On Friday, China officially shutdown for a week to celebrate the New Year of the Rooster. With a large amount of people returning back to their families this remains the most important social and economic holiday in the country.

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The ancient lunisolar Chinese calendar on which this is based functioned as a guide and was not constant. It was reset according to which emperor held power and its use was subject to the region. According to historical documents, more than 4000 years ago on the day when Shun, one of ancient China’s mythological emperors, came to the throne, he led his ministers to worship heaven and earth. From then on, that day was regarded as the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar.

The Chinese philosophy of the Yin and Yang ruled the calendar as did the Chinese zodiac. Each New Year was marked by the characteristics of one of the 12 Zodiacal animals: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. However once China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, the Chinese New Year was changed to the Spring Festival. This year they celebrate the Year of the Rooster which is the 10th animal in the cycle. 

The celebration is often said to be based on the Chinese legend which is about the demonic creature Nian. It is said that ages ago Nian lived high up in the mountains. On the first day of every year, the creature would awaken and descend upon the village. He would eat all the grain and livestock. And if there were any unfortunate children stuck outside, they would disappear.

This instilled fear amongst the villagers and they boarded up their houses on this night to protect their families. One year, right before this event was to occur, an old man visited the village and asked them why they feared the creature so much when they clearly outnumbered it.

But the villagers remained skeptical and locked themselves up anyway. That night, Nian did not come. The old man had ridden him until dawn and the creature went back to its cave hungry. This went on for several nights until the old man revealed that he could not protect them forever.

He turned out to be a god and had to return to his duties elsewhere. The villagers were terrified that once the old man left, they would once again see Nian return.

To this the old man said, "The beast is easily scared. He does not like the colour red. He fears loud noises and strange creatures. So tonight, spread red across the village. Hang red signs on every door. Make loud noises with drums, music, and fireworks. And to protect your children, give them face masks and lanterns."

The villagers did as the old man instructed and Nian never returned again.In Chinese, the word for New Years is Guo Nian. Literally translated it means to "pass over Nian" or "overcome Nian". That is exactly what the villagers did.It has thus become a tradition to celebrate the new year by hanging  lots of red decoration in houses. Streets are filled with music, loud drums, and fireworks all day long. Special paper lanterns are made in various shapes and sizes and paraded through the streets to scare off any demons that might emerge.

Year of the Rooster:

Includes the years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, and 2029.

The Rooster represents fidelity and punctuality, for it wakes people up on time. People born in the year are said to be beautiful, kind-hearted, hard-working, courageous, independent, humorous and honest. They like to keep their homes neat and organised. On the other side, they might be arrogant, self-aggrandizing, persuasive to others and wild as well as admire things or persons blindly.

Lucky numbers: 5, 7, and 8

Lucky days: the 4th and 26th of any Chinese lunar month

Lucky colour: gold, brown, and yellow

Reference: Chinese New Year