It was the most exciting week on the other side of the world: Feb. 9 was the Chinese New Year, the most important holiday in Taiwanese tradition.

On the Chinese lunar calendar, 12 years is counted as one cycle, and each year is designated one animal. The animal cycle starts with the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and boar with each animal representing one year in the cycle. Every animal has its own characteristics.

In Western countries, people have family reunions on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Chinese New Year is similar to these holidays. No matter how far people are away from home, they return home to have dinner with their family. 2005 is the year of the rooster. People who were born in a rooster year tend to be able to provide effective solutions to problems and prefer to stick to what has already been tried, rather than taking any unpredictable risks.

There are some superstitions that the Taiwanese believe in deeply. The entire house should be cleaned by New Year’s Day. Removing rubbish and dust can also remove bad fortunes that we had during the past year. Taiwanese decorate living rooms with live blooming plants because fresh flowers in the house symbolize wealthy and high positions in one’s career.

Young children like the New Year best among the holidays simply because of Hong Boa, when they receive money. It is a custom for elder people to give youths a Hong Boa, a red envelope. Red is the most preferred color in the New Year. Taiwanese wear red clothing, and candy is wrapped in red paper.

In 2006, Jan. 29 is the Chinese New Year. It is the best time to visit Taiwan if you want to enjoy the celebrations. It is a time of joy, happiness environment and most importantly, a lot of traditional events.