It is a festive time, when families reunite, the air cracks with the sound of fireworks, and feasts are laid out in homes throughout the nation. Though some rituals have changed, the residents of Shanghai are preparing to welcome in the Year of the Horse in the best Chinese tradition.

It's known variously as Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. This year, the day that is traditionally the most important on the Chinese calendar, falls on Tuesday (February 12), ringing in the Year of the Horse.

While New Year customs vary throughout China, reflecting the nation's great diversity, the spirit underlying all these celebrations is the same: a heartfelt wish of peace and happiness for family members and friends. Grooming Your House Well before the New Year, homes are thoroughly cleaned, in the hope that any ill fortune will be swept away and the path to good fortune cleared.

``That's just wishful thinking,'' says 24-year-old Chen Ying, a market research analyst. Her mother, Wang Meiqing, is of a more traditional bent, and observes all the customs to the last detail: in addition to cleaning the entire house before New Year's Eve, she makes sure that all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and other cleaning equipment are put away on New Year's Day, and that no sweeping or dusting is done on that day for fear that good fortune will be swept away along with any debris. After New Year's Day the floors may be swept -- but only in a ritual manner: beginning at the door, the dust and rubbish are swept to the middle of the room, then placed in the corners, not to be taken or thrown out until the fifth day. Wang also decorates the doors with paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes like ``happiness'' and ``wealth.'' ``I'll rearrange the furniture in the house and buy something new -- a new painting, for instance, and throw out something old,'' she says. The family's table will be graced with water lilies and wintersweet, two highly prized flowers this time of year. ``Every traditional Chinese household will have live, blooming plants, which symbolize rebirth and new growth. The Chinese firmly believe that without flowers, there would be no fruits, which is why it is of the utmost importance to have flowers and floral decorations,'' explains Gu Xiaoming, a professor at the History Department of Fudan University. Family reunion New Year's Eve dinner is celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The homage to the ancestors reunites the living members with those who have passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect, because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The dinner itself is a feast, meant to symbolize abundance and wealth for the household. Once again, the dishes vary somewhat by region, but there are some traditional favorites: ``jiaozi,'' dumplings boiled in water, are popular because of their literal Chinese meaning: ``sleep together and have sons,'' an old-style blessing for a family. ``niangao,'' the sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding, means the good wish of promotion in career position. ``Tangyuan,'' dumplings made of glutinous rice and stuffed with either a sweet or meat filling, is synonymous with ``reunion.'' Nowadays, with most women working, urban families dine out on New Year's Eve, preferring the hassles of booking half a year in advance to the hassle of preparing the lavish meal themselves. Eyes wide open After dinner, the entire family stays up, playing cards, mahjong, or watching the famous CCTV (China Central Television Station) Chinese New Year Variety Show.

The show's 40-percent viewership makes it the most-watched program in the world, although a survey by CVSC-SOFRES indicates that ratings have fallen off since its peak during the 1980s and early 1990s, when the show was the only form of New Year's Eve diversion. ``We watch it during New Year's Eve dinner in the restaurant,'' says Chen, adding, ``Rarely can a show round up so many famous stars. That's still it's major appeal.'' Indeed, the value of exposure on the show means it could rate the performers at 100,000 yuan per show later. As a result, even big names reportedly accept the meagre 1,000 yuan (US$120) offered for the CCTV New Year Eve show, foregoing reunion dinners with their own families and other performances. Bring on the fireworks Xu Lujing burned 3,888 yuan during last year's Spring Festival.

She didn't actually light renminbi on fire -- instead, this enthusiastic woman lit three huge boxes of firecrackers and fireworks, ``for a jubilant atmosphere and as a good omen for the next year,'' says Xu. She explains that she divides the celebrations into three kinds: ``We Shanghainese first light firecrackers and fireworks on Lunar New Year's Eve, at midnight. When the clock strikes 11:50 p.m., the sound is so ear-deafening that we can't hear anything,'' she says. ``We can't stay up too late, though, since it's auspicious to light firecrackers again the next morning, before noon.'' ``But recently, lighting firecrackers at midnight on the fourth day of the new year is becoming more large-scale because the next day is the time to welcome the God of Wealth -- nowadays, almost everyone needs this god,'' she adds. The tradition of lightening firecrackers on New Year's Eve was originally to scare off the legendary beast ``nian'' -- which means ``year'' in Chinese. Legend has it that ``nian'' appeared regularly at the end of winter, wreaking havoc among people. Gunpowder hadn't yet been invented, so people burnt dry bamboo sticks, which created an crackling sound -- thus the Chinese name for firecrackers, ``baozhu'' (cracking bamboo). While the custom of setting off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year can be traced back 2,000 years, many Chinese cities fearful of injury, fire, and noise pollution, have banned firecrackers. ``My friends in other cities often spend Chinese New Year in Shanghai for the privilege of setting off New Year firecrackers,'' says Xu. ``Yasui'' money The first thing early on Chinese New Year's Day, children greet their parents and receive their ``yasui'' money -- cash in red paper packages. Then the family starts a round of New Year greetings, beginning with their parents, and followed by relatives. Married couples give all visiting children (and non-working adults) ``yasui'' money.

In Chinese, ``ya'' means suppress and ``sui'' means evil. According to Chinese New Year legend, parents gave children ``yasui'' money in order to bribe nian not to eat them. The Lantern Festival Officially, the Spring Festival holiday is only one week long -- from the first to the seventh day of the first lunar month -- but traditionally, the holiday lasts until the Lantern Festival on the 15th day.

The festival is celebrated with the lighting of beautiful lanterns and a special dessert ``yuan xiao'' (stuffed glutinous rice dumplings served in soup). Ironically, the happy festival originated from a bloody royal coup. After the death of the first Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) Emperor Liu Bang, his son Liu Yin ascended the throne. The 17-year-old was no match for his mother, Lu Zhui, however, who effectively ran the country with her relatives. A bloody war broke out between the Lus and the Lius upon her death, with Liu Hen winning back the crown on the 15th day of the first Lunar month -- it is this victory that the Lantern Festival celebrates. While Shanghainese do light firecrackers and eat ``yuan xiao'' on the 15th day, lanterns are a rarity here. In Nanjing, however, visiting the lantern exhibition at the Confucius Temple is a popular activity. Paper lanterns, in the shape of rabbits and lotuses, are lit with candles as revelers stroll the banks of the ancient Qinhuai River. Good fortune and joy during festival

( eastday.com February 9, 2002)