by KYW's Karin Phillips
It's the first day of the Chinese New Year - the year of the rat, 4706.
Dr. Elizabeth VanderVen, professor of East Asian history and culture at Rutgers University in Camden, says, for the next 15 days, people all over the world will celebrate Chinese New Year in many different ways but with some similarities, like wearing or decorating in red, gifts of money to children, visits to relatives and at least one big New Year dinner, beginning with dumplings for good luck:
"Noodles are the second day. And one interesting custom is that noodles, because they're long, symbolize long life and longevity. There's no cutting. So knives and things with blades, once New Year's starts, one doesn't want to use those."
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