This year, the Chinese New Year falls on February 3, 2011 and lasts for 15 days, which are full of celebrations. This special holiday is filled with lots of vibrant colors, unique decorations and tasty foods that can kick off this new year. Would you like to incorporate this holiday into a party theme? Well, let Wedding and Party Network help with these 3 party tips that will help you begin your Chinese New Year Party!
411 On Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is different every year since it depends on the lunar phase. It is also based on a mythology beast called Nian, that would come out and eat people on this day until a man conquered this, which in turn people began to celebrate. This is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar.
It lets them honor their household and hold remembrance for their lost ancestors. However, it has evolved into a big celebration that brings family members together. This celebration lasts for 15 days and has a certain day devoted to family members and ancestors. It ends with a big festivity and their lantern festival.
How YOU Can Celebrate!
There are lots of ideas you can use when creating a Chinese New Year themed party. From the colors, invites, decorations and food; you’ll celebrate in true custom ways with a fun themed dinner party.
Invitations: Create red and gold lanterns in honor of their lantern festival, you can easily make this on your own or find something at your stationery store. Also, go with the Chinese zodiac sign that is being featured this year, which is the rabbit. However, you can also stick with all zodiac signs like the tiger, rabbit, snake, dragon or monkey. These items go great with this celebration and all you need to include is the basics.
Festive Colors & Decorations: Stick with reds and golds for your party color scheme. Place paper lanterns, Chinese good luck symbols and zodiac symbols out for party decorations. During this holiday, there are flowers that represent this holiday. Plum blossom, bamboo, sunflower and eggplant are what you can use for a Chinese New Year flower arrangement for your party. Stick with Chinese traditional symbols, signs and flowers to create a themed look.
Asian Style Dishes: Of course, when you are trying to figure out what type of party food you need to serve, go with Asian influenced dishes. This should be all about their culture, especially what type of food they serve. Spring rolls, dumplings, lettuce wraps, stir fry, orange chicken, tangerines, oranges, fish and long noodles are some of the dishes that can be served during your festivities.
Also, when thinking about what food to prepare, think of what they mean in Chinese culture. Chicken & fish symbolize happiness and prosperity, oranges represent good fortune, noodles means longevity and duck means fertility. You’ll have a prosperous new year.
Even though desserts are not too popular during this holiday doesn’t mean you can’t serve up some for your party. Create a tangerine sorbet, mandarin orange pie or Chinese almond cookies. Traditional desserts include a Chinese sticky cake. This is pretty much a rice cake and is served to the kitchen god to ensure good luck for the upcoming year.
However, if cooking is not your strong suit; order Chinese take out. This may be frowned upon in their culture, but it may be just as good to you. Another alternative is hiring a caterer. They will always make sure they serve up traditional Chinese New Year food for your party!
Thanks For Coming: Another tradition that they do is giving gifts in red envelopes, mainly money. So, say thank you to your guests with a red envelope filled with fortune cookies and chopsticks. Such a simple party favor, yet it goes perfectly with this theme!
These are the 3 main party tips in making your themed party a success. However, there are so many more ideas out there. You can have everyone dress up in traditional wardrobe too! This party theme is such a fun and festive event that all your guests will enjoy. It’s a time to reunite ties and create a feeling of togetherness.
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Chinese lantern festival photo by Michael Caven via flickr.
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