Chinese new year is a time to visit family and friends, to prepare luscious feast dishes, and to celebrate until the full moon fifteen days later when the new year festivities culminate with a parade. Also on this full moon is the lantern festival. Beautifully artistic lanterns are created from bamboo, wood, silk, and paper, and are part of the new year festivities. In ancient times the lantern festival was a fertility rite that celebrated the return of the sun's light after the cold of winter. Chinese new year is a time to create good luck and to pay respect to gods, goddesses, and spirits.
Good stoves guarantee peace and good fortune while bad stoves can bring strife and misunderstanding.
To ensure good feng shui for the coming new year, homes and businesses are cleaned, clutter is removed, and old clothes are replaced with new clothes. Any piece of furniture that has not been moved during the year is moved to clean the area around it. The color red is very auspicious during the new year celebration. Red is the color to paint a door to frighten away demons. If you do not have any red by your front door, new year is a good time to add red.