[darnspacemonkey]

Today all over China, train stations will be a zoo, trains and buses will be
packed tight, maybe every airplane seat will be filled as an estimated 75
million people make the trip home for Spring Festival, Chinese New Year.

Travel home and back for Chinese New Year is thought to be the largest
recurring human migration in the world.

Today there will be last minute cleaning activity as brooms sweep out bad
luck from the old year. On New Year's day there will be no sweeping lest the
new year's good luck be swept out by mistake. On New Year's day no scissors
will be used, no sharp knives for cutting, lest a string of good luck be
inadvertently cut. Tomorrow nobody will wear white, the color signifying
death and mourning.

Today is the last day to get a hair cut, buy new clothes for the New Year so
evil spirits cannot recognize you. Today is the last day to settle
grievances and pay off old debts, to start the new year fresh and take
advantage of new good luck.

Today is the last day to glue Door Gods on the home's front door to keep
evil spirits away from the family. Today is the last day to put up Spring
Couplets, vertical red banners with pairs of good wishes hung on either side
of a window or door.

Tonight families will gather united for a sumptuous dinner. Children will be
up late since tradition says the longer they stay up tonight the longer
their parents' life will be (or seem!), and children receive red envelopes
called Hong-Bao, and the money inside is called Lai-See, small amounts for
little kids, increasing amounts with years of age. Throughout the 15 day
holiday as friends and relatives come to visit, and as the kids go with
their family to visit others, the kids receive Hong-Bao and Lai-See.

At midnight the family will go outside to enjoy the fireworks displays, and
local groups with long strings of firecrackers sending out the old year and
scaring away Nian, the legendary monster who used to eat Chinese people on
New Year's Eve until it was discovered Nian could be scared away by dragons,
lions, the color red and loud noises. Now the word Nian means "new year."

Finally they all go to bed, probably with warm expectations of the many days
of celebrating that will start when they wake.

I found this somewhere else on the net- though it was appropriate, but I don't know who to give the credit to for writing it!
Love to All,
Mary