8 Ways to Celebrate Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is the most important Chinese holiday celebrated all over the world. It lasts for the first fifteen days of the lunar calendar, which is normally sometime between January and February on the Western calendar. This year, Chinese New Year starts on February 19th. There are so many things you can do before and after Chinese New Year to join the festivities.
Here is what you can do (even if you are not Chinese):
Clean your home. It is a tradition to clean your home thoroughly few days before the New Year to rid all the bad luck. It is called 大掃除 (daai6 sou2 ceoi4). Remember not to use a broom or brush to clean during the first days of Chinese New Year or you will "sweep away" your good fortune.
Decorate your home. Red and gold are considered lucky colors during Chinese New Year, as red symbolizes happiness and gold represents wealth. You can make your own Chinese posters in red and gold, and paste them at your doors and window panes. It is also common to decorate your home with flowers like daffodils and cherry blossoms too. So now your home is ready for visitors. When someone visit you during Chinese New Year, it is called 拜年 (baai1 nin4).
Greet people in Chinese. During Chinese New Year, people greet one another with unique phrases that are composed of four Chinese characters. The phrases are always cheerful and positive. Here is an A3 poster with five popular phrases you can learn. Check out my Chinese New Year Pinterest board for more inspirations.
Wear new clothes. Everything is fresh and new in Chinese New Year, so why not get a new outfit for the occasion? Red is always a safe and welcomed choice, while black should be avoided as it symbolizes bad luck and death.
Visit a Chinese temple. Many people head to temples to burn some insence sticks and pray for good luck during Chinese New Year. You can often find a jar of Chinese fortune sticks there - make a wish, shake the jar until a numbered stick falls out, and ask a fortune teller to interpret it for you. You can make your own jar of fortune sticks to have fun with kids at home too.
Give red envelops. Traditionally, kids (and anyone who is not married really) will receive red packets filled with money.They are called 利是 (lei6 si6) and are red with gold letters of lucky messages. Here is a great template to make your own red envelops.
Enjoy traditional Chinese food. You must try this sticky rice cake recipe. It is called 年糕 (nin4 gou1). As the words 糕 (cake) and 高 (high) share the same pronunciation (gou1), the sticky rice cake symbolizes rising higher and better. These fried sesame balls 笑口棗 (siu3 hau2 zou2) are also the perfect food for Chinese New Year. When deep frying, the balls crack open "laughing". Everything on the menu is given a lucky name during Chinese New Year, so have a look at the Chinese restuarant menus and let all the yummy food go to your lucky tummy.
Watch lion and dragon dances. Find a Chinatown closeby to see if they have any Chinese New Year parade or lion dances during Chinese New Year. Or you can always make a lion mask or a dragon puppet to perform your own lion or dragon dance with your kids at home.
We still have about a month before the Year of Sheep arrives. So there is enough time to check out these flashcards and posters to pick up few Chinese words about Chinese New Year and fully experience the festivities.
