Chinese New Year eve traditions

Very early the next morning, children greet their parents and receive their presents in terms of cash wrapped up in red paper packages from them. Then, the family starts out to say greetings from door to door, first to their relatives and then to their neighbors. This Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile forgetting all old grudges. The air is permeated with warmth and friendliness. During and several days following the New Year's day, people are visiting each other, with a great deal of exchange of gifts. The New Year atmosphere is brought to an anti-climax fifteen days away when the Festival of Lanterns sets in. It is an occasion of lantern shows and folk dances everywhere. One typical food is the Tang Yuan, another kind of dumplings made of sweet rice rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings. This tradition is also specially followed on Chinese New Year time.