Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, will be celebrated in many areas around the world, including southeast Manitoba.

Yu Meng has been in Canada since 2013 and attends Providence University-College as an international student. Meng explains there are twelve animals that represent each year on a rotation, and 2016 is the Year of the Monkey, which represents a quick-witted, curious and mischievous nature to those born in those years.

Meng was born in 1992, the Year of the Monkey. He says this means every twelve years he celebrates his birth year and a tradition is to wear red clothes so he will be lucky throughout the year. Meng says Spring Festival is a 15-day celebration celebrated in more than the country of China. Spring Festival is also celebrated in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Mauritius and the Philippines. Meng notes although these countries all celebrate the same holiday, it is celebrated in different ways, with differences even seen throughout China. 

"Before the first day, on New Year's Eve, we will gather together and we go to other people's houses or we go to my great uncle's house and celebrate there," notes Meng. "It's just a time for gathering. Before midnight we watch a TV celebration and then we eat together and during that time the city is very quiet, nobody is on the street. That's probably the quietest time in China. After midnight, everybody goes on the street and does fireworks. It's a transition from the quietest time to the loudest time."

Meng says in Chinese there is the word Nian which also means year. He notes there is a legend where a monster named Nian would come out of hiding to attack people on Chinese New Year and the people decided they needed to fight back. He says the people used fireworks to scare the monster away and, as tradition, have continued using fireworks during Spring Festival celebrations. Meng adds after the first day of Spring Festival it's tradition to visit your neighbours, family and friends. He says it's a way of celebrating together, but also comes from the legend of Nian; people would visit their neighbours, family and friends after the attack to make sure they weren't hurt.

Another tradition during Spring Festival is for children to have red envelopes that are filled with money from their parents, grandparents and other adults. Meng says giving money to a child during this time represents longevity in the adult's life. On the 15th day of Spring Festival celebrations Meng says they gather again with family and eat a rice ball. He says it symbolizes gathering because in the Chinese church a circle represents gathering.

Here in Canada Meng says he will be gathering with his Chinese friends and celebrating on Monday.