Chinese New Year

The Spring Festival, also called as Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year, is one of the most important traditional festivals in China and countries within the Chinese character cultural sphere. It is the beginning of the lunar new year, normally between January and February in the Gregorian calendar.

The Origin of the Spring Festival

The origin of the Spring Festival can be traced back to the sacrifice rituals to gods and ancestors during the Yin and Shang dynasties, where people would hold sacrificial ceremonies to celebrate the harvest at the end of the year, commonly known as the La Sacrifice. The formation of the Spring Festival is a gradual evolutionary process, integrating the year-end prayer rituals, nature worship, religious ceremonies of ancient times, and various later celebration activities. Since the first year of the Taichu era of Emperor Wu of Han dynasty (around 2000years ago), the first day of the first lunar month of the Xia calendar (lunar calendar) has been designated as the beginning of the year, and the date of the festival has been fixed since then and continues to this day. Therefore, the Spring Festival is one of the oldest and most important traditional festivals of the Chinese nation.

Traditional Customs of the Spring Festival

Despite the significant diversity in customs and traditions across different regions, they all revolve around a common core: Bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new spring, while wishing for good luck and prosperity in the new year.

Here are some major traditional customs of the Chinese New Year:
1. Spring Cleaning: According to the book "Lü Shi Chun Qiu," as early as the Yao and Shun eras(more than 4000 years ago), China already had the custom of spring cleaning during the Spring Festival. Since "dust" is homophonous with "old" in Chinese, spring cleaning takes on a new meaning, symbolizing "removing the old and bringing in the new," with the hope of sweeping away all bad luck and evil spirits.

2. Posting Red Decorations: Posting red decorations, including spring couplets, door gods, New Year paintings, and "Fu" characters, serves as a way to express people's longing for a happy life and their good wishes for the new year. Spring couplets are usually posted on the left and right sides of the door, with the horizontal scroll placed above the doorway. Some households will also post "Fu" characters on doors, walls, and lintels. To fully embody their longing for a happy life and wishes, people will deliberately post the "Fu" character upside down, symbolizing that "happiness has arrived" or "good fortune has arrived."

3. Ancestral and God Sacrifice: Sacrificing to gods during the Spring Festival is a widespread custom throughout China, aimed at praying for good weather, abundant harvests, and great fortune in the coming year. Ancestral sacrifices usually take place after god sacrifices. Customs vary across regions, but typically, each household sends representatives to offer food and sacrifices to their ancestors in the ancestral hall before lunch, continuing until the fifteenth day of the new year.

4. Family Reunion Dinner: The New Year's Eve dinner is an important part of Spring Festival customs, where family members gather to enjoy delicious food, expressing the beautiful meaning of reunion and happiness. In most northern regions, there is a custom of eating dumplings in the morning, and some people will put a coin inside a dumpling, with the person who found the coin while eating dumplings,he/she will be considered as the luckiest person in the family for the year. In southern regions, such as Guangdong, people prefer to eat rice cakes, symbolizing "rising year by year." In Huaian, Jiangsu, people have the custom of eating tangyuan in the morning, while in Kaifeng, Henan, people eat both dumplings and tangyuan.

5. Staying Up Late on New Year's Eve: It is also one of the most important Spring Festival activities, where neighbors and friends gather together, or family members stay together. Some play cards, some watch the Spring Festival Gala, and everyone stays awake all day to welcome the arrival of the new year.

6. New Year's Money: After the New Year's Eve dinner, elders will give money to their juniors, threading copper coins with red thread and hanging them on children's chests, which is believed to be able to ward off evil spirits. This custom has been popular since the Han Dynasty, and now, instead of copper coins, people usually use red envelopes(red packet) filled with cash.

7. Firing Fireworks and Firecrackers: At the dawn of the new year, the first thing every household does is to set off fireworks and firecrackers, using the cracking and popping sounds of firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year with good fortune.

8. Visiting Relatives and Friends: On the morning of the first day of the new year, adults and children wear new clothes and hats, visit relatives and friends, and exchange greetings, wishing each other good luck in the new year. The original meaning of the term "visiting relatives and friends" in ancient times was to pay respects to elders for the new year, including kowtowing to elders, wishing them a happy new year, and inquiring about their well-being. When encountering peers, one should also greet them with respect. As time passes, the custom of visiting relatives and friends has continually added new content and forms, with greetings via telegrams, phone calls, text messages, and the internet gradually emerging.

In addition, during the Spring Festival, there are also colorful entertainment activities such as dragon and lion dances and temple fairs. These customary activities carry people's good wishes and expectations for the new year, making the Spring Festival one of the most significant traditional festivals of the Chinese nation.

Auspicious Phrases for the Spring Festival

Traditional auspicious phrases: Happy New Year! Happy Spring Festival! Everything goes well! Good health and best wishes! May all your wishes come true!
Blessings for family reunion: Family happiness! Togetherness! A perfect family!
Blessings for career and academics: Success in career! Rising in rank! A promising future! Academic progress!
Blessings for health and happiness: Peace and well-being! Good health! Happiness and well-being!
Blessings for wealth and good luck: May wealth flow in! Prosperous fortune!
These auspicious phrases and blessings not only express good wishes to friends and family but also reflect the profound heritage of traditional Chinese Spring Festival culture. During the Spring Festival, people can convey these blessings through verbal expressions, text messages, WeChat, and other means, enhancing emotional exchanges among each other.

Taboos of the Spring Festival

In the Chinese New Year, many old customs and taboos are being kept and inherited, Chinese deeply believe that following these traditions can dispel bad luck and bring good fortune. Here are the behaviors that Chinese keeping.

Avoid arguments and discord: Family harmony is crucial during the new year, so any form of quarrel must be avoided to prevent spoiling the festive atmosphere of the holiday and affecting the coming year's fortune.
Do not break items: If you accidentally break dishes or other items, people will consider it an omen of bad luck, representing financial loss or misfortune. Therefore, be extra careful to avoid such accidents.
Do not cut hair or shave: Traditional beliefs hold that cutting hair or shaving during the new year will weaken one's luck and wealth, so it is best to wait until after the lunar new year.
Do not lend or borrow money or collect debts: During the new year, lending and collecting debts are considered unlucky behaviors, as the former may lead to the loss of financial luck, and the latter may cause family discord.
Do not sweep the floor or take out trash: To avoid sweeping good luck and wealth out of the door, many families will suspend daily cleaning tasks during the new year, especially avoiding dumping trash outside.
Avoid saying unlucky words: All negative, pessimistic, or potentially unlucky remarks should be avoided, and people prefer to use auspicious and positive vocabulary to welcome the new year.
Avoid starting construction or moving house: Conducting large-scale renovations, excavation, or moving activities during the new year may disturb the peace of the home and affect the health and fortune of family members.

By following these traditional customs and taboos, Chinese people hope to avoid misfortune and usher in a better life and future in the new year.