The Year of the Water Tiger starts today, Feb. 1, 2022.
The associated holiday is called the New Year Festival or Spring Festival and is a week-long holiday in many Asian and South Asian countries including China, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan and The Philippines.
The lunar calendar new year is celebrated on a day in late January or early February, depending on the moon each year.
This year the holiday begins on Jan. 31 and ends on Feb. 6.
The most important holiday in China and some other parts of Asia, it involves many traditions including family gatherings, making way for new things and religious and spiritual practices.
Traditions include decorating with the colour red and cleaning before the holiday, as no cleaning should be done on the new year itself. Families gather for a meal on the new year eve and stay up late to greet the new year.
The following days are spent visiting friends and relatives, eating traditionally lucky foods, and giving red envelopes of money to children.
The setting of fireworks is a tradition meant to drive off evil spirits, though this practice has been banned in some cities now.
There are even superstitions about things people are not supposed to do on the new year including using sharp objects, breaking anything or using unlucky words.
People born in the Year of the Tiger are said to be “vigorous, ambitious, daring and courageous,” according to the Chinese New Year website. Tigers are thought to have “a sense of justice and a commitment to help others.”
The element of water brings some calming effect to those born in this particular Year of the Tiger, with less aggression and more open mindedness.
There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and five elements (fire, earth, metal, water and wood). The water element is said to bring change and represent wealth.
The Water Tiger occurs every 60 years and will end on January 21, 2023.
Read more: Best wishes for Chinese New Year
Read more: PHOTOS: Despite COVID-19, Lunar New Year quietly celebrated around the world
ruth.lloyd@wltribune.com
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