For the Chinese to hear “Happy New Year!” on January 1st. just as wild as if you were congratulated on March 8th in winter. Chinese New Year comes later than the Western one and, unlike the banal change of the calendar, carries much more meaning.
Chinese New Year is a spring festival. It falls on one of the days between January 21 and February 21. And this is what happens in China two weeks before and two weeks after the holiday.
Firstly, it is customary to celebrate the Spring Festival at home with the whole family, which means that approximately half of China working in big cities returns home at this time.
Secondly, the Chinese are not entitled to vacation. There is no such clause in the Chinese Labor Code. That is, national holidays are the only opportunity to travel. This means that within two weeks after the holiday, half of China is intensively exploring the tourist spots of the Celestial Empire.
Thirdly, in 2016, the population of China was (for a second!) 1.3 billion people. Now imagine 750 million people moving from one place to another at the same time.
Traditions for celebrating Chinese New Year vary across provinces and cities:
- In the Wudang Mountains (Hubei Province), all houses are thoroughly cleaned, and on the door there is a red and gold image of the character Fu 福 (happiness, prosperity) straight or inverted. The same is done throughout China. The doorposts are also decorated with red inscriptions wishing good luck in the new year. They often hang like this throughout the year and change on the eve of a new holiday.
- Also common here the custom of hanging an image of the “sweet god” in the kitchen. Before the New Year, housewives smear his lips with honey or sugar syrup, so that when this god goes to heaven to report on the behavior of his charges, only sweet speeches would flow from his lips.
- The New Year's meal is one of the most plentiful. In Udan, on the eve of the holiday, pork sausage is prepared and hung outside to dry.
- Making dumplings with the whole family is an integral tradition. Many families make dumplings in the shape of ancient money bars, and put a coin in one of them. The year will be especially successful for the one who receives this surprise.
- There can be more than 20 dishes on the New Year's table. Among them there must be fish, chicken, pork, beef, duck - often all dishes at the same time. In poor families, only one meat dish is placed on the table, but no one touches it - to show the neighbors that they can afford it, and not to actually eat it.
- A typical New Year's gift is a hongbao, a red envelope with money, which in Hubei Province is usually given to children or the elderly. The amount depends on the wealth of the giver and the status of the recipient. The older the person, the more money it is customary to give.
- On the first day of the new year they go to visit each other. The Chinese give practical gifts : cigarettes, alcohol, large bottles of vegetable oil or packages with portioned cartons of milk. No romance, but a lot of benefits.
- New Year in China is red. This is connected with the legend of scary monster Nian, crawling out on the last day of the old year, who is afraid of the color red. Red also symbolizes happiness and good luck. Well, thirdly, according to legend, people whose year begins in accordance with the Chinese cyclic calendar (year of the Rat, Rabbit, Tiger, Ox, etc.) will have a difficult year. To ward off trouble and attract good luck, they are shown wearing red underwear, which appears in huge quantities in stores on New Year's Eve.
The Chinese are experiencing tender love to fireworks, launching them for any occasion: wedding, birthday, funeral, moving, new position. But on New Year's Day, flashes and roars from fireworks occur throughout the day approximately every 10–20 seconds.
In general, don’t miss the opportunity to get together with friends again on January 28: the first day of the Chinese New Year falls on this date in 2017. And don't give unnecessary gifts plush toys, and give food - best gift from the Chinese point of view.
Happy New Year, dear friends!
Oddly enough, but now the Chinese lead a normal, measured life and do not prepare in any way for the New Year. This is because for them it will come next year, and December 31 and January 1 are the most ordinary working days for them, on which they simply change the old calendar to a new one. In China, most holidays are celebrated according to the lunisolar calendar, be it Mid-Autumn Day or Spring Festival, also known as New Year. New Year celebrations in China will begin on the first day of the new moon and will last 15 days until the full moon, i.e. 2017 will begin on January 28, the symbol of this year will be the Fire Rooster. Of course, since we are located on the border of two states, here, to please tourists, they are already trying to transform the city, they even installed a couple of Christmas trees in places where visitors gather. But that’s not about that now. Our good-natured colleagues and real Chinese told us several important traditions that are passed on from generation to generation.
Cleaning
A few days before the onset of the Chinese New Year, the Chinese do a thorough cleaning of the house, which symbolizes getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. By the way, it’s a tradition very close to us to give the premises a complete makeover before the holidays. It is also customary to celebrate the New Year with a clean body and soul, put things in order in your head and begin the celebration with positive thoughts.
