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7 Interesting Facts About The Chinese New Year

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Hey Everyone! Xin Nian Kuai Le! And, if you don’t speak Chinese, Happy Chinese New Year! 

Well, if you have noticed, I am already in the Chinese celebratory spirit! Huānhū! Huānhū!
Hmm.. who minds another day (reason) to start afresh and celebrate? (Especially when you are on a road to recovery post a week of sickness!)

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It’s never to late too learn something new, especially when it is about different cultures and varied traditions! Here are a few “entertaining” things about this festival that might interest y’all –

1 CHINESE NEW YEAR IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE SPRING FESTIVAL

In China, you’ll hear it being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival. Even though it’s still very wintry, but the holiday marks the end of the coldest days. People welcome spring and what it brings along – planting and harvests, new beginnings and fresh starts.

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2 THERE’S NO SET DATE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR

The date for Chinese New Year changes each year. It always falls between January 21 and February 20, determined by the Chinese lunar calendar.

3 EVERY CHINESE NEW YEAR STARTS A NEW ANIMAL’S ZODIAC YEAR

In China, each lunar cycle has 60 years and 12 years is regarded as a small cycle. Each of the 12 years is defined by an animal sign – Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. 2019 is the Year of the Pig. *oink oink*
Your zodiac animal is decided by your birth year. Well, I am a MONKEY!!!! *no surprise*

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4 “GUO NIAN HAO” IS ONE OF THE MOST USED GREETINGS

This is like the westerners saying “Merry Christmas” to each other on Christmas Day. It simply means “Happy New Year”.
In a Chinese New Year story, “Nian” is a fierce and cruel monster which eats livestock and kids, but it is scared of red color and high-pitched cracker sound. Therefore, people use red decorations and fireworks to drive away the savage “Nian”.

5 THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS ON THE MOVE

Most employees have 7-12 days off the work, and students have one month winter vacation during this period.
No matter where they are, people try their best to return home for a family reunion, like westerners attempting to spend Christmas with their families. Meanwhile, some families do also travel together during the holiday, making the world’s largest annual migration, known as the Spring Festival Travel Rush! The total trips made by plane, train, bus and ship can reach nearly 3 billion!

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6 IT IS THE LONGEST CHINESE HOLIDAY

The Spring Festival is technically 15 days. But celebrations start on New Year’s Eve (making it 16 days). You can also say that the holiday season starts in (lunar) December with the Laba Festival (腊八节—là bā jié). That’s around 40 days of celebrations! Talk about being extravagant!

7 CHINESE NEW YEAR ENDS WITH THE LANTERN FESTIVAL

The first full moon of the (lunar) year is the Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节—yuán xiāo jié) or Lantern Festival (灯节—dēng jié). Though family is still important, it’s still a night of partying and freedom for all.
In ancient times, girls weren’t allowed to venture outside by themselves. But on this night, they were able to walk around, moon-gaze and look at the beautiful lanterns. Because of this, it’s also known as Valentine’s Day in China.

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So there you go folks – a little insight to the Chinese New Year!
Wear something crimson, put up some red lanterns, be merry and may be, may be just today – eat some Chinese! *yum*

Huítóu jiàn – See you later!

Love,

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Disclaimer – The facts and images are from Google!

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82 Comments

    1. Aww.. Thanks sweetheart.. Yes, definitely a little better!❤️❤️
      Had to do something about the boredom, hence the post! 😉

      Reply

  3. Loved reading the post. Such a detailed information on the Chinese New year.. All I knew was about the lunar calendar, the lantern festival and the year of the pig. Haha.

