• The Chinese New Year or Trut Chin in Thai is a festival of thanksgiving and ancestor worship, and a time of family reunion. It was brought into Thailand when the Chinese migrated here late in the Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767 A.D.). The festival means so much to the Chinese and the Thais of Chinese descent the same way as the Christmas means to the Westerners.

The Chinese in Thailand have been harmoniously assimilated into the Thais but they have passed on their traditions and customs up to the present time as is evidenced by the fact that one of their festivals, Trut Chin, has been observed continuously for a long time. It has become one of the most exciting and spectacular celebrations in Thailand.

The Chinese New Year is the first day of the Chinese lunar month which is regarded as the first day of the spring season (the Chun season in Chinese; roughly from February to April which is the time to start growing plants). During these months, the weather is excellent. Thus, Trut Chin is called "Chun Jie" Day in Chinese. As China is an agricultural country, at the beginning of the growing season, there is a ritual to pay homage to gods and goddesses as well as ancestors to ask for a good harvest.

A few days before New Year's Eve, the Chinese will do a big cleaning. When the New Year begins, they will have days off to perform a ritual to worship gods, goddesses and ancestors. Besides, they usually take this opportunity to pay visits to their senior relatives and go on vacations. This practice is the origin of the terms "Buying day, Worshipping day and Observing day."

 

• Buying, Worshipping and
  Observing Days
  
  "Buying day" is the day before New Year's Eve. People who have not yet finished shopping or preparing things need to finish doing it within the "Buying day" as after this day, shops will close for several days.
  
  "Worshipping day" is the day that each house performs rituals to worship their ancestors. It is on this day that the whole family gather together and red envelopes containing money as gifts or angpao are given away. In the morning, they worship the gods of land and the ancestors in the afternoon.

"Observing day" is Trut Chin day or New's Year's Day. On this day everybody will do and say only auspicious things. During the festival, the Thais of Chinese descent will wear red clothes which are believed to bring blessing. There is also a prohibition against sweeping the floor for they fear that the luck and blessing will be swept away.

This "observing day" is sometimes called "going out" day. It derived from the fact that when the children and employees get angpao, they will go out to have fun.

In addition, during the festival, the Chinese have a custom to take four oranges with them when visiting their senior relatives. The orange in the Chinese language is called "kik" meaning good luck. So, an exchange of oranges means an exchange of blessing.

Normally, the host will keep two out of the four oranges wrapped in a large handkerchief and replace them with two new oranges from the host. Some families may prepare "khanom-ii" to serve their guests as well. Khanom-ii are sweetened Chinese rice dumplings whose colour is pink. The easy-to-chew characteristic of the dessert signifies good fortune and the convenience in doing everything.

• The tradition of giving Angpao
  
  Giving angpao is mostly done in the well-to-do families. Employers will give angpao to employees. Parents will give angpao to their sons and daughters. When the children get a job, or get married, they will give angpao to their parents

The well-to-do parents then will give back an equal amount of money or more than that to their children. This money must be from the parents' purse not the same banknotes received from their children. Brothers or sisters-in-law should give angpao to younger brothers or sisters of their husband's or wife's. Aunts and uncles will give angpao to their nieces and nephews as well.

• Legend of the Chinese New Year
  
  A legend goes like this: about 1,000 years ago, a monster called Nian having a tiger body and a pair of wings, went around several villages to catch humans and eat them. Villagers could not figure out how to protect themselves so they consulted a sage to find a way out. The sage had observed the monster for some time and found that it would appear on the New Year's Eve. He, thus suggested the villagers gather together and chase the monster away. When the monster arrived at the village, it was driven away by the shouting and the sounds of drumbeat and firecrackers and never returned. After that, the villagers marked the next day as the beginning of the year which later was named after the monster "Nian" which means year.

• In Nakhon Sawan, you will find a grand celebration full of excitement throughout the 11-day-period of the festival. The procession of about 1,500 participants usually comes with spectacular acrobatic performances such as climbing up an over 10-metre pole to get the money reward on the top of it.

• While there are big celebrations during the day and evening, at home and in the early morning ,Thai-Chinese are preparing Food & Drink (usually includes a Pig Head )for the Gods , the Dead , and they also burn everyday utensils specially made of Paper (such as shoes, gold,  money ....these paper Utensils are usually found in chinese shops ) which is supposed to reach the dead and should bring happiness and wealth. Also the noisy sounds of the Crackers which are usually done at early am and towards noon are supposed to chase away all the bad and evil. (a typical "set-up" of Food for chinese new year)