Room decoration
After cleaning is completed, people decorate their homes to welcome the New Year. Most of the decorations are red. The most popular of them are lanterns, New Year's paintings, and various symbols of the New Year sign. This year there will be cute roosters everywhere. On front door It is customary to hang red ribbons or paper with hieroglyphs denoting the “five types of happiness”: luck, honor, longevity, wealth and joy. As you can see, the Christmas tree is not in fashion among the Chinese.
Small year
A tradition completely unfamiliar to us. The minor year begins on the 23rd or 24th of the last month of the year. It is said that on this day the god of food leaves the family to go to heaven and report to the Emperor of Heaven about the family's activities. On this day, the Chinese hold a religious ceremony to bid farewell to the god of food, which includes burning a painting of the god. In Chinese new year holidays people buy a new painting of the food god and hang it in the kitchen.
New Year's fireworks
In ancient times, fireworks were set off to drive away evil spirits from China. Since then, it has become a tradition and immediately after 12 o'clock at night on New Year's Day, fireworks are launched, which symbolizes the onset of the New Year. There is a belief that people who set off fireworks on New Year's Day will have good luck in the coming year. But the tradition of expelling evil spirits existed in China even before the advent of firecrackers and firecrackers. To create noise, any household items that were at hand were used. From the 14th century n. e. in China there was a custom in New Year's Eve throw bamboo sticks into the oven, which, when burned, made a strong crackling noise and thereby scared away evil spirits. Later, these sticks were replaced with firecrackers and pyrotechnics, but the meaning of the tradition remained the same.
New Year's Eve dinner
New Year's dinner is of great importance to the Chinese. During the feast, a family reunion occurs, which is especially important for those whose loved ones have left home and live separately. Seats at the table are also provided for those family members who, for one reason or another, are absent from the New Year celebration. The holiday dinner usually includes fish. And in northern China, dumplings are an integral dish, in the preparation of which the whole family takes part. Dumplings are a figurative embodiment of one of the main wishes: the birth of sons. These two dishes symbolize prosperity. Other dishes depend on personal preferences. The Chinese are careful to festive table was bursting with a variety of treats. And New Year's dinner must be held at home, and not in a restaurant.
Shou Sui
Shou Sui is a festive family time after the New Year. Family members usually party all night, watching holiday shows on TV, talking, playing games and setting off fireworks. Although some may only stay until the middle of the night when the fireworks stop.
Red envelope
At the end of dinner, it is time to give gifts. Chinese New Year red envelopes usually contain between one and several thousand yuan. The amount of money must be even, they must be freshly printed, since everything New Year's must be new and bring good luck and wealth. But an odd amount is given for funerals. Sometimes chocolate coins are also included. Usually they are given by adults to children on New Year's days. There is a belief that a red envelope drives evil out of children, makes them healthy and increases their life expectancy.
Gift exchange
In addition to red envelopes, it is customary to give small gifts(usually food or sweets), usually given by elders to younger ones, or between friends or relatives. Typical gifts are fruits (usually tangerines, oranges, but pears are excluded), pies, biscuits, chocolates, candies, sweets, etc. Also in China, on New Year’s Day it is customary to give gifts of paired items that symbolize unity and family harmony: two vases, two mugs, etc. Usually new Year gifts Guests give them to the owners before leaving, sometimes even leaving them secretly. And in the morning, people with their entire families go to congratulate relatives and neighbors, following the main rule: the time has come for reconciliation and forgiveness of all grievances. In China, there is also a tradition that originated in ancient times: during the New Year celebration, when you come to visit, you present your hosts with two tangerines, and when you leave, you receive two other tangerines from your hosts. The emergence of this tradition is associated with the fact that in Chinese the pronounced “para mandarin” is consonant with the word “gold”.
Family photo
Very important Chinese New Year's tradition is a joint photo of all the gathered relatives. The oldest man, the head of the family, sits in the center.
End of the New Year celebration
On the fifteenth day of the new year, the Lantern Festival (元宵節, yuan xiao jie - literally the first night festival) is held. On this day, another family dinner is held. Launching lanterns and oranges are an integral part of the holiday. Special sweet dumplings called tangyuan are also prepared in the shape of a full moon. These round balls are made of glutinous rice and sugar, symbolizing reunion. It is said that during such a festival, the direction of lost bad spirits to their homes occurs and at the same time, celebration and cultivation good relations between people, families, nature and more, bringing light every year. This day is usually considered the end of the Chinese New Year holidays.
