Chinese New Year Dinner

Since I moved to China the first time in 2002, Chinese New Year has been a part of my life. And I am a bit sad to confess that we actually celebrate Chinese New Year way more than the other New Year. I am not sure why, we just do. For my kids China will always be home just like Sweden is. And I think it is nice for them to take part of both cultures. And as you might have noticed, a big part of my heart is still left in Shanghai. Chinese New Year is also called Spring Festival or Lunar New Year and it marks the first new moon in the lunisolar calendar. The Chinese lunisolar calendar is based on cycles of the earth and the moon. The legend tells a story about the villagers that chased away a beast called Nian with red colours, noise and bright lights. So there is the reason behind everybody wearing something red for the festival and the firecrackers. Today most people don’t use firecrackers anymore as it is bad for the environment. Each year is named after one of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals. And 2020 is the year of the rat.