4712 – The Year of the Horse

Reflections on a Chinese Tradition: The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is determined by the lunar calendar and changes each year with the moon cycle. It varies from late January to early February. The ancient Chinese calendar dates back nearly 4000 years to the Shang Dynasty. Each of the months in the twelve year cycle is depicted by a different animal or creature. It is said the people born in each animal’s year have attributes relating to the respective animal. The spirit of the Horse is recognized as energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able.

The preparations for this festival start in the few days of the last quarter moon: doors are decorated with red paper scrolls, red rice lanterns are hung in homes and incense is burned. It is a time of family reunion and large family dinners are served.  The color red is thought to symbolize fire and ward off bad luck and the evil spirit Nian. Also, most Chinese people set off fireworks at midnight to scare Nian away. Red paper envelopes are filled with money, decorated with luck symbols and given as a gift – they are known as “Lai Si” or “Hung Bao” and represent a wish for wealth in the New Year.

In this spirit we would like to wish all of our colleagues, customers and friends a Happy Chinese New Year!