The Lion Dance
On the third to fifth days of the New Year, students from marital arts studios perform the lion dance in front of the stores to scare away the evil spirit and bring good wishes to the shopkeepers. Unlike the dragon dance, the lion dance has a crew of two and the dancers are able to manipulate the lion's eyes, mouth, ears, and head.
Dragon Parade
Unlike the lion, the dragon appears far less frequently, saving his awesome image for one appearance only, which usually occurs on the last day of the Lantern Festival. Dozens of people are needed to carry the dragon that stretches for at least 20 or 30 feet. it is constructed of bamboo rods and satiny cloth in sections of three or four feet and was traditionally illuminated by candles. Each "limb" is on a pole carried by one person who together with the other participants, manipulates the dragon, making it sweeping and the wind gracefully through the streets.
Spring Couplets
While pairs of the door gods are pasted in the center of the door, spring couplets are pasted on each side of the door and propitious words across the lintel at the top. In China, scholars would set up the tools and compose auspicious couplets for friends, relatives, and the publics.
A calligrapher would prepare to write by first grinding the dry ink with water on an ink stone, and masterfully move the brush over red paper to produce powerful and clean strokes, forming elegant characters. The themes of the verses would suggest good fortune, longevity, and male offspring. Nowadays, most calligraphers still write but just for selling purpose.
A couplet is made up of two lines of verse which are called the "head" and "tail", which should correspond with each other phonologically and syntactically word for word and phrase for phrase. In the past time, children would be given this kind of test or practice.
Chinese people have a lot of different kinds of spring couplets. For businessmen, they will have special words for earning more money, and gain good reputation around the world. For usual families, they would get some for good fortune and luck.
Red Envelops
In traditional families, the young members of the family bow and pay their respects to their parents and elders at midnight. Children are allowed to stay up as late as they can on New Year's Eve. That night they usually receive red envelops with good luck money inside from their immediate family members. Only paper money is given since change is considered to be bad luck. Throughout the holiday, children will receive red envelops from other married relatives and friends. The red envelops generally are only handed out by married adults. To reflect a proper upbringing, one should accept a red envelop graciously and say "Happy New Year" to them.
Everything New
New Year is a time for people to buy new clothes and shoes and show them off. As another preparation, people will go to make a new hairdo before they celebrate the New Year Festival, so the barbers are busy and charge more during this period of time.
House Cleaning and Decoration
One important preparation for the New Year is house cleaning. People usually begin around the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month with preparations for the New Year. Everyone joins in housecleaning, which is symbolic of "sweeping out the old, welcoming in the new." Some families put away the knives and scissors. They don't want to risk "cutting their luck" in the coming year.
When the house is clean, the family begins to decorate it. They will post the best New Year's picture, called Nianhua, at their homes. Spring couplets are also put up. Spring couplets are always hung in pairs. They are painted with brushes in black ink on large vertical banners of gold flecked red paper. These couplets, or short poems written in classical Chinese, are expressions of good wishes for the family in the coming year.
Many families often hang the sign "luck" character upside down on the doors or windows. Then the word means " luck has arrived". The single word "Fu" means luck, and is always painted on a diamond shaped piece of red paper.
The color red is also important to the New Year's celebrations, In addition to wearing red clothing, people would also decorate their home with all things red because it was believed that the legendary beast feared the color red. Therefore, home, stores, and restaurants would display red banners, lanterns, cushions, flowers, and red containers for serving food.
(CCTV.com January 25, 2003)
