The most important festival in China and Chinese populations around the world is Lunar New Year, often known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year.
How do you say “Happy New Year” in Chinese? It all depends on who you’re speaking with. Mandarin is the official language of China. Gong xi fa cai is how Mandarin speakers wish you a happy new year, which translates as “wishing you prosperity in the future year.” Cantonese is widely spoken in foreign Chinese communities. Cantonese speakers wish you a happy new year with the phrase “Gung hay fat choy,” which translates as “great happiness and prosperity.”
Family and friends are invited to join in the two-week celebration, which involves feasting and fireworks, as well as parties and parades.
For more than 3,000 years, Chinese New Year has been exactly what it sounds like: the start of a new year. in the Chinese calendar, the start of a new year The ancient Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that dates are determined by both the moon (lunar) and the sun (solar) (solar). Every month starts with a new moon, when the moon is not visible in the night sky. The new year begins on the new moon closest to the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which occurs between January 21 and February 20.
In 1912, China formally accepted the Gregorian calendar, which is used in the West. However, in the late twentieth century, the festival was reintroduced as the “Spring Festival.”
Although there is rarely a planned “schedule” for Lunar New Year celebrations, distinct rituals or festivities are linked with certain days. Take a look at some of the highlights below. Utilize the in the Chinese calendar, the start of a new year The ancient Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that dates are determined by both the moon (lunar) and the sun (solar) (solar).
Every month starts with a new moon, when the moon is not visible in the night sky. The new year begins on the new moon closest to the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which occurs between January 21 and February 20.
In 1912, China formally accepted the Gregorian calendar, which is used in the West. However, in the late twentieth century, the festival was reintroduced as the “Spring Festival.”
Although there is rarely a planned “schedule” for Lunar New Year celebrations, distinct rituals or festivities are linked with certain days. Take a look at some of the highlights below. Utilize the To learn about the significance of some of the magnificent delicacies linked with the Lunar New Year, use the Questions button.
Prior to the New Year
Chinese residences are extensively cleaned prior to the official start of the holiday. Cleaning represents purging the household of bad luck from the previous year and making the home welcoming to good luck in the future year. (It is customary to preserve brooms during the first few days of the celebration so that the freshly arrived good luck is not swept away.)
In the days or weeks preceding up to Chinese New Year, communities begin to decorate with red: fresh red paint on business and home doors, red paper cut-out decorations, and red lanterns. The colour is red. In Chinese traditions, it is a symbol of joy and good fortune, and it is most strongly connected with new year celebrations.
The “reunion meal,” in which families gather to celebrate hopes for the new year, is one of the traditional methods to begin celebrating the Lunar New Year.
During the New Year’s Eve festivities
Parties, firecrackers, and the famed lion dance familiar to Western viewers are among the most prominent Lunar New Year activities. Younger family members may begin receiving bright red envelopes full with money during the opening days of the Lunar New Year. Unmarried adults and children are traditionally handed these envelopes, known as hong bao (Mandarin) or lai saw (Cantonese).
The third day of the Lunar New Year is typically calmer and more solemn. than those that came before it It is considered unlucky to pay visits to friends or family, or to welcome visitors oneself. This day is typically set aside for visiting graves or lighting incense or paper tributes in commemoration of loved ones.
Often, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year commemorates renri, the day of human creation. To recognise humanity’s interconnectedness with all living things.
The ninth day of Chinese New Year is celebrated as the birthday of the Jade Emperor, the Taoist belief’s ruler of heaven.
The lovely Lantern Festival marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Paper lanterns light the way for lion dances, parades, and festivities that go all day. The Lantern Festival’s dazzling lights commemorate the first full moon following the Lunar New Year The multicoloured lanterns, which can be found both outside and inside temples, are connected with leading wayward souls home and were initially built by monks to honour Buddha.
