How do celebrate chinese new year

Chinese New Year: What is it and how will you be celebrating? What is Remembrance Day? How much is a lightsaber worth? Gerrard announced as new Villa manager - is it a good move? Home Menu. Chinese New Year: What you need to know. Oops you can't see this activity! What is it? Getty Images. Children get red pockets with money in them for good luck.

Like people waiting in New York Times Square to see the ball dropping, Chinese people have the custom of staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve to welcome the new year's arrival. After reunion dinner, families normally sit together to watch the Spring Festival Gala, one of the most-watched TV shows in China. It has long been a Chinese tradition to set off firecrackers from the first minute of the New Year. Fireworks have increasingly been added to the cacophony.

From public displays in major cities to millions of private celebrations in China's rural areas, setting off firecrackers and fireworks is an indispensable festive activity.

Billions of fireworks go up in China at 12 am and in the first minutes of Chinese New Year, the most anywhere at any time of year.

The most common gifts are red envelopes. Red envelopes have money in, and are given to children and retired seniors. Red envelopes are used in the hope of giving good luck as well as money to the receivers.

Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen during Chinese New Year celebrations and other Chinese traditional, cultural, and religious festivals.

They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event. The celebration of Chinese New Year traditionally lasts for 16 days, from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival , but preparations often start half a month before. There are several important days with specific activities and traditions. Here is a short summary to let you know the schedule of the main days of the Chinese New Year period:.

It's believed that what something looks like color, shape , and what its name sounds like, gives it auspicious or ill-fated significance. There are many things you cannot do:. The celebration is also believed to be significant to ensure good fortune for the coming year.

Learn the interesting stories and legends about Chinese New Year. Such activities are held in parks from the first day of the lunar year to the last when celebrating the Lantern Festival. Generally, parks and temples are the best places to go for festive celebrations at Chinese New Year.

They bring gifts and red envelopes to families and relatives. On this day, people offer sacrifices to the God of Wealth, wishing for a luckier and more prosperous year. From the third to the seventh day of New Year, Chinese people visit relatives and friends.

On the third day, some people go to visit the tombs of their relatives, but others think being outside there on the third day is inauspicious, because evil spirits roam around. The first house-sweep of the New Year: Chinese people don't clean their homes during the first two days of New Year, as sweeping then is believed to sweep away the good luck accrued by the litter of firecrackers, red paper, wrappers, and other evidence of celebration on the floor.

People normally return to work on the eighth day. As eight is the luckiest number in China, most businesses like to reopen on day 8 of the New Year. It is the traditional end of Spring Festival celebrations. Some people send glowing lanterns into the sky, while others release floating lanterns onto the sea, onto rivers, or adrift in lakes.

Traditions and celebrations vary greatly across China. In the north, Chinese dumplings are the must-eat food on Chinese New Year's Eve, but south of the Yangtze River most people eat spring rolls or sticky rice cake. For the numbers of people celebrating around the world see Chinese New Year Facts. You can walk through their Chinatowns and see the restaurants and shopfronts adorned in red and gold, and experience firecrackers, colorful parades, and dragon dances.

China Highlights uses cookies to give you the best possible service. If you continue browsing, you agree to the use of cookies. More details can be found in our privacy policy. Here is a daily guide to tell you how Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year in People clean their houses before Chinese New Year. Putting up spring couplets. Look for an effective and professional U.

S high school international student program partner? Become a host family to host international students and bring cross-culture experiences to your home? Search for:. Home School Blogs Cultural Celebrati Do I need to do anything special to prepare for the Lunar New Year? Do you celebrate with friends, family, or both? Tell me more about this feast. Are there any unique decorations I can use to spruce up my home or school? Are there any other traditional celebratory activities?