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04 Feb, 2019

Your Essential Chinese New Year Celebration Guide

 “Why do I need this Chinese New Year guide,” you say?

Trivial fact, Chinese New Year or “Spring Festival” is celebrated by more than 20% of the world. It becomes the most important festival and holiday in China and to Chinese people all over.

This year, Chinese New Year falls on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, beginning a year of the Pig. The holiday is a two week festival filled with reunions among family and friends, an abundance of delicious food and wishes for a new year filled with prosperity, joy and good fortune.

Though you’re currently not in China, there’s a possibility you would still feel the atmosphere and euphoria of Chinese New Year in your place. So why don’t you learn this Chinese New Year guide to help you understand better about this celebration?

Chinese New Year a.k.a the Spring Festival

In China, you'll hear it being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival. It’s still very wintry, but the holiday marks the end of the coldest days. People welcome spring and what it brings along: planting and harvests, new beginnings and fresh starts.

Lucky Red Items

Every street, building, and house where Spring Festival is celebrated is decorated with red because it’s the main color for the festival believed to be an auspicious color. Red Chinese lanterns hang in streets; red couplets are pasted on doors; banks and official buildings are decorated with red New Year pictures depicting images of prosperity.

It’s Family Time

Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Wherever they are, people are expected to be home to celebrate the festival with their families. The New Year's Eve dinner is called 'reunion dinner', and is believed to be the most important meal of the year.

The Most Firecrackers are Set Off

As in the myth about Nian, firecrackers are supposed to scare off monsters and bad luck. So people stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the Chinese New Year and good luck.

That same night, families also burn fake paper money and printed gold bars in honor of their deceased loved ones. They believe the offerings will bring fortune and good luck to their ancestors in the afterlife.

It Causes the Largest Human Migration in the World

The most important part of Chinese New Year is the family reunion. Everyone should come back home for the New Year’s Eve dinner. But since in modern China, most elderly parents live in rural villages while their children work in the cities. Plus, the earliest you can buy train tickets is 60 days before. It leads to a mad rush of literally fighting for tickets.

Children Receive Lucky Money in Red Envelopes

In other cultures, children receive gifts for holidays. Gifts are also exchanged during the Spring Festival. But Chinese children receive something else too—red envelopes which include money. This money is supposed to help transfer fortune from the elders to the kids. They can also be given between bosses and employees, co-workers, and friends.

Chinese New Year ends with the Lantern Festival

The first full moon of the (lunar) year is the Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节—yuán xiāo jié) or Lantern Festival (灯节—dēng jié). Though family is still important, it’s still a night of partying and freedom.

In ancient times, girls weren’t allowed to venture outside by themselves. But on this night, they were able to walk around, moon-gaze and look at the beautiful lanterns. Because of this, it’s also known as Valentine’s Day in China.

One out of every 5 people in the world is Chinese. But that stat doesn’t include the millions of overseas Chinese and people of Chinese descent. If you have a Chinatown nearby, you can definitely get a feel of what the celebrations are like.

Make sure you go check out the parades, lion dances, lantern statues, fireworks and amazing food!