10 tips for observing Spring Festival traditions

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-02-08
By: Keoni Everington, Central News Agency

Now that you have gone through your basic training on Spring Festival faux pas in Part 1 of this series, you need to get ready for the big day — New Year’s Day (大年初一). The first day of the year starts with the first new moon of the first month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

The following are 10 rules to follow specifically on New Year’s Day, unless you really want a bad start to your year:

1. Set off fireworks and bang gongs at midnight on New Year’s Eve

In addition to the color red, “Nian” (the New Year monster) also greatly fears fire and loud noise. This is why many people set off fireworks, clang gongs and generally make a lot of racket on Chinese New Year’s Eve.     [FULL  STORY]