It was celebrated on February 16th but the date will always change depending on the Chinese calendar. I always have time to prepare and celebrate this event even though I am not Chinese. I admire their philosophies and thinking most especially in terms of good luck, most filipino do. The main celebration in the Philippines is in the Lucky China Town, Binondo Manila. You can really feel the spirit of Chinese when you are there, from the food in the street down to the designs.
In China, they celebrates new year for a week, they really do some cool rules on how to celebrate the new year.
Food
There are so many food varieties you can choose, you can really have enough to satisfy your appetite. Just be very careful of the food you eat and make sure that you are in clean food stall. It is a crowded place and the cleanliness is not that good enough, but there are still nice and clean spot you can settle. The most famous food in this time is the Tikoy (Nian Gao in Chinese), it is a Chinese New Year’s cake.
Malls
There are two malls in lucky china town, the main one and the annex. The Lucky China Town main mall is a usual mall while the annex is like more on wholesale/retailer type and there are a lot of things you can choose to buy in a cheap price. It is just like Divisoria, no doubt because Divisoria is not that far from Lucky China Town Mall. You also need to bare in mind that your things must be securely held because you might not know that there are still thefts in every corner.
Celebration
It is the year of the DOG and I have to follow some rules like I have to clean the room, wash the clothes and dishes, fix everything, pay debts, put some money inside your pockets and wallets. Fireworks is a must for a new year but I think for the next years to come, there won’t be any fireworks anymore because of our new administration, they are just concern about the safety anyway.
It was fun though a very tiring event, it is better celebrated with family or friends. As a filipino, it is up to you if you want to experience celebrating the New Year in Chinese way. It is still yur own faith that matters. There is nothing wrong with whatever you do in your life, just remember your own limitations and desires of your heart.