It\u2019s also known as chunjie (\u6625\u8282), or the Spring Festival. While it\u2019s still wintry, spring is just around the corner! Celebrated by North Korea, South Korea, and Vietnam, it\u2019s also known as the Lunar New Year since it follows the lunar calendar.<\/p>\n
2. This year, Chinese New Year is on\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe Chinese New Year\u2019s start date ranges from January 21 to February 20 as China now follows the Gregorian calendar. This year it starts on February 1.<\/p>\n
3. The longest holiday<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nTechnically 15 days long, this is the longest Chinese holiday. However, since celebrations begin on New Year\u2019s Eve, it\u2019s often considered 16 days long, and if you follow the traditional (lunar) dates, it can begin in December with the Laba Festival (\u814a\u516b\u8282 \/ l\u00e0 b\u0101 ji\u00e9), which can make it closer to 40 days long!<\/p>\n
Much like with holidays such as Christmas, many stores are closed during the holiday, so the Chinese stock up on all their supplies the month before.<\/p>\n
4. Fireworks included?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Chinese-New-Year-Fireworks.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Definitely. It\u2019s believed that the most fireworks in the world are set off at midnight on New Year\u2019s Day. Firecrackers are said to scare off bad spirits, which is a large part of the festival\u2014warding off bad spirits and omens, welcoming in good vibes, and celebrating ancestors. Fireworks are also set off later in the morning to welcome the new season, while pieces of paper and printed gold bars are additionally lit and released to honour loved ones and ancestors.<\/p>\n
5. Red<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe festival is awash in red, as red is known as a colour that protects against evil. Red paper will be stuck up on walls and windows, both fake and real red chili peppers and red lanterns will be hung around, as well. New spring clothing is added to wardrobes, especially in red, and children are given money in lucky red envelopes.<\/p>\n
6. Foods<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/chinese-dumplings.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Traditionally, dumplings would be eaten for every meal, but more recently, dumplings are served for dinner the first day. Desserts also have special meaning during this time, mostly based on the name of the dish. One popular dessert, tangyuan, for example, means \u201csoup balls,\u201d but it sounds like tuanyuan (\u56e2\u5706), meaning reunion.<\/p>\n
Fa gao (\u53d1\u7cd5) is a hybrid of sponge cakes and muffins that are dyed in festive colours. The fa as in fa cai (\u53d1\u8d22), means \u201cto get rich\u201d\u2014a great reason to eat this dessert!<\/p>\n
7. The Year of the\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Zodiac-Signs-Chinese-New-Year.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Like Western zodiacs, there are 12 Chinese zodiac animals. However, unlike the Western ones, Chinese zodiacs represent an entire year instead of a month. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. While some animals aren\u2019t auspicious in Chinese culture, the positive traits of these zodiac animals are bestowed on the people born in that year. You\u2019ll want to know what your Chinese zodiac animal is<\/a>!<\/p>\n8. Festival\u2019s End<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe festival ends on the first full moon of the lunar cycle, 15 days from the start of the Chinese New Year. Known as the Yuanxiao Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282 \/ yu\u00e1n xi\u0101o ji\u00e9) or Lantern Festival<\/a> (\u706f\u8282 \/ d\u0113ng ji\u00e9), that night is one of freedom and celebration, marked largely with the release of lanterns.<\/p>\n9. Around the World<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nIf there is a Chinatown near you, head over to get a feel for what the festival is all about. Cities all over the world boast that they have the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia. San Francisco, Sydney, and London all have large Spring Festivals, though they will likely be scaled back this year. Chinese New Year has also been known to the biggest human migration event of the year, however, with travel still on the back burner, local and home festivities are more likely.<\/p>\n
<\/h4>\n
\n\nWritten by Stephanie Kerr. Stephanie is a seasoned storyteller, developing enriching content and telling brand stories for over 15 years. She also enjoys photography, painting, and video editing, which she uses in her storytelling and her personal life. In her spare time she is busy walking, playing, and cuddling as a dog mom of two.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This festival is celebrated around the world as a fresh start, the introduction of spring, plantings, and new beginnings\u2014we could all use that this year! Nearly 20% of the world takes part, so check out these nine interesting facts about the Chinese New Year. 1. Chinese Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[682080,137,634730,70,227,634733,682081],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-celebration","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-food","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-traditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5256,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions\/5256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Technically 15 days long, this is the longest Chinese holiday. However, since celebrations begin on New Year\u2019s Eve, it\u2019s often considered 16 days long, and if you follow the traditional (lunar) dates, it can begin in December with the Laba Festival (\u814a\u516b\u8282 \/ l\u00e0 b\u0101 ji\u00e9), which can make it closer to 40 days long!<\/p>\n
