Chinese New Year Celebrations

According to the lunar calendar, every year in a twelve-year cycle is ruled by a different animal — the 2023 Lunar New Year was celebrated on Sunday, January 22, the Rabbit is in charge! The rabbit’s place in the Lunar Zodiac was established when the Jade Emperor decided that a different animal should rule each year and, to determine the order of the animals, challenged them all to an epic race. The 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac is made up the rat ,ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
So if you were born in 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 or 2023, this is your year!  You are seen as quiet and thoughtful. 
Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days, comes to an end on February 5th. The most important part of the Chinese New Year celebrations is the “Reunion Dinner” when the family gathers on the eve of the new year to enjoy a banquet with dishes chosen not only for their taste but for what they symbolise. 
My husband is Chinese, so he cooked our reunion dinner meal. Steam fish to symbolise wealth and prosperity, chap chai (Chinese cabbage, glass noodles and bean curd) - the noodles symbolise longevity, stir fried leeks - wealth, chicken - togetherness (normally it is the whole chicken including its head but my children would be put off). My daughter and I put together the Yee Sang which is the prosperity salad.
The Great Race, The Story of the Chinese Zodiac, is fun filled story followed by notes on the Chinese calendar, important Chinese holidays, and a chart outlining the animal signs based on birth years. Buy this book here

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