As the most important holiday of the year, Chinese New Year brings celebrations that last over 2 weeks.
Called 农历新年 (nóng lì xīn nián – Lunar New Year) or 春节 (chūn jié – Spring Festival), Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first month of the lunar calendar, from the 1st to the 15th day.
Here’s a link to see which dates Chinese New Year falls on during each year.
During this time, it’s customary for people to greet one another with New Year well-wishes, which bring in good fortune for the coming year.
It’s also customary to visit people at their homes, a practice called 拜年 (bài nián). Upon visiting one another, people exchange gifts, such as fruit, candy, cakes and red envelopes with cash, called 红包 (hóng bāo).
Here’s a humorous skit from CCTV (China Central Television, the state television broadcaster) on what happens during 拜年 (bài nián).
However, there are some gifts that are taboo, which you shouldn’t bring. Gifts associated with funerals, like handkerchiefs, towels and certain types of flowers such as chrysanthemums, may be considered offensive.
Chinese people dislike receiving clocks, because it suggests that time (and life) is running out. Sharp objects are considered unlucky because they suggest a cutting off of ties or relations.
Here’s a handy infographic guide on gift-giving customs in China, so you’ll always know what to get.
In addition to visits and gifts, Chinese people celebrate by going to open-air markets that pop up just for Chinese New Year. These markets are often crowded with people and are very lively and festive. At these markets, you can buy food, small gifts, cut flowers, house plants and other 年货 (nián huò), that is, New Year paraphernalia.
Several types of flowers are associated with Chinese New Year, such as plum blossoms 梅花 (méi huā), kumquat 金橘 (jīn jú) and narcissus 水仙花 (shuǐ xiān huā).
Traditionally, Chinese also light firecrackers, or 放鞭炮 (fàng biān pào), during Chinese New Year. This has a symbolic meaning of scaring away evil and bad luck.
Chinese people love watching dragon dances, or 舞龙 (wǔ lóng), in which trained dancers dance as one “dragon,” often chasing one other dancer, who holds a “pearl.”
There’s also a traditional song, called “新年好呀” (xīn nián hǎo yā), which you might hear if you’re lucky.
Many people like to wear red at Chinese New Year. Red is always a lucky color for traditional Chinese. That’s why you’ll see plenty of red at Chinese weddings, grand openings of businesses and other celebratory events.
To decorate, Chinese may put up auspicious sayings written on red paper, called 春贴 (chūn tiē) or 挥春 (huī chūn), or display paper cuttings called 剪纸图 (jiǎn zhǐ tú)—a special art that presents silhouetted images of animals, flowers and even entire scenes in paper.
To learn more about Chinese traditions along with other aspects of the culture with the language, check out FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videos—like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.