Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is a 15-day celebration beginning on the first day of the lunar calendar and ending on the full moon. According to ancient Chinese folklore, nian (the word for "year") was the name of a man-eating monster that could be scared away by the color red and loud noises. As the story goes, the phrase guo nian ("celebrating the new year") originally meant "surviving the nian," and wearing red and setting off firecrackers became New Year's Eve customs. The central event, however, is a large reunion dinner with family and relatives, where symbolic foods play a vital role. Dumplings resemble ancient silver ingots and allude to wealth and prosperity, while a whole fish signifies prosperity, and long beans, Chinese chives, and long uncut noodles represent a long life. Nian gao - a steamed glutinous rice cake - is often served for dessert. This tradition emerged as families offered the sticky cake to the Kitchen God to ensure a favorable report during his annual return to heaven.

The Chinese zodiac is based on a 12-year cycle, each one represented
by an animal. The year 2007 is the year of the boar, the last animal in
the cycle. According to Chinese astrology, each individual's personality
is associated with the animal representing the lunar year in which he
or she is born. Those born in the year of the boar (1947, 1959, 1971,
1983, 1995, 2007) can be seen as peaceful, honest and giving.

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