CHINESE New Year is here and more than one billion people around the world will celebrate the event with parties, fireworks and more.
The Chinese New Year – also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year – lasts for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.
The Lunar calendar has 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs and 2022 will be a Year of the Tiger.
The Tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which also features the Ox, Rat, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Read our Chinese New Year blog below for the latest updates…
- Joseph Gamp
Other Chinese New Year superstitions thought to bring bad luck
You should not wash on the first or second day as it is seen as washing away good luck.
The use of knives or scissors on the first day is believed to lead to inauspicious things.
The crying of a child is supposed to bring bad luck to the family.
Don't give certain gifts, like clocks, scissors, and pears, as they have a bad meaning in Chinese culture.
- Joseph Gamp
What superstitions do Chinese people subscribe to over the New Year?
There are some bizarre superstitions that are widely followed during Chinese New Year.
One is that you should not take any medicine on the first day of the year, as you may stay ill for the whole year.
Another is that you should not take out the rubbish, as this symbolises you dumping out good fortune from the house.
You should also not eat porridge for breakfast as it is seen as something that poor people eat, and is a bad omen.
- Joseph Gamp
Chinese New Year will be a little different in 2022
In China, the government has not imposed stringent travel restriction measures for the 2022 Chinese New Year as it did last year where travellers were required to take PCR tests and self-isolate for a specified period.
This year, it seems that residents will be allowed to travel across provinces during the holiday as long as their health codes are green.
Depending on the current coronavirus restrictions in each country, Chinese New Year celebrations will look a little different in each corner of the world.
- Joseph Gamp
How will Chinese New Year be celebrated in 2022?
The ongoing pandemic means Chinese New Year will still feel a bit different in 2022.
Many Chinatowns will not be as busy because several huge public events have been cancelled including London's famous Chinese New Year parade.
Families who are able to get together for the celebrations will still be able to share gifts, and cook a feast for the important family dinner.
Depending on where you are in the world, some celebrations will still go ahead.
Manchester's China Town will, for example, host a full day of family-friendly activities on Sunday, February 6, including lion dancing, Chinese dancers, street food stalls and Chinese arts and crafts.
- Joseph Gamp
Which other countries celebrate Chinese New Year?
Beyond China, families across Asia will celebrate the annual event.
These include Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea and South Korea also celebrate the event.
It is widely believed that more fireworks are set off across the world for this festival than any other.
- Joseph Gamp
Gong hei fat choy!
'Gong hei fat choy' is the Cantonese way of wishing someone a Happy New Year.
The phrase literally translates to literally "wishing you great happiness and prosperity."
In Mandarin Chinese, the saying it spelt 'gong xi fa cai' and pronounced "gong she fa tsai".
- Joseph Gamp
Many Chinese people will not celebrate the New Year with their families
For a third year in a row, many temples and places of worship are closed in China due to the pandemic.
In 2021, people took to the streets for celebration and prayer wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the virus.
And measures were also put in place to discourage people travelling home to their families for the celebrations.
Some residents returning to rural areas were asked to produce a negative Covid-19 tests, and some people had to quarantine for two weeks.
It means many Chinese people could be marking the event without their families in 2022.
- Joseph Gamp
What are the popular dishes eaten at Chinese New Year?
Some of the most popular dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year include:
- Fish – steamed fish is one of the most famous New Year recipes and there are some specific rules related to the position of the fish.
- 'Good fortune' fruit – eating and displaying tangerines and oranges is believed to bring good luck and fortune.
- Chinese dumplings – traditionally filled with minced meat and finely-chopped vegetables, it is believed that the more dumplings you eat during the celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year.
- Spring rolls – usually filled with vegetables, meat, or something sweet, this New Year dish is especially popular in East China.
- Noodles – noodles symbolise longevity and the length of the noodles is thought to represent the length of the eater's life.
- Tangyuan (sweet rice balls) – this is the main food for the Lantern Festival, but families traditionally eat them together throughout the New Year.
- Niangao (rice cake) – the main ingredients of niangao are sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts, dates, and lotus leaves.
Noodle soup is among the traditional dishes eaten
One of the main traditions of Chinese New Year is for the entire family to have a feast together.
Certain foods are thought to bring luck, wealth, and happiness to the New Year.
Noodle soup is the traditional meal of choice as the noodles are believed to bring luck.
- Joseph Gamp
Red is the colour of luck
In Chinese culture, red is seen as the colour of luck and success.
Red decorations, especially lanterns, are used all over towns and cities to help bring luck into the new year.
- Joseph Gamp
What traditions are followed for Chinese new year?
Parades, performances and spending time with family and friends are in the heart of the Chinese New Year celebrations, with millions around the world coming together to mark the holiday.
There are plenty of traditions followed during the festive period, which lasts for 16 days.
One is that people will share red envelopes with each other with money inside.
These red envelopes are given to everyone you know, including all your colleagues and even your postman.
It has also long been a Chinese tradition to set off firecrackers from the first minute of the New Year – there are literally millions of displays occurring at once.
- Joseph Gamp
How many zodiac animals are in the Lunar calendar?
The Lunar calendar has 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs and 2022 will be a Year of the Tiger.
The Tiger is the third sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which also features the Ox, Rat, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
As a public holiday, Chinese people get seven days off work for the celebrations.
- Joseph Gamp
What is Chinese New Year?
The Chinese New Year – also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year – lasts for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.
Each day of the festival has a name, including days for prayer, for visiting relatives, setting off firecrackers, and preparing for the Lantern Festival.
In China, you'll hear the New Year being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival.
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