Spring (New Year's trip)
As I already said, Chinese people in various cities in China return home for family dinners on New Year's Eve. Usually this movement begins 15 days before the New Year. This 40-day period is called Chunyun - "spring transport", which is known as the world's largest annual migration. There are so many internal movements during this period that the number is greater than the entire population of China.
No matter how different our customs and traditions may be, the New Year for everyone always remains the most important and family holiday. This is the time of miracles, the time of fulfillment cherished desires, a moment of happiness. May everything be fine with you!
Your Snow Maiden Alyonka!
2020 is the year of the rat eastern calendar .
Official holidays for the new year in China in 2020: from January 24 to January 30 (due to epidemic extended until February 9).
In 2020, Chinese New Year according to the Eastern calendar is celebrated on the night of January 24-25, at 24:00.
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival: (Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, 春节, 过年) is the most important holiday in China, the date of celebration of which is determined by the lunar calendar, in 2020 it falls on January 25.
Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival, has a history of more than 4,000 years. This is the greatest and most important holiday of the year for the Chinese, let's look at why:
- Time for a family reunion
Chinese New Year is a celebration of the reunion of the entire family clan, just as they do at Christmas in the West, only on a larger scale: on the eve of the New Year, all the masses leave the cities to meet at the family table in their hometown. Which causes traffic collapse for many weeks before and after the new year.
- Longest holiday in China
In most organizations in China, holiday holidays last from 7 to 15 days, and schoolchildren and students go on vacation for a whole month.
Traditionally, the celebration lasts 15 days from the 1st to the 15th day of the first lunar month, and it is customary for people to start preparations even earlier - from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.
- The holiday owes its origin to the monster "Nian"
The holiday dates back to the Shang Dynasty (17-11 centuries BC). The festival was then held to drive out the monster "Nian", who loved to devour children, supplies and livestock. The monster was afraid of the color red and loud sound, so people decorated their houses in red and set off lots of fireworks to drive it away.
Chinese New Year celebration dates
When is Chinese New Year? Based on the lunar calendar, the festival does not have a fixed date and it changes every year, but generally falls on the day from January 21 to February 20 in the Gregorian calendar.
The lunar calendar also determines the 12-year repeating cycle of the eastern zodiac, and each year belongs to an animal.
How long does Chinese New Year last? The festival lasts 15 days, from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival.
How is Chinese New Year celebrated?
Preparations begin seven days before the Chinese New Year, and the holiday itself lasts until the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the new year.
The Chinese have a daily to-do list that must be followed during the holiday. Important days are the Eve and the first day; on these days a festive feast is held and fireworks are set off.
▷ 23rd day of the last lunar month (8 days before the new year)
Making offerings to the God of the kitchen
General cleaning of the house
Holiday shopping, buying New Year's attributes,
▷ Chinese New Year's Eve:
Preparing red envelopes, family reunion dinner, watching holiday programs on TV, setting off fireworks.
▷ 1st day of the first lunar month:
Setting off fireworks, preparing and eating dumplings or nengao (sweet delicacy), visiting relatives.
▷ Day 2:
Worship of the God of Wealth, married daughters visit their parents' house (the first day should be spent with the groom's family).
▷ Day 5:
Greeting the deity of wealth and prosperity, visiting friends.
▷ Day 15 (Lantern Festival):
On the last day of the New Year, a Lantern Fair is held and sweet stuffed rice balls are prepared and eaten.
Events on the eve of the holiday
Before Spring Festival Each family thoroughly cleans the house and goes shopping. Gift red envelopes are being prepared, various new Year decoration for the home, red ribbons are hung on the door inviting good luck and wealth into the house.
In addition, you should definitely buy new clothes, especially for children, it is very important for the Chinese to celebrate the New Year in everything new. During family dinners around the Lunar New Year, northern Chinese eat dumplings and southern Chinese eat Nyangao 年糕 (cookies made from glutinous rice and flour). All family members exchange red envelopes with money.
Why is red so popular in China? Red symbolizes happiness, prosperity and good luck in Chinese culture.
What is forbidden to do on Chinese New Year?
At the beginning of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese, in their daily affairs, try to set the pace of their lives for the coming year, as they say: how you celebrate the New Year is how you will spend it. During the entire holiday, words such as “death,” “loss,” “murder,” “ghost,” and “disease” are prohibited.
