About Chinese New Year

Suddenly, I remembered Anna asked me about Chinese New Year yesterday. I searched it from google.
Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, or the lunar New Year is the most important of traditional Chinese holidays. This Festival begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called the Lantern Festival. The Chinese lunar calendar determines Chinese New Year dates.Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20.This year it falls on February 7th.
The Chinese lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. A legend said that the lord Buddha elected 12 animals to be celestial being to record dates. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each. By the Chinese calendar, 2008 is the Year of the Rat. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking.
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes.The fireworks that shower the festivities rooted in a similar ancient custom.People in China usually lit bamboo stalks on Chinese New Year's Eve before, believing that the cracking and the flame would frighten evil spirits.But it's not allowed to do in several big cities now.In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion.Family members get together at parents' homes for visiting and dinner on New Year's Eve. Just like Christmas in US.

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I just read my friend's blog. I like her eco-friendly new year's resolution. That's a good idea. We only have one earth. If we ignore this part and keep wasting and destroying, the environment would be damaged more. We need to do something to protect our earth, such as using biodegradable products, recycling, using renewable energy, etc... But on the flip side, biodegradable products are more expensive than the normal using things, if we keep using biodegradable products, we may don't have much money to buy other things. That's a pretty complicated issue. What do you think about it?