Chinese New Year

January, February: Chinese New Year | Spring Festival

Chinese New Year

Fireworks, dragons, lions, and Nian gao all signify the start of the Chinese New Year. This is one of the most important holidays in China. It’s observed all over the world. Similar celebrations occur in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival.

Most Chinese holidays follow the lunar calendar, so the date varies from year to year. The Chinese New Year always occurs in January or February on the second new moon after the winter solstice, though occasionally it has been the third new moon. A long time ago, the emperor determined the start of the New Year. Today, celebrations are based on Emperor Han Wu Di’s almanac. It uses the first day of the first month of the Lunar Year as the start of the Chinese New Year. Each year has a ruling animal based on the Chinese Zodiac.

Traditions

Traditions observed during the New Year stem from legends and practices from ancient times. Legend tells of a village thousands of years ago that was ravaged by Nian, an evil monster, one winter’s night. The following year, the monster returned and again ravaged the village. Before it could happen a third time, the villagers devised a plan to scare the monster away. Since the color red protects against evil, red banners were hung everywhere. People set off firecrackers and banged on drums and gongs, creating loud noises to scare the beast away. The plan worked. The celebration lasted several days, during which people visited with each other, exchanged gifts, danced, and ate tasty comestibles. Today, celebrations last for two weeks. They are both literal and symbolic.

Preparing for the New Year

paper cut
paper cut quilling multidimensional diorama 
  • People start spring cleaning a month before the new year and complete it before the celebrations begin. They sweep out all the negativity and bad luck from the previous year out of the house.
  • People get haircuts and purchase new clothing. It symbolizes a fresh start.
  • They make offerings to the Kitchen God a week before the New Year.
  • Flowers and decorations adorn the home. Decorations include a New Year picture (colored woodblock print), Chinese knots, paper cuts, and couplets.
  • Red paper cuts decorate doors and windows. Red is symbolic of good luck.

Flowers have special meanings and the flower market stocks up on:

  • plum blossom for luck
  • kumquats for prosperity
  • narcissus for prosperity
  • sunflowers for a good year
  • eggplant to heal sickness
  • chom mon plant for tranquility

During the New Year Celebrations

orange, red envelopes, plum blossoms
orange, red envelopes, plum blossoms
  • Brooms and cleaning materials are put away. No cleaning takes place during the holiday to avoid good luck from being swept out of the home.
  • People do not fight and avoid being mean to each other, as this would bring a bad, unlucky year.
  • People wear bright colors, especially red.
  • Everyone celebrates their birthday, and they turn one year older.
  • Traditional red, oval-shaped lanterns are hung.
  • The Annual Reunion Dinner, Nian Ye Fan, is held on New Year’s Eve. This is an important part of the celebration. Families come together and eat together. The food is symbolic. Many dishes have ingredients that sound or look like good tidings or good luck. In northern China, they serve dumplings at midnight; they symbolize wealth.
  • Red packets called Lai See Hong Bao (or Hongbao) with money tucked inside are given out as a symbol of good luck. The amount is an even number, as odd numbers are unlucky.
  • The dragon dance is a highlight of the celebrations. A team of up to 100 dancers mimic the movements of the dragon river spirit. Dragons bring good luck.

Foods Hold Symbolism as Well

  • Red meat is not served and one is careful not to serve or eat from a chipped or cracked plate.
  • Fish is eaten to ensure long life and good fortune.
  • Red dates bring the hope for prosperity, melon seeds for proliferation, and lotus seeds mean the family will prosper through time.
  • Oranges and tangerines symbolize wealth and good fortune.
  • Nian gao, the New Year’s Cake, is always served. It’s believed that the higher the cake rises, the better the year will be.
  • When company stops by, a “prosperity tray” is served. The tray has eight sides (another symbol of prosperity) and is filled with goodies like red dates, melon seeds, cookies, and New Year Cakes.

Lion Dancers

lion dancer
lion dancer
  • Lions are considered good omens. The lion dance repels demons. Each lion has two dancers, one to maneuver the head, the other to guide the back.
  • Business owners offer the lions a head of lettuce and oranges or tangerines. The offerings hope to insure a successful year in business. Lettuce translates into “growing wealth” and tangerines and oranges sound like “gold” and “wealth” in Chinese. The lions eat the oranges, then spew them up and out into the hordes of people who eagerly try to catch them. And after eating the lettuce, they spit out it out in a thousand pieces.
  • There are two styles of lions, Northern and Southern.
    • The Northern style imitates dog movements, and the costumes are warmer tones and shaggy with red or green bows on their heads. The dance often includes acrobatics and stunts.
    • While the Southern dance imitates a cat with stylized movements. The costumes come in a wide variety of colors and the heads have enormous eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn on the top of the head.
    • Traditionally, the color had significance, but not so much today. The red lion for good luck, the yellow lion for good fortune, and green for money. A white-colored lion represented the eldest, black the youngest, and yellow in the middle.

The end of the New Year is celebrated with the Lantern Festival.

Upcoming Dates

  • 2024: February 10 (Year of the Green Dragon)
  • 2025: January 29 (Year of the Green Snake)
  • 2026: February 17 (Year of the Red Horse)
  • 2027: February 6 (Year of the Red Fire Sheep)
  • 2028: January 26 (Year of the Brown Earth Monkey)
  • 2029: February 13 (Year of the Brown Earth Rooster)
  • 2030: February 3 (Year of the White Metal Dog)

More for the Chinese New Year:

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⇴ images purchased from vecteezy


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