is actually about three weeks long. It begins on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the day, it is believed, when various gods ascend to heaven to pay their respects and report on household affairs to the Jade Emperor, the supreme Taoist deity. According to tradition, households busily honor these gods by burning ritualistic paper money to provide for their traveling expenses. Another ritual is to smear malt sugar on the lips of the Kitchen God, one of the traveling deities, to ensure that he either submits a favorable report to the Jade Emperor or keeps silent.
Celebration
The Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
A reunion dinner is held on New Year's Eve where members of the family, near and far, get together for celebration. The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and traditionally includes chicken. Fish is included, but not eaten up completely (and the remaining stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase "nian nian you yu", or "every year there is fish/leftover", is a homophone for phrases which could mean "be blessed every year" or "have profit every year", since "yu" is also the pronunciation for "profit".
The New Year's Eve celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.
People born in the year of the tiger have a lively disposition and are forthright and uninhibited in nature. They are broad-minded and quick to action. But there is another aspect to their characters. They are full of suspicion, and sometimes will take hasty action. They never hide their feelings. They are honest, tender, generous and humorous at the same time. They are always kind, love babies and animals, and like anything that arouses their imagination