DTN News: Happy Chinese New Year ~ Year Of The Tiger

DTN News: Happy Chinese New Year ~ Year Of The Tiger *Source: DTN News By Roger Smith (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 15, 2010: We Wish All our Readers and Viewers a Happy Chinese New Year with Great Prosperity and Good Luck in the Year of the Tiger!

DTN News: Chinese New Year 2010 ~ Year Of The Tiger

DTN News: Chinese New Year 2010 ~ Year Of The Tiger * Source: DTN News By Roger Smith (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 14, 2010: Today, February 14, 2010 (that's right, Valentine's Day!) marks the start of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Chinese New Year is a holiday celebrating the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It's one of the most important holidays for Chinese families, who celebrate with big family gatherings, gift giving, eating special foods and tons of decorations, which all focus on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring. Some Chinese families celebrate Chinese New Year for a whole month!A white tiger rests inside an enclosure at Beijing Zoo in Beijing, China, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. There are fewer than 50 wild tigers left in China today, living in Yunnan, Tibet, Jilin and Helongjiang, according to Xie Yan, the China program director of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The organization is working with the Chinese government to help protect Amur tigers from poachers and develop new habits to their survival.

Traditions & Symbols ~ Clean house and new clothes: Before the first day of Chinese New Year families clean their homes from top to bottom to clear out any bad luck from the last year and to get the house ready for good luck in the new year. But be careful: all the cleaning has to be finished before New Year's Day so there's no chance of accidentally throwing out the good fortune of the new year.

Also, before New Year's Day, you're supposed to buy new clothes or cut your hair in order to have a fresh start. And never, ever wear black during Chinese New Year - it's bad luck. Red is the colour of good luck, so wearing lots of red is encouraged.

Decorate the house. Another popular custom is to hang up signs and posters on doors and windows with the Chinese word fu written on them, which means luck and happiness. Put a lot of flowers around your home - they symbolize a new beginning.

Eat with your family. On the night of the Chinese New Year it's customary to visit relatives and eat a huge meal that includes: *Eight or nine different dishes, because those are lucky numbers (nine = prosperity; eight = long-lasting). *Dumplings (because they look like gold nuggets). *Oranges (because they're perfectly round, symbolizing wholeness). *Long noodles (because they symbolize long life). *Sticky rice cakes and sweets (because they're part of a story about the Kitchen God, who is sorta like Santa Claus Chinese travelers wait to enter the Beijing train station, in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. Millions of Chinese workers are boarding trains to head home for the Lunar New Year, a holiday that triggers the world's biggest annual migration of people. Give good luck gifts. Lots of kids get gifts from adults on Chinese New Year - little red envelopes stuffed with money to symbolize wealth for the coming year. But don't open your envelope until the person who gave it to you has left your home!

Make lanterns. The Chinese New Year celebration ends with a Lantern Festival, which honors the first full moon of the year and represents the coming of Spring. Families light lanterns, which symbolize the brightness of spring, and hang them on walls around the house or carry them on poles in lantern parades.

Honor the animal. For Chinese families, every year is associated with one of 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. These animals are often represented in decorations during the holiday. This year, the animal is the Tiger. Some people think if you were born during the year of a certain animal you'll end up with the character traits of that animal. For example, if you were born during the year of the rat, you will grow up to be imaginative and cunning.

DTN News: Defense-Technology News Wishes Readers & Viewers A Happy Chinese New Year ~ Year Of The Tiger

DTN News: Defense-Technology News Wishes Readers & Viewers A Happy Chinese New Year ~ Year Of The Tiger * Source: DTN News By Roger Smith (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 14, 2010: We Wish All our Readers and Viewers a Happy Chinese New Year with Great Prosperity and Good Luck in the Year of the Tiger!

DTN News: To Our Readers & Viewers ~ Wishing You, A Very Happy New Year 2010 & Best Wishes From DTN News Defense-Technology News

DTN News: To Our Readers & Viewers ~ Wishing You, A Very Happy New Year 2010 & Best Wishes From DTN News Defense-Technology News *Source: DTN News (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 30, 2009: New Year's Day, or January 1, is the first day of the year and is an occasion that witnesses the biggest annual celebration across all countries of the world. It is the time when we ring out the old year and welcome the present year with open arms, with eyes filled with new dreams and hearts replete with new expectations.Blogs have become an important source of information with a blog being created about every second, there are bound to be many more good ones. The bottom line is that they all are produced by passionate people who have a wealth of information about their corner of the tech world. There are a lot of reasons people find particular blogs worthy of their time. Some are valued solely for their aggregation of pertinent news, while others have formed a devoted following based on the robust and educated comments of their readers. Still others have become popular because of their humor or for the biting tone of their writers' opinions. DTN News: Wishing Our Readers & Viewers a fabulous 2010 with full of great achievements and experiences. A meaningful chapter waiting to be written HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

DTN News: Christmas Greetings To Our Readers & Viewers From DTN News Defense-Technology News

DTN News: Christmas Greetings To Our Readers & Viewers From DTN News Defense-Technology News *Source: DTN News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - December 25, 2009: In the Western world, the birthday of Jesus Christ has been celebrated on December 25th since AD 354, replacing an earlier date of January 6th. The Christians had by then appropriated many pagan festivals and traditions of the season, that were practiced in many parts of the Middle East and Europe, as a means of stamping them out. There were mid-winter festivals in ancient Babylon and Egypt, and Germanic fertility festivals also took place at this time. The birth of the ancient sun-god Attis in Phrygia was celebrated on December 25th, as was the birth of the Persian sun-god, Mithras. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of peace and plenty, that ran from the 17th to 24th of December. Public gathering places were decorated with flowers, gifts and candles were exchanged and the population, slaves and masters alike, celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm. In Scandinavia, a period of festivities known as Yule contributed another impetus to celebration, as opposed to spirituality. As Winter ended the growing season, the opportunity of enjoying the Summer's bounty encouraged much feasting and merriment. The Celtic culture of the British Isles revered all green plants, but particularly mistletoe and holly. These were important symbols of fertility and were used for decorating their homes and altars. New Christmas customs appeared in the Middle Ages. The most prominent contribution was the carol, which by the 14th century had become associated with the religious observance of the birth of Christ. In Italy, a tradition developed for re-enacting the birth of Christ and the construction of scenes of the nativity. This is said to have been introduced by Saint Francis as part of his efforts to bring spiritual knowledge to the laity. Saints Days have also contributed to our Christmas celebrations. A prominent figure in today's Christmas is Saint Nicholas who for centuries has been honored on December 6th. He was one of the forerunners of Santa Claus. Another popular ritual was the burning of the Yule Log, which is strongly embedded in the pagan worship of vegetation and fire, as well as being associated with magical and spiritual powers. Celebrating Christmas has been controversial since its inception. Since numerous festivities found their roots in pagan practices, they were greatly frowned upon by conservatives within the Church. The feasting, gift-giving and frequent excesses presented a drastic contrast with the simplicity of the Nativity, and many people throughout the centuries and into the present, condemn such practices as being contrary to the true spirit of Christmas. The earliest English reference to December 25th as Christmas Day did not come until 1043.