Year of the rabbit 2023: 10 Unknown facts about the Chinese New Year

This year, January 22 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year festivities begin on this New Year's Eve and come to an end on the Lantern Festival. Here are some unknown facts about the Chinese festival.

This year marks the 'Year of the rabbit' and the beginning of the Chinese New Year

Year of the rabbit: The 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, which is represented by an animal, begins at the beginning of the Lunar Year. It is the most significant holiday for Chinese people in China and around the world. The event that heralds the arrival of spring is extensively observed in China and other East Asian nations. It is also referred to as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year.

This year is marked as the year of the rabbit. The Rabbit is the fourth of all zodiac animals.

Here are some interesting facts about the Chinese new year and the year of the rabbit:

1. Legend has it that the Rabbit was proud and arrogant of its speed.

2. Each Chinese New Year has a zodiac sign, just as there are 12 signs, each of which corresponds to a different month on the Gregorian calendar. Chinese New Year 2022, for instance, was the Year of the Tiger, while 2023 marks the Year of the Rabbit, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, and so on.

3. Celebrations for the Chinese New Year typically last 16 days. The festivities begin on New Year's Eve and end on the Lantern Festival, which falls this year on February 5.

4. You are a rabbit if you were born in 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, or 2023.

5. New Year's Day is not the day to take a shower. Before the fifth, sweeping and garbage disposal are forbidden. This is to prevent you from washing away the good fortune!

6. Cleaning is the focus of the sixth day. It is time to sweep the bad luck under the rug and dispose of the trash. 

7. Rabbits are thought to represent the moon in Chinese culture. Some claim it is because the moon's shadow resembles the rabbit.

8. The Chinese New Year celebrations conclude with the Lantern Festival. Red lanterns are hung on streets, outside of homes, and in public spaces.

9. The primary purpose of the Spring Festival was as a ceremonial day to ask the gods for a successful planting and harvesting season.

10. Firecrackers are said to ward off evil spirits and monsters. On Chinese New Year's Eve, folks stay up late and light firecrackers at midnight. Fireworks are once more set off in the morning to ring in the new year and wish everyone luck.

The founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, the Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi, the Chinese martial arts actor Jet Li, the Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez from Colombia, the French singer Edith Piaf, the recently deceased Pope Benedict, and other notable rabbits from pop culture are just a few examples.