The Chinese year 4711 begins on Feb. 10, 2013.
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha
asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and
Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born
in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality.
Those born in snake years are wise, charming, gregarious, introverted,
generous, and smart.
Chinese New Year is the most important and, at 15 days, the longest
holiday in China. Chinese New Year begins on the first day of the lunar
calendar, so it is also called Lunar New Year, and it is considered the
beginning of spring, so it is also called Spring Festival.
Chinese New Year celebrations have their origin with end-of-harvest
celebrations when people would offer thanks to gods for good harvests
and entreaty for a good crop in the following year. Although they varied
according to the different calendars used, the customs were formalized
under Han Dynasty (206BC-AD 25) rule.
Varied festivals around god worship, sacrifice and celebration held at
the end of the winter season and at the beginning of the spring were
unified under the Han Dynasty rulers and consolidated, with their
adoption of the formal Taichu calendar, to the first day of the first lunar month. During the economically prosperous and politically stable Tang Dynasty
(AD 618-907), celebrations around the New Year blossomed. Traditional
customs around superstitions and worship gradually became means for
people simply to celebrate and enjoy time with their families.
Source about.com and info.com
