Посткроссинг — интересная штука. После отправки карты китайцу, мы перешли на электронную почту, где там он отвечает на мои вопросы касательно Азии. Милашка

Оставлю это здесь. А то из-за моей привычки удалять переписки, письма могут потеряться.

It's quite interesting to tell you things about the New Year. Actually, not only in China, almost all the east Asia area have the traditional New Year (according to the moon Calender), because in the past time they are strongly effected by old China Dynasty or even part of China.
Thе most important thing of the Chinese New Year is all the family member getting together to go through the mid night before the New Year's come. This family means big family, that could cross 4-generation. So many guys will go back to their hometown, even it is 2000km away. So it is very very hard to getting train tickets（All the ticket will be sold out in 30 seconds, a lot of my colleages tried 3 to 4 times but failed, and have to go home by flight). Some times even you got ticket, it's also very hard to get into train. According to the research, there'll be over 220M passengers on the rail in 10 days, image how terrible it is. One of my friend even got the experience that waiting 6h for delayed train, and spent 20h in the train. Every effort they take is just try to go home.
In the New Years' days, people like to wearing red, for red is the tradition color for happiness. We also play firecrackers, hanging the antithetical couplets of praying meanings at the doors. Children will get money in red pack, which means we hope they good luck and got protection from evil.

In North China, the celebration could last for 15~20 days (5days before till 15days after). Cause it is very cold there and actually they have nothing else to do. The most important thing there is eating «Jiaozi» together in the New Years' Eve. “Jiaozi" is just like the pelmeni in Russia, north China people thing it is the most delicious. They also have some interesting custom: do not do house clean in the first 3 days. And do not got hair cut in the first month after New Years' Eve.

In South China, the celebration is quite simple. But still got something interesting, they'll put 2 orange trees with red packs in front of the door. Because in the south dialect «orange» has the same pronunciation as «luck», and the red packs means «wealthy», so the larger the tree, the lucker they will get.

In Thailand, they will play the lentern in festival. That functions like hot ballon, so the god will receive their blessing and pray.

In Japan, many people will go to the temple and shrine, to hearing the New Years' bell ring. The monk will also write a large «one word» calligraphy, to summarize the past year and pray for the new year. And many people will go to see the sun rise ,then go to the temple do the first pray, ring the bell, wash their hand. In New Years' days, Japanese do not eat hot or warm food, but the cold food they prepared before. They will wear kimono, playing kite and other traditional games.