During the entire Chinese New Year it is forbidden:
- Borrowing and lending money will bring financial losses next year.
Breaking things means you will be away from your family all year.
Crying means causing failure.
Taking medications means you will be sick all year.
Wash your hair - wash away wealth (in Chinese, the words hair and wealth are synonyms).
Sweeping - sweeping away good luck.
Using scissors means quarrels with people.
Eating porridge means you bring poverty.
Gifts for Chinese New Year
What to give for the Spring Festival in China:
- Alcoholic drinks
- Cigarettes
- Tea and Fruits
- Cosmetics and products for longevity (balms, swallow's nests)
- Red envelopes with money (amounts in no case should contain the number 4; amounts with a large number of eights are welcome).
Quantity is also of great importance, since numerology plays a huge role in China, and each number has a specific meaning. The Chinese believe that everything good should have a pair, so gifts are also given in pairs, for example two packs of cigarettes or 2 bottles of rice wine. If you decide to give a red envelope with money, it is best that the numbers are multiples of: 8 (the most revered number in China, consonant with the word wealth), 6 or 9, for example, you can put 68, 288, 688, 999 yuan in the envelope. Beware of the number 4, it is an unlucky number and is consonant with the word death.
Chinese New Year Greetings:
春节快乐 (chūn jié kuài lè) - Happy New Year!新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) - Happy New Year!
恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) - I wish you great wealth!
I wish you success in all your undertakings, and the fulfillment of all your desires, so that your prosperity increases every year! I wish you happiness and prosperity!
What you should not give to the Chinese:
- Umbrellas
- Shoes
- Pears
- Sharp objects
- Chrysanthemums.
Where to celebrate the spring festival?
In China, each province has its own traditions and events that are held during the celebration of this grand festival. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an with their authentic folk festivals are great places to visit during your holidays. But still, we advise for a while Chinese holidays choose another country to visit, since at this time most establishments in China are closed, the vast majority of local residents leave the cities, and tickets for all types of transport become scarce.
Celebrating Chinese New Year in other countries
The festival is celebrated not only in China, but also in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, some Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, as well as in Chinatowns in the USA, Canada, UK and Australia. Celebration traditions in different places gradually change under the influence of local characteristics and become unique.
: January 1, as in most Christian countries, and during the new moon - the so-called "Chinese New Year" - Chunjie (Spring Festival).
The history of Chinese New Year celebrations goes back many centuries. It does not have a fixed date; it is calculated according to the Far Eastern lunisolar calendar. The beginning of the year occurs on the second new moon after the winter solstice and therefore moves between January 21 and February 21.
Each year is associated with a specific zodiac sign and element.
In northern China, it is customary to eat dumplings (jiaozi) on New Year's Day, while in the south, they eat slices made from glutinous rice (niangao). Northerners prefer dumplings because in Chinese the word “jiaozi” is consonant with the words “farewell to the old and welcome to the new.” In addition, dumplings resemble traditional gold and silver bars in their shape and symbolize the desire for wealth. For the same reason, southerners eat "niangao", symbolizing the improvement of life every year.
The festive New Year's dinner ends with the distribution of "happiness money." Adults give children red envelopes containing money, which are supposed to bring good luck throughout the new year. In ancient times, New Year's money was presented in the form of one hundred copper coins tied together and symbolizing the hope of living to be a hundred years old. After the festive dinner, you should not go to bed so as not to miss your happiness.
In China, there is also a tradition that originated in ancient times: during the New Year celebration, when you come to visit, you present your hosts with two tangerines, and when you leave, you receive two other tangerines from them. The emergence of this tradition is associated with the fact that in Chinese “a pair of tangerines” is consonant with the word “gold”.
In China, in general, on New Year's Day it is customary to give gifts from paired items symbolizing unity, family harmony: two vases, two mugs, and so on.
It is not customary to give watches, especially to older people, or toys and children's things to those who have not yet had children. Usually, guests give New Year's gifts to the hosts before leaving, sometimes even leaving them secretly.
The onset of the New Year is followed by three holidays: Chui, Chuer and Chusan, during which friends and relatives pay each other visits and give gifts. Then the holiday resumes, and the festivities continue for another two weeks.
During the festive performances, traditional lion and dragon dances are performed. The lion dance, symbolizing protection in the new year from troubles and misfortunes, began to be performed and spread throughout China during the Chunjie festival in the 14th-16th centuries. The dance of dragons also has a long history.
