1. Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a festival celebrated annually on the traditional Chinese calendar depending on the sighting of the new moon.
2. It begins with the first new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20 and spans the first 15 days of the first month of the lunar calendar – until the full moon arrives.
3. In the People’s Republic of China, the occasion is referred to as the “Spring Festival”; however, “Chinese New Year” remains the official name in Taiwan.
4. The term “Lunar New Year” is used by some people in the Chinese diaspora, while “Chinese New Year” remains a popular and convenient translation for people of non-Chinese cultural backgrounds.
5. Though it is not completely clear when exactly Chinese New Year celebrations began, they are said to have originated from the year-end religious ceremony observed during the Shang dynasty in the 14th century BC.
6. In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that the festival would fall on January 1 of the Gregorian calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming popular opposition.
7. In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China.
8. In 1980, when the Chinese economic reform began, they were reinstated.
9. Each year in the lunar calendar is represented by one of the 12 zodiac animals – the rat (mouse), ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep (goat), monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
10. China and Vietnam share 10 of the 12 signs, but the Vietnamese honour the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox.
11. The animals rotate and repeat according to a fixed cycle.
12. In addition to the animals, 5 elements of earth, water, fire, wood and metal are also mapped onto the traditional lunar calendar; therefore, each year is associated with an animal that corresponds to an element.
13. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely.
14. It is traditional for every family to thoroughly clean their house in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck.
15. The evening preceding Chinese New Year’s Day is regarded as an occasion for families to gather for the annual reunion dinner.
16. Traditional foods eaten during the reunion dinner include meat dishes (usually pork and chicken or duck), seafood, spring rolls, thin and long “longevity noodles”, sweet rice balls and fruits (usually oranges, tangerines and pomelos symbolizing fullness and wealth).
17. In most areas, fish is typically included as a last course of a New Year’s Eve meal for good luck, but not eaten completely, and the remainder is stored overnight as the Chinese phrase “may there be surpluses every year” sounds the same as “may there be fish every year.”
18. In the Chinese language, the pronunciation of “fish” is the same as that for the word “surplus” or “abundance.”
19. Most reunion dinners also feature a communal hot pot as it is believed to signify the coming together of the family members for the meal.
20. Chinese New Year’s meals often feature foods made from glutinous rice because they represent togetherness – glutinous rice ball soup, moon-shaped rice cakes and rice dumplings; sometimes, a clean coin is tucked inside a dumpling for good luck.
21. Wearing new clothes as a symbol of a new beginning is traditional during the festival.
22. Another custom is decorating windows, doors and walls with paper-cuts, Chinese knots and couplets.
23. Popular themes among these decorations are good fortune or happiness, wealth and longevity.
24. Giving money in red envelopes is also common.
25. In addition to red envelopes, which are usually given from older people to younger people, friends and relatives usually exchange small gifts (typically sweets and fruits like oranges) wrapped in golden or red paper.
26. Red is the predominant colour used in New Year celebrations.
27. The sound of the Chinese word for “red” is in Mandarin homophonous with the word for “prosperous”; however, red also symbolizes joy, virtue, truth, sincerity, good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
28. The holiday concludes with the Lantern Festival celebrated on the last day of New Year’s festivities.
29. Parades, dances, games and fireworks mark the finale of the festival.
30. Chinese New Year has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations of China’s neighbours – Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
31. It is also celebrated worldwide in countries and regions with significant Chinese populations – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
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