    Reply

    1. Found this on Google about the HORSE, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      Energetic, Passionate, Upright, Aspirant. The Wu Xing (The Five Elements) of the Horse is Fire (Huo), so the Horse stands for zeal and passion. People born in the Years of the Horse are always having personality traits like being warm-hearted, enthusiastic, and positive!
      Guess, it fits apt! 😉 😉

      Reply

    1. Found this on Google about the PIGS, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      Personality traits of the people born under the sign of the Pig are happy, easygoing, honest, trusting, educated, sincere and brave. The possible dark sides the Pig people are stubbornness, naive, over-reliant, self-indulgent, easy to anger and materialistic. They are sometimes regarded as being lazy.

      Reply

    1. I so envy you for your travelling shenanigans! Lucky you!😉

      Thank you so much S! ❤️❤️Yess, definitely a little better. The flu takes its own sweet time to go!

      Reply

    1. Oooooo.. So is my Huz!❤️❤️

      Found this on Google about the DRAGONS, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      Mysterious, Imaginative, Ambitious. Among the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, only the Dragon is mythical. It is an imaginary creature that combines the features of some other animals. People born in the Year of the Dragon usually have mysterious, imaginative and noble personality traits!

      Reply

  11. I’m a monkey myself!
    We used to celebrate this at my old job (which I mean sadly commercialize) but I always enjoyed learning about it and the festivities. Happy New Year!

    Reply

    1. Likewise! I love learning about new things and cultures!❤️❤️

      Found this on Google about the MONKEY, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      The Monkey Symbolizes Cleverness in Chinese Culture. The Monkey (with a big ‘M’) is the ninth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Many Chinese try to give birth in a year of the Monkey, as they believe that this will make their babies clever. In China saying, “Your kid is like a Monkey,” is perceived as praise!

      Reply

    1. IKR! ME too! I had to go all “Google” about it before I could write anything! 😉

      Thank you so much for taking the time out to read!❤️❤️

      Reply

  15. thanks for this info! and the photos too. It is worth travelling if the holiday is longer. I heard on the BBC that is is the largest migration of people in the world.

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    1. Oh yes, almost about 3 billion people!😮

      But I’ve also heard that it’s a not to miss event! (Lots of culture and traditional gains!)

      Reply

  18. Its really fascinating Richa..
    China is the only country I suppose gives holiday for the entire nation for 15 days..
    It reminds me of my old company when spring festival comes all our shipments from China will be on hold for first 20 days..

    Reply

    2. Found this on Google about the MONKEY, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      The Monkey Symbolizes Cleverness in Chinese Culture. The Monkey (with a big ‘M’) is the ninth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Many Chinese try to give birth in a year of the Monkey, as they believe that this will make their babies clever. In China saying, “Your kid is like a Monkey,” is perceived as praise!

      Reply

      1. Ah, love that!!
        Actually as soon as I read your post I did a little googling myself and was most pleased to find out which other signs are compatible with monkeys. Needless to say what I discovered made me very happy!
        We are pretty clever.. Undeniable really 😉🙊

        Reply

  22. Xin Nian Kuai Le! ❤
    Hope you are feeling better now🤗
    As much as I love traveling to different places I also love reading about them.Loved this post❤

    Reply

    1. Gong xi fa cai! Wish you a blessed year!❤️❤️

      Yes, much better sweetheart.. Tho the flu takes its own sweet time to repair and vanish!

      Reply

  23. I looked up myself. No cat in the Zodiac, but I turn out to be a DOG! How did that happen? My girlfriend is a BOAR but I looked her up on another site and it said PIG, so I told her she was a PIG! Haven’t heard back yet. . .

    Reply

    1. Hahahaha.. I don’t blame her! 😉 😛

      Found this on Google about the DOG, as per the Chinese Zodiac! 😉

      Ranking as the eleventh animal in Chinese zodiac, Dog is the symbol of loyalty and honesty. People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They are honest, friendly, faithful, loyal, smart, straightforward, venerable and have a strong sense of responsibility.

      Reply

    1. IKR! Most of things came to me as a surprise too! Thanks to the internet, we get to know about so many things that we wouldn’t have otherwise! 😉

      Reply

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