Chinese New Year: The Year of the Rabbit

Meaning and background

Celebrated for thousands of years, the Chinese New Year – also called the Lunar New Year – continues to be one of the most important festival of the year across China, the Asia-Pacific region, and Chinese communities across the world. For 15 days beginning with a new moon and ending with a full moon, the religious and cultural celebration is filled with parades, gatherings, feasts, and activities to mark the end of winter and start of a new year. This year, the Chinese New Year is Sunday, January 22.

History

Also known as Spring Festival, the holiday and its festivities can be traced as far back as 1600 – 1046 BC. While it’s difficult to know exactly how people celebrated at its origin, it is widely accepted that sacrificial gifts to gods and ancestors we involved. According to folklore, a lion-like beast would rise from the sea each year with a hearty appetite. It was later discovered that the beast was terrified of loud sounds and the color red, hence the loud parades, fireworks, and prominent red features throughout communities.

The Year of the Rabbit

Let’s hop to it. The zodiac animal for 2023 is the Rabbit – a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in the Chinese culture. The rabbit has the unique characteristic of waiting for an opportune moment and then leaping into action. Believe it or not, the rabbit is known to be the luckiest out of all twelve zodiac animals. If you’ve been thinking about taking a big leap, especially in your career, this is the year to do it.

Family

The Chinese New Year is an important family-oriented occasion and it is customary for those living or working far to return home for the holiday to be with their loved ones and remember their ancestors. This homecoming is such a traditional and important practice to families that it is referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration. Wherever it is celebrated, the Chinese New Year is a time to reconnect with family, share gifs, eat and drink, and most importantly, enjoy the possibilities that the new year will bring. Children and unmarried often receive money from their parents, family members, and even employers in red envelopes to ensure safety and comfort in the new year. Much like western holidays, gifts and spending vary based on one’s relationship to the recipient.

Nian Ye Fan

Similar to western culture, food and drink are a crucial part of the New Year celebration. Family members have a New Year’s Eve reunion dinner, known as Nian Ye Fan, with traditional foods that are first offered to one’s ancestors and gods for blessings and protection. Common cuisines include spring rolls, dumplings, steamed fish, and rice cake – each holding their place at the table for symbolic reasons. The traditional reunion dinner is a means to ensure the solidarity of the family and its cohesiveness.

Traditions

The New Year celebration is centered around removing the bad and the old, while welcoming the new and the good. A form of “spring cleaning” is done in the home to symbolize the sweeping away of ill fortune. It is also a time to worship ancestors and pray for a good harvest. Those who celebrate partake in colorful activities like lion dance, dragon dance, temple fairs, and flower market shopping. These activities, especially lion and dragon dances, are also commonly held in Chinatowns across western culture. Red lanterns hang in streets and on homes to denote prosperity and energy, which ward off evil spirits and negativity. When the clock strikes midnight, fireworks are set off to usher in the new year and to scare away evil through loud noises.

DE&I at Penn Community Bank

At Penn Community Bank, acknowledging and understanding what our customers and team members value is important to us. That’s why, with the help of our internal I.D.E.A. Council, we introduced a “floating holiday” policy in 2022 as a way to allow employees to celebrate their cultural or religious traditions or to expand your knowledge of other cultures. Examples of religious, diversity, and cultural celebrations that qualify are Ash Wednesday, Ramadan, Cinco de Mayo, Chinese New Year, and many more.

Happy Chinese New Year! Xīnnián kuàilè! We wish all who celebrate a year of good health and prosperity.