Chinese New Year: 10 Things You Didn’t Know

Although it may technically still be considered as winter, the Chinese refer to their New Year celebrations as the Spring Festival. The holidays are known as Spring festival because they mark the end of the coldest days and bring about harvest season.

The Chinese New Year dates changes every year; however, it generally falls between January 21st and February 20th. In 2020, the celebrations will begin on January 25.

Chinese astrology is composed of 12 Chinese zodiac signs and each of them is associated with a year. This year we celebrate the year of the Rat.

Red is considered a lucky color in China, so at the beginning of the Chinese New Year, people exchange wishes and money in red envelopes. Traditionally, the elders give these gifts to younger people and it’s not uncommon for bosses to offers these gifts to their employees.

Originally, the first day of Chinese New Year was intended to be an occasion for prayers for a fruitful harvest to be addressed to the Gods.

Red represents positive vibes associated with happiness, good luck, excellent health and beauty. Seeing the streets dripping in red decorations is definitely not unusual at this special celebratory time of year.

Chinese people become very suspicious at this time of year and try to avoid doing any washing during the first days of the celebrations. Sweeping and taking out the garbage are also considered to provoke bad luck and negative energy.

China holds the world record for releasing the most fireworks in an hour at the start of their celebrations. It’s believed that fireworks fight away evil demons and ghosts, which explains why so many are set off.

Tradition states that eating dumplings for every meal during the first day of the festival will bring good fortune. In modern day China however, people tend to opt for spring rolls.

The Chinese New Year celebrations come to an end with the Lantern Festival, which marks the first Full Moon of the year. The occasion is celebrated with a night of serious partying.

Follow the Moon calendar for 2020 here!