“Congratulations and be prosperous!”
2023 – Year of the Rabbit
Chinese New Year 2023 begins on Sunday, January 22nd and marks the start of Year of the Rabbit. The holiday isn’t a single day. Instead, there are over two weeks of celebrations, including the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival.
Extended families often travel to be together for the holiday to celebrate with customary foods and traditions. Traditional celebration includes families gathering together at home for dinner on New Year’s Eve and then setting off loud fireworks just after midnight to ward off evil for the coming year. There are conflicting records of the origin of the Chinese New Year holiday, but all of the possibilities mark the tradition as thousands of years old.
Why Does the Date Change?
Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different day each year, depending on the date of the new moon that occurs between the end of January and the end of February. Each year is represented by one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. While the Western zodiac is based upon a different sign for each month, the Chinese or Eastern zodiac assigns an animal to an entire year. We are about to end 2022’s Year of the Tiger as we begin 2023’s Year of the Rabbit.
For the Love of Lanterns
The holiday culminates with the Lantern Festival on day 15 of the new year. Lantern colors have special meanings, such as red for wealth and prosperity, yellow for neutrality, and green for health and harmony. The creation of elaborate paper lanterns is considered an art form. This year, the floating, lighted lanterns will be released on the evening of February 5th, commemorating the official end of 2023’s New Year holiday.
Celebrating Diversity
Like most U.S. based companies, Orbital Project Management offers multiple paid holidays each year. (You know the ones: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, etc…). However, we appreciate the diversity of our team and offer the opportunity to request alternative days off to celebrate holidays that may not be included in our standard plan.
If you will be celebrating the start of Chinese New Year this weekend, may we be the first to wish you “Kung Hei Fat Choy”!
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