With Chinese New Year coming, let us contrast the attitude of the Jews and the Chinese towards a new year.
The Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah as the start of the civil year in Israel. It is a time of reflection and soul-searching, seeking forgiveness from God and remembering His judgment. It marks the chance for repentance and forgiveness in the eyes of God and to start afresh with a clear conscience in the coming year.
The Chinese celebrates the New Year with much superstition. Cleaning the house symbolizes sweeping away all traces of misfortune. To avoid bad luck, people, especially children, must be at their best behaviour. Fireworks were used to chase away evil spirits. Putting on new clothes symbolizes discarding of the old year and its misfortunes. The whole objective is to improve their luck for the coming year to achieve greater material prosperity.
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