Celebrating Chinese New Year

Xīnnián kuàilè!

Happy New Year!

You might be thinking that our New Year celebrations are over for the year, but we have good news for you!

In 2024, Chinese New Year falls on the 10th of February – so we have another New Year’s celebration right around the corner. But if you think this special occasion is only about staying up late and setting off fireworks, you should think again. This celebration is so much more than that.

What are Chinese New Year celebrations?

Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, is more than one day; it’s 15 to 17 days (from 10 February to 24 February this year). While many of us celebrate New Year’s Eve on a specific date each year (31 December), Chinese New Year changes date every year because it’s based on the lunar calendar and not the Gregorian calendar. The celebrations of Chinese New Year are known as the Spring Festival.

The festival is thought to have its origins in the legend of Nian. Thousands of years ago a monster named Nian would attack Chinese villagers at the beginning of the year. Nian was found to be afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the colour red, so these were used to drive the monster away. This is why firecrackers, fireworks, red clothes, and red decorations are a central part of the New Year celebrations.

Food and festivities

As with many celebrations, food plays an important part in Chinese New Year.

Typical foods served during the festivities are fish, oysters, and seaweed. This is because their names in Chinese sound similar to the Chinese words for abundance, good events, and fortune, respectively. Chinese dumplings are eaten at midnight on New Year’s Eve to attract good luck and wealth, and (long) noodles are eaten as they symbolize a long life. Eating traditional sweets is also popular to ensure the upcoming year is sweeter than the last.

The most important meal of the year is celebrated on New Year’s Eve (9 February) with the family. After dinner, the children all receive red envelopes (usually filled with money), and then everyone will stay up to welcome in the new year with fireworks.

On New Year’s Day, there might be processions or parades, where thousands of people will gather, most of them wearing red. The streets and shops will be decorated with red decorations and Chinese lanterns will be hung up in shopfronts.

The Lantern Festival signals the end of the festivities. This is when people hang lanterns in temples or carry them in a nighttime parade. A dragon dance is often observed, as the dragon is a symbol of good fortune.

What is the significance of Chinese New Year?

The lunar calendar is associated with twelve animal signs in the Chinese zodiac. Each year correlates to one of the twelve animals. 2022 was the Year of the Tiger, 2023 was the Year of the Rabbit, and 2024 is the Year of the Dragon.

The Chinese zodiac animals are, in order:

Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat.

The zodiac animal is important as it has some connotations for the year, particularly if you were born in that year. For example, if you were born in the Year of the Ox (for example, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, or 2021), you are considered a natural leader, bright, patient, and cheerful. The Year of the Ox typically brings with it success in business and your career – for all signs but particularly if you are an Ox!

What are Chinese New Year superstitions?

At this special time of year, if you are in China or are in a country that celebrates the new year you will need to keep a few things in mind.

• Make sure your debts are all paid up before the New Year celebrations start, or else you will be in debt for the whole year. Also, don’t borrow or lend money during the festival.

• While you might want to start the new year on a clean note you shouldn’t clean or sweep your house on the first day of the new year, as you may sweep away good fortune. Taking out the garbage is the same as taking good fortune out of your house. A deep clean of your house should be done before the New Year celebrations to rid your house of bad energy.

• You shouldn’t wash your hair on New Year’s Day, as this means washing away your wealth.

• Taking medicine on the first day means that you will get sick for the rest of the year. Visiting a patient in a hospital on this day will only bring them more ill-health.

• Avoid any activities which use sharp implements, such as scissors, knives, and needles. Sharp objects are thought to bring bad luck.

• Don’t forget to wear your lucky red underwear! Or at least red clothes. Avoid black or white clothing.

• On the third day of the new year, you should leave some crumbs of crackers in the corners of your house to share your harvest with the rats. If this is done and the rats are undisturbed on this night, then they won’t bother you during the year.

Chinese New Year

The New Year is an exciting time for everyone, bringing with it the promise of a fresh start and new beginnings. If you’re lucky enough to be a TEFL teach in China right now, you should be well aware of the goings on that characterise this time of year.

For those who don’t know, this is China’s big holiday. Does China shut down for Chinese New Year? In a sense, yes! Most of China travel home to spend the Spring Festival holidays with their families. With 1.4 billion people, you can imagine what the trains, buses and airports look like this time of year!

Luckily, as a TEFL teacher, you have the opportunity to enjoy your time off in your “home” city, and travel to all the fascinating parts of the country when it’s not so chaotic.

If you are in China for Chinese New Year, or if you are in a city where Chinese New Year is celebrated, or if you celebrate it yourself, be sure to find out what your community is doing to celebrate this auspicious occasion. And don’t forget to eat your long noodles!

Ppsst: If this has got you thinking of venturing to the Middle Kingdom – which you totally should! – why not teach English in China? You don’t need to speak Chinese to be able to teach there. And it’s the experience of a  lifetime – guaranteed!