Chinese New Year officially begins on January 25th, 2020 and ends February 4th. The holiday is celebrated by more than 20% of the world and is the most important holiday in China. It's also called Lunar New Year, because countries such as North and South Korea and Vietnam celebrate it as well. To help you get in the spirit, keep reading for 5 things you didn't know about the holiday as well as Macaroni Kid's picks on where the celebrate with your family.
1. Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival
In China, you'll hear it being called chunjie, or the Spring Festival. Although it's still winter, people welcome spring and what it brings along: planting, new beginnings and fresh starts.
2. It is a day for praying to gods
The Spring Festival was originally a ceremonial day to pray to gods for a good planting and harvest season. As an agrarian society, the harvest was everything. People also prayed to their ancestors, as they were treated as gods (Watch the Disney movie Mulan for reference).
3. The most fireworks are set off in the world that night
According to one legend, there was a monster named Nian. It would come about every New Year’s Eve. Most people would hide in their homes. But one boy was brave enough to fight him off using firecrackers. The next day, people celebrated their survival by setting off even more firecrackers. And that practice became a crucial part of the Spring Festival. As in the myth about Nian, firecrackers are supposed to scare off monsters and bad luck. So people stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the new year and good luck.
4. Chinese New Year desserts have special meanings
Some examples:
- Nian gao is a type of rice cake. It symbolizes success each and every year.
- Fa gao is a the hybrid of sponge cakes and muffins. People dye it festive colors. The fa is the same as in fa cai, which means “to get rich.”
19. The New Year greeting in Chinese is “xin nian kuai le”
The phrase literally means “Happy New Year.” But in Hong Kong and other Cantonese-speaking regions, it's more common to say “gong hei fat choy.” In Mandarin Chinese, it's “gong xi fa cai” . It means “congratulations on the fortune.”
Now that you know a little more about this holiday, see below and the MK event calendar for local Chinese New Year celebrations!