It was included in festive rituals back in the 12th century and expressed people’s admiration for the dragon.
The dragon, made of paper, wire and willow twigs, can reach 8-10 meters. His body is flexible and consists of a different, but always odd number of parts. Each part is controlled by one dancer using a pole; the undulating, writhing movements of the dragon require great coordination among the participants.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
When we celebrate each New Year, we try to take into account the characteristics and characteristics of a certain patron animal. This tradition came to us from China. However, few people take into account that the Chinese New Year is celebrated somewhat later than ours. In the Celestial Empire, the date of everyone’s favorite holiday is floating, because it depends on lunar calendar. Traditionally, the Chinese New Year, which in this country is called Chun Jie, is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In 2017, the New Year in China will begin on January 28th. Unlike our country, its celebration lasts for 15 days and is subject to ancient principles.
New Year in China - history and traditions of celebration
Let's start with the history of the Chinese New Year. Read the story of our New Year. According to legend, more than two thousand years ago, the Chinese believed that on New Year's Eve, a terrible monster called Nian came to earth from the depths of the sea. The monster devoured everything around, so for many years the people of China celebrated the New Year by locking themselves in their homes and turning off the lights. One day, before the next New Year, someone forgot to remove the red blanket from their yard. When the monster was released, it, as usual, went in search of victims, but at the sight of the red blanket, Nian lost control and disappeared. Since then, the Chinese have celebrated the New Year by wearing red clothes and hanging red lanterns around the city.
New Year in China - what are the traditions of celebration
Chinese New Year is usually celebrated with a wide family circle. The day before the holiday, numerous relatives gather in the house of the older generation and begin to prepare for the event.
Preparation for the holiday begins with general cleaning. Moreover, it is customary to sweep the floor from the door to the center of the room. After cleaning, all brooms, brooms and mops are hidden in a secluded place and taken out only after the end of the holiday. This tradition is associated with an interesting legend, according to which during the New Year the Gods gift the people of China with magic dust, which brings happiness. But if someone wants to clean up during the holiday, this dust will turn into ash, which, instead of happiness, will bring trouble to the residents of the house.
With the onset of the first twilight, the whole family sits down at the table. The main New Year's dish in this country is jiaozi - boiled dough with meat, reminiscent of dumplings. This dish symbolizes the health and prosperity of the inhabitants of the house. Also, the festive meal must include broth with noodles, symbolizing longevity and meat dumplings, as a sign of strength and endurance.
In addition to the feast itself New Year's table gifts are exchanged. The younger generation gives fruits and sweets to relatives, and the older generation pleases their descendants with red envelopes with banknotes. It is believed that money given on New Year's Eve, regardless of the amount, will bring happiness.
After midnight, an interesting ritual of the first exit takes place. All family members leave the house and take ten steps in the direction recommended in their horoscopes. This is how the Chinese pay tribute to the God of Joy.
The morning after the New Year, it is customary to visit your friends and acquaintances. It’s interesting that instead of gifts, Chinese people give each other two tangerines. It turns out that in the Chinese language the character “mandarin” is consonant with the character “gold”, and by giving such a gift, people wish each other to increase their wealth.
New Year Festival in China
Throughout the fifteen days of the holiday, massive festivals are held on the main streets of Chinese cities, marking the beginning of the New Year. During this period, China literally lights up with fireworks, sky lanterns and bright lights. In addition to the procession itself, various entertainment events are organized during the holiday - dancing, shows national costumes, sweets fairs, etc. At the end of the action, the residents march, carrying in their hands a huge red dragon, symbolizing the strength and greatness of the Chinese state.
Some festival days are celebrated as separate holidays. For example, the fifth day of the New Year festival is considered the birthday of the God of Prosperity. On this day, it is customary to shower passers-by with gold coins. The eighth day of the festival is a family holiday. On this day, lonely Chinese people must give some nice gift to a stranger of the opposite sex, and married Chinese people must spend time with their family. Also interesting traditions associated with the celebration of the ninth and tenth days of the festival. These days, the people of China pray to the Heavenly Jade Emperor and ask him to help all those who suffer. In addition, during this period it is customary to ask for forgiveness and make peace with your enemies. The final fifteenth day of the festival is considered the Sky Lantern Festival. On this day, a bright lantern is hung on every city building, and a lit candle is placed on the windowsill. This is done so that souls who want to visit the human world quickly find their way home.