Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Free Chinese New Year Greeting Cards 2009

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. Send this day Chinese happy new year email greeting cards to your loved ones and wish them happy and prosperous year 2009. 26th January 2009 will bring in the Year of the Ox!
Chinese New Year Cards
Chinese New Year Cards


Chinese New Year Cards
Chinese New Year Cards


The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.


New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

Now Chinese New Year is just some day ahead! Reach out to your loved ones with our warm and bright Happy Chinese New Year Greeting Cards. Wish them good luck and good fortune in the New Year with these beautiful cards. Just pick your beautiful Chinese greeting cards from our Happy New Year card gallery.

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