8 Facts You Didn’t Know About Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in China, and for Chinese people living all over the world. In Chinese, the holiday is known as Chūn Jié (春节), or the Spring Festival.

Traditionally, it marked the end of the worst days of winter and a marked a time for new growth. Today, people enjoy spending Chinese New Year with family and friends by celebrating, eating, drinking, giving Chinese New Year gifts and enjoying time with the people they care about.

1. There is no set date for Chinese New Year

In 2019, the Chinese New Year occurs on February 5th. For a full list of dates check out this Chinese New Year calendar. According to the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar, the Spring Festival starts on January 1st and lasts until the 15th (the full moon).

2. It’s a time for praying and fighting Monsters

In ancient China, Chūn Jié was a day meant for praying to the Gods for a good harvest season and to ward-off any misfortune. The people would give offerings to the gods and spirits to look upon them in favor. The country was heavily dependent on agriculture, and they believed that making offerings of the best foods to the gods would bring about good fortune and a bountiful harvest.

According to legend, the festival began after a brave little boy fought-off a monster named Nian (年) using firecrackers. The next day, people celebrated their survival by setting off even more firecrackers. Today, no Chinese New Year Celebration is complete without fireworks.

3. It is the longest Chinese holiday

The Spring Festival is technically 15 days long. But celebrations start on New Year’s Eve (making it 16 days). The Chinese winter holiday season begins in December (on the lunar calendar) with the là bā jié festival (腊八节). That’s about 40 days worth of celebration and togetherness with family and friends!

Traditionally, people spend time with family for the first five days. The fifth day is a Chinese national holiday and most stores are closed, so they can prepare to sell Nian Huo (年货), or New Year’s products. They stock up on cooking supplies, snacks, Chinese new year gift baskets, and more.

4. Children Receive Lucky Money in Red Envelopes

It wouldn’t be much of a holiday without gift-giving! Chinese New Year gifts are exchanged between friends and family during the Spring Festival. Children also receive money in red envelopes, to symbolize the transference of good fortune from the elders to the children. These red envelopes or pockets are also exchanged between bosses and employees, co-workers, and friends.

5. “Xin Nian Kuai Le”

The traditional greeting for the spring festival is “Xin Nian Kuai Le.” The phrase translates to “Happy New Year.” In Hong Kong and other Cantonese-speaking regions, it’s more common to say “gong hei fat choy.” In Mandarin, the greeting is “gong xi fa cai”. It means “congratulations on the fortune.”

6. New Years taboos

In an effort to hang on to some of the good luck, for the first 5 days of the festival, people don’t throw away their garbage, cut their hair, or shower until the 6th day of the festival. Other taboos include:

• Hair cutting (before February 2)
• Using scissors, knives and other sharp things
• Arguing, swearing
• Saying unlucky words (such as “death” and “sickness”)
• Breaking things

If you want to hang onto that good luck, it’s seen as essential that you follow the rules!

7. So Many Dumplings

Traditionally during the spring festival, people in northern China eat dumplings for every meal, every day. While many people don’t strictly keep to this tradition, you will find dumplings on the menu for any New Year’s Eve dinner, and they are almost always eaten for breakfast during the holiday.

However, dumplings aren’t popular everywhere in China. In the South, people tend to favor spring rolls and balls of glutinous rice in a soup called tangyuan (汤圆). Food is clearly a huge part of Chinese new year.

8. Every year has a zodiac animal

Western horoscopes include 12 signs, one for each month. In the Chinese zodiac, there are 12 signs as well, but each animal is for the entire year.

2019 is the year of the pig. A zodiac’s positive traits are bestowed on people born that year.

Signs of the zodiac play a much bigger role for the Chinese people than most people in Western cultures. Your animal can decide your career, health and relationship success. Find out your Chinese zodiac sign here.