Say goodbye to 2008 and the Year of the Rat, and say welcome to 2009, the Year of the OX! The Chinese New Year falls every year between January 21 and February 19 on the Gregorian Calendar. In 2009, the Year of the Ox starts on January 26. Why name years with the names of animals? Legend has it that Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year, and then named a year after each of the twelve animals that came. He decreed that people born in each animal’s year will share some of that animal’s personality. And for those who are counting: 2009 translates to the year 4706–4707 on the historical Chinese calendar.

In some regions of China, New Year’s starts with a cup of tea with lotus seeds. As you take a sip, you say “tiantian mimi”, meaning “life will be happy“. Sounds like a great start to the year! Since tea was discovered in China, an excellent way to celebrate the Year of the Ox is with a Chinese New Year’s Tea Party. You can use red and gold for table decorations; red symbolizes fire to scare away bad luck, and gold stands for prosperity. Paper lanterns make great decorations, and don’t forget your Ox ornamentation! The Chinese New Year is celebrated for 14 days — so a New Year’s tea party any time during those two weeks after January 26 is appropriate.

There are many more preparations and tasks for the traditional Chinese New Year, but the basic theme is familiar to celebrations all around the world — a time to reflect on the passing year, and to welcome the promise of the New Year to come.

Many of us have been glued to our TVs ever since the Olympics began. In addition to being entertained by extraordinary athletic moments, we have also learned a lot about Chinese history and culture. One aspect being promoted by China, as host of the 2008 Olympics, is tea…

Tea originated in China and is even older than the Olympic games themselves, which were first held in 776 BC in Greece. Tea was first discovered by the Chinese Emperor Shennong in 2737 BC.

Afternoon tea is served every day in the Olympic Village in a traditional tea room situated alongside acupuncture and massage salons. While sipping tea, athletes are treated to three tea-themed classical dancing shows performed by tea experts.

As another bit of “tea hospitality,” the Chinese Traditional Medicine Association created a tea of honeysuckle, ebony, green tea and citric acid designed specifically to cool down both visitors and athletes alike.

Next time you take your tea, you can feel like an Olympian too!

For more about Chinese Tea History, go here and here

Tea Culture is about history, economics, harmony and spirituality. It embraces the tea, the paraphernalia, the customs, ceremonies and occasions for consuming tea; becoming finally, an integral part of a people’s way of life.

Tea is used:

1. To express thanks to your elders on your wedding day: In the traditional Chinese marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom kneel in front of their parents and serve them tea. That is a way to express their gratitude. The parents will usually drink a small portion of the tea and then give them a red envelope, which symbolizes good luck.
2. To connect large families on wedding days: The tea ceremony during weddings also serves as a means for both parties in the wedding to meet with all members of the other family. Drinking the tea symbolizes acceptance into the family. Refusal to drink symbolizes opposition to the wedding and is quite unheard of since it would result in a loss of ‘face.’ Older relations so introduced would give a red envelope to the matrimonial couple while the couples give a red envelope to younger, unmarried relations.
3. To pass on the tradition: Kung Fu cha is in Chaoshan is part of the Chaoshan culture. They have a term for it that has no translation to another Chinese language but means, ‘when friends and family get together in a room to drink Kung Fu cha and chat.’ During such occasions, tradition and culture are passed on to the younger generation.
4. Folding the napkin in tea ceremonies is a traditional action and is done to keep away bad Qi energy in China as tea was regarded as one of the seven daily necessities, the others being firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

China is the cradle of tea and the birthplace of tea appreciation, subjects refined and raised to the level of art by Lu Yu and even in these modern times there is still a distinct difference between drinking tea and tasting tea.

Tea is used:

1. As a sign of respect: In Chinese society, the younger generation always shows its respect to the older generation by offering a cup of tea. Inviting and paying for their elders to go to restaurants for tea is a traditional activity on holidays. In the past, people of lower rank served tea to higher-ranking people. Today, as Chinese society becomes more liberal, sometimes at home parents may pour a cup of tea for their children, or a boss may even pour tea for subordinates at restaurants. The lower ranking person should not expect the higher rank person to serve him or her tea in formal occasions, however.
2. For a family gathering: Because of sons and daughters leaving home to work and get married, they may seldom visit their parents. As a result, parents may rarely meet their grandchildren. Going to restaurants and drinking tea, therefore, becomes an important activity for family gatherings. Every Sunday, Chinese restaurants are crowded, especially when people celebrate festivals. This phenomenon reflects Chinese family values.
3. To apologize: In Chinese culture, people make serious apologies to others by pouring tea for them; for example, children serving tea to their parents as a sign of regret and submission.