Over one billion people in China celebrate Chinese New Year.

This important and festive holiday is celebrated for 15 days. Those 15 days can be from the last pa rt of January to the middle of February. Chinese New Year is celebrated dependin g on the Lunar/solar calendar. Chinese New Year is to celebrate the world coming back to life and each new year is a start to a fresh clean new year. The Chinese make resolutions for the new year. They make resolutions like, "Always do good in school." Chinese New Year i s important to China just like it is to America. The New Year is a brand new yea r for prosperity, which means a well off life. In China the Chinese visit their family and friends. They bring candy to start the New Year off sweetly. For abou t two weeks the Chinese eat, pray, and celebrate. The Chinese also respect other s and they pray for ancestors and gods. Red is one of the very popular colors to wear. It means, "good luck." The 15 days of Chinese New Yearare basically eating praying and respecting other s. The first day is the welcoming of the gods of earth and heaven. The Chinese e at meat for a long and joyful life. The second is to pray for all ancestors and gods. They have to feed and be benevolent to all dogs. This day is also known as the birthday of all dogs. The third and fourth day is for all son-in-laws to re spect their father and mother-in-laws. The fifth day is called Poo Woo. The Chin ese stay home and welcome all the gods. There is no visiting friends and family. It they do both families will receive bad luck. From the sixth through the tenth the Chinese visit friends and family and pray i n temples. Also in between those days more events happen.On the seventh day farm ers display crops and make drinks from their vegetables. The seventh day is the birthday of all humans. The Chinese eat noodles for a long life ad raw fish for success. On the eighth day the Chinese have a family dinner. At midnight they pr ay for the Tian Gong, which is the god of heaven. On the ninth day they make off erings to the Jade Emperor. On the tenth to twelfth day they all have dinner wit h friends and family. On the thirteenth day the Chinese eat rice congee and must ard greens. On the fourteenth the Chinese prepare for the Lantern Festival. On t he last and final day the Chinese celebrate the Lantern festival. Firecrackers a re set off to warn off evil spirits. Chinese New Year is a holiday where the most food is eaten. Many friends and fam ily celebrate this holiday together. Almost every night, food is eaten with fami ly and friends. Food is also given to dead ancestors. On New Year's day jai is e aten. Jai is a root vegetable. Also other foods are eaten like a whole fish, inc luding the head and tail for abundance. Also chicken is eaten with the head and tail for prosperity. Foods like fish and chicken are eaten with the head, becaus e it symbolizes completeness. Noodles are eaten, uncut to symbolize a long life. In South China steamed rice pudding is eaten. Steamed rice pudding is sweet. In North China steamed wheat bread and little dumplings are eaten. All food eaten at Chinese New year means abundance and wealth Chinese New Year is the most important in the Chinese calendar; the Spring festi val held at the time of the second new moon after the winter solstice INTERESTINGLY Malaysia is not content with just one New Year festival. The conve ntional one starts on Dec 31 each year. The second one -- the Chinese Lunar New Year comes a little later. This year it began on Jan 23. Malaysia has more festivals and public holidays than anywhere I know, each with its own distinct, intrinsic character and rituals. But, and this is the importan t point -- shared by all.

We are a very diverse society, but with one significant difference. Elsewhere d iversity is managed by assimilation, as in the United States. Here, we opt for the more challenging route of integration. Not just a glib expression. We preser ve all the multifaceted cultures of this society in their rich variety and indiv iduality but then unite them by us all partaking in them. Today, we call the con cept 1Malaysia, but as a practice it has always been with us. I'd like to focus now on the current festival. As a kind of case study. You see it has a special significance for me. All three of my adopted children were part Chinese -- Teochew in all three cases. Two are departed, so I'll celebrate on t heir behalf. Chinese New Year is the most important event in the Chinese calendar -- often r eferred to as pinying -- the Spring festival held at the time of the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year it is looked as the year of the hope -- for revival after the bad ti mes. Revival for the Chinese inevitably means renewed prosperity. The wish today is for good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity. In the days before the festival, Chinese homes will have been given a thorough cleaning, sweeping away all the bad luck and making way for the newly arrived go od fortune. The brooms and the dustpans will have to be put away on the first da y. They don't want the good luck and prosperity swept away. Our Chinese friends will be spruced up with new clothes, and hairdos -- all symb olising a fresh start. It begins with the Kitchen God, or the God of the Heart, who will report to the Jade Emperor in Heaven of the household's transgressions and good deeds. Candy w ill be laid out to "bribe" him. Although the kitchen traditionally is the housew ife's domain, it is the men who worship the Kitchen God. Doors and windows will have a fresh coat of red paint. The occupants will also b e wearing red. The colour has a deeper symbolic meaning. Often you may see a red diamond shaped sign outside the house hanging upside down to receive the blessi ngs from on high. Red is an emblem of joy, the symbol of virtue, truth and since rity. In Chinese opera, the players have painted red faces. The word itself in C hinese sounds like "hong" which means prosperity. Again! Of course, much of what I relate goes back to the time-honoured new year traditi ons in China. Hereabouts, the biggest celebrations are to be found in Singapore and Penang, with vestiges still of some of those ancient traditions in China. A few observations: As a prelude, all of us irrespective of race, share in the practice of yee sang -- tossing the delicious dish in the air with our chopsticks.

The most sacrosanct tradition of all is the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve. This is the equivalent if you like of the Christmas dinner.

On the day, the women get up at first light to prepare the requisite porridge. T he first bowl will be offered to the ancestors and household deities -- then all members of the family. Leftovers will be distributed to relatives and friends. It is a very special breakfast.

Later, they will gorge all day long on pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies . But must end the night with dumplings (once more symbolising wealth) eaten at midnight. There will be an explosive burst of firecrackers before going off to t he temple to pray for that prosperous new year. Next morning, children greet their parents wishing them a healthy, happy new ye ar and longevity. They receive ang pow in red paper packets. Gifts to visiting r elatives and friends include the ever popular mandarin oranges (never pears). Wh ether it be money or gifts - the number 8 is considered lucky. Firecrackers in the past would go on a long time -- several days, prolonged by a contest between neighbouring shopkeepers in the belief that the one who sustain ed these the longest would be the most successful in the coming year. Also throu ghout the period, Chinese houses will greet you with the dragon dance and someti mes also a lion dance. I myself make a point of doing the rounds in tribute to my three adopted childre n. In my office prominently displayed, is a Chinese statue of prosperity. I'm afraid he is yet to deliver. Chinese New Year for me is also the chance of a reunion with friends -- Siok Cho o, for instance, who also reminds me of her revered father -- Tun Tan Siew Sin - the first Malaysian Chinese I met who introduced me to the Baba Nyonya clan i n Malacca. This is just a glimpse of Chinese New Year. However, it is not from an outsider but one of the thousands of non-Chinese, but real participants I realise that in this modern era, much of what I've written belongs to history or even to legend. But how do I, a Christian, a Mat Salleh Malaysian of English origin come to know about it? Because in the best Malaysian tradition, it has always been shared by our compatriots. Chinese New Year will always be one of our most important and distinctive festi vals. And so I end by wishing my many Chinese friends Gong Xi Fa Cai. Read more: Celebrating CNY the Malaysian way - Columnist - New Straits Times htt p://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/celebrating-cny-the-malaysian-way-1.38660#i xzz1ktfAF7BJ