We may be almost a month in to 2017, but the Chinese New Year has yet to begin. The year of the Rooster will officially commence on January 28th, 2017.
The history of Chinese New Year is quite storied and varies from source to source. “It is unclear when the exact beginning of the New Year celebration in China is. Normally, it was said to start from the year end religious ceremony during the Shang Dynasty (1766 BC – 1122 BC). A few believe that it started from as early as Emperor Yao and Shun (~2300 BC). At the beginning, the date of celebration varied from mid-winter to early spring. With the maturity of the solar base calendar, Emperor Wu (157 BC – 87 BC) of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220), established the first day of the first month as the beginning of the year, where it remains. According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the “Year”. The “Year” looks like an ox with a lion head and inhabits in the sea. At the night of New Year’s Eve, the “Year” will come out to harm people, animals, and properties. Later, people found that the “Year” fears the color red, fire, and loud sounds. Therefore, for self-protection, people formed the habit of posting red Dui Lian in front of their house as well as launching fireworks, and hanging lanterns at year end.”
To celebrate the beginning of the new year we will be creating some authentic Chinese dishes. From freshly made dumplings to our very own Piggy Market fortune cookies we think there’s no better way to ring in a new year of possibilities than with some delicious food. Make sure to stop by to pick some up for yourself!