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[Happy]

Chinese New Year - The Year of the Ox
January 20th, 2009 - Hilary Jackson

One of the great things about living in our interconnected digital world is the opportunity it provides to connect with people from vastly different cultures to our own.  You may be surprised to learn that players on SmallWorlds come from 143 different countries - we are talking super-rich cultural diversity here! To honour this, we intend to bring some of the traditions of other cultures to you throughout the year, in-world.

First up is the Chinese New Year celebration, which begins on the 26th of January; leaving behind the year of the Rat and transitioning us into the year of the Ox.


 
So, why the Red Lanterns & Fireworks?… watch out for the Nian!
 According to tales and legends, a Nian is a beast which comes out of hiding around the Chinese New Year to attack people, especially children. Over time, it was discovered that the Nian is sensitive to loud noises and  was very afraid of the colour red.





To protect themselves, people began the tradition of placing food in front of their doors at the beginning of the new year,  displaying red lanterns, wearing red clothing and exploding fireworks - all used to scare the beast away.  Below you can see our fantastic Dragon head Firework, the Double Happy  Banger firework, and the Ox Head spell.


 
Come Buy Our Wares (& try out the Chinese New Year Mission)
All Chinese New Year items are displayed in the Happy Chinese New Year space . Drop on in and purchase some gorgeous red lanterns, traditional food to leave at your door,  some fireworks to protect you from the beast (our red Chinese Dragon Collectible would probably provide you with some good “beast”  insurance too), and perhaps the odd Ox head spell to throw at your friends!  Include a couple of gorgeous Chinese Wall panels (pictured right)  and you’ll be all set to celebrate  the Chinese New Year in true SmallWorlds style.





We’ve also put together a Chinese New Year mission; learn more about this significant Chinese celebration (and gain yourself some more XP at the same time!)

Happy year of the Ox from all of us at SmallWorlds!