Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. The holiday is also known as The Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. This holiday traditionally begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese calendar, and is culminated with the Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year is most commonly celebrated in areas with a high population of the Han Chinese. Some of these areas are, Mainland China, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, with outlying areas such as Mongolia, Tibet and Vietnam also celebrating this holiday because of the high level of interaction with the Chinese people.
There are many foods that are an integral part of the Chinese New Year celebration. One of the most important foods is a vegetarian dish called jai. Jai is made from either various root vegetables, or fibrous vegetables, all which have a special significance to them.  The bamboo shoots in the dish are used because of the term for them which sounds like “wishing everything would be well”. Black moss seaweed is a homonym for exceeding in wealth, and dried bean curd is another homonym for the fulfillment of wealth and happiness. The dish also contains lotus seed and gingko nut which represents having many male children, and many silver ingots respectively. One common Chinese food, fresh bean curd, or tofu, is not included as the white color signifies death and misfortune. Other foods included in the Chinese New Year celebration are, whole fish, and roasted chicken with the head and feet attached, signifying wholeness and togetherness,  uncut noodles and various rice dishes and breads.
 Before the start of the New Year celebrations, Chinese families decorate their houses with vases of flowers, plates of oranges and tangerines, and candy trays containing eight different types of sweet dried fruit.  On the walls and doors of the house, they put up poems and happy wishes and sayings on red paper.  The traditional Chinese households also have live blooming plants, symbolic of life, new growth and rebirth. flowers are also believed to be symbolic of wealth and high job status. During the Chinese New year, etiquette dictates that when you visit the houses of friends and family, you bring a bag of oranges or tangerines which symbolize abundant happiness. The candy tray is called the “Tray of Togetherness”, and the various candies and fruits each represent some kind of good fortune.
 The Chinese have quite a few taboos and superstitions surrounding the New Year celebrations. One of the most important is, house cleaning. The entire house must be cleaned before New Years, so that all the cleaning tools can be put away and out of sight. No sweeping or dusting should be done on New Years, as the Chinese believe that good fortune can be swept away with the dust. Hair also should not be washed on New Years’ Day, as the good fortune might be washed away. Firecrackers should be lit, too send out the old year, and welcome in the new, and all debts are supposed to be paid off by this time.
 Chinese New Year is the “welcoming of the gods of heaven and earth”, and is a long standing tradition. It is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The popular themes are happiness, wealth and longevity.  Ancient Chinese New Year is a celebration of what people believe, and how they want to live their lives.