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The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar. Each year is named after one of the 12 symbolic animals in sequence. 4703 was the Year of the Dog.
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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 Chinese New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.
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-year cycle). 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.
Chinese New Year's Eve and Chinese New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration of the Chinese New Year 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 of the Chinese New Year, 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 the Chinese 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 Chinese 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.
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