Much like with holidays such as Christmas, many stores are closed during the holiday, so the Chinese stock up on all their supplies the month before.<\/p>\n
4. Fireworks included?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Definitely. It\u2019s believed that the most fireworks in the world are set off at midnight on New Year\u2019s Day. Firecrackers are said to scare off bad spirits, which is a large part of the festival\u2014warding off bad spirits and omens, welcoming in good vibes, and celebrating ancestors. Fireworks are also set off later in the morning to welcome the new season, while pieces of paper and printed gold bars are additionally lit and released to honour loved ones and ancestors.<\/p>\n
5. Red<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe festival is awash in red, as red is known as a colour that protects against evil. Red paper will be stuck up on walls and windows, both fake and real red chili peppers and red lanterns will be hung around, as well. New spring clothing is added to wardrobes, especially in red, and children are given money in lucky red envelopes.<\/p>\n
6. Foods<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Traditionally, dumplings would be eaten for every meal, but more recently, dumplings are served for dinner the first day. Desserts also have special meaning during this time, mostly based on the name of the dish. One popular dessert, tangyuan, for example, means \u201csoup balls,\u201d but it sounds like tuanyuan (\u56e2\u5706), meaning reunion.<\/p>\n
Fa gao (\u53d1\u7cd5) is a hybrid of sponge cakes and muffins that are dyed in festive colours. The fa as in fa cai (\u53d1\u8d22), means \u201cto get rich\u201d\u2014a great reason to eat this dessert!<\/p>\n
7. The Year of the\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Like Western zodiacs, there are 12 Chinese zodiac animals. However, unlike the Western ones, Chinese zodiacs represent an entire year instead of a month. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. While some animals aren\u2019t auspicious in Chinese culture, the positive traits of these zodiac animals are bestowed on the people born in that year. You\u2019ll want to know what your Chinese zodiac animal is<\/a>!<\/p>\n8. Festival\u2019s End<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe festival ends on the first full moon of the lunar cycle, 15 days from the start of the Chinese New Year. Known as the Yuanxiao Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282 \/ yu\u00e1n xi\u0101o ji\u00e9) or Lantern Festival<\/a> (\u706f\u8282 \/ d\u0113ng ji\u00e9), that night is one of freedom and celebration, marked largely with the release of lanterns.<\/p>\n9. Around the World<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nIf there is a Chinatown near you, head over to get a feel for what the festival is all about. Cities all over the world boast that they have the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia. San Francisco, Sydney, and London all have large Spring Festivals, though they will likely be scaled back this year. Chinese New Year has also been known to the biggest human migration event of the year, however, with travel still on the back burner, local and home festivities are more likely.<\/p>\n
<\/h4>\n
\n\nWritten by Stephanie Kerr. Stephanie is a seasoned storyteller, developing enriching content and telling brand stories for over 15 years. She also enjoys photography, painting, and video editing, which she uses in her storytelling and her personal life. In her spare time she is busy walking, playing, and cuddling as a dog mom of two.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This festival is celebrated around the world as a fresh start, the introduction of spring, plantings, and new beginnings\u2014we could all use that this year! Nearly 20% of the world takes part, so check out these nine interesting facts about the Chinese New Year. 1. Chinese Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[682080,137,634730,70,227,634733,682081],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-celebration","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-food","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-traditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5256,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions\/5256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\nThe festival is awash in red, as red is known as a colour that protects against evil. Red paper will be stuck up on walls and windows, both fake and real red chili peppers and red lanterns will be hung around, as well. New spring clothing is added to wardrobes, especially in red, and children are given money in lucky red envelopes.<\/p>\n
6. Foods<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Traditionally, dumplings would be eaten for every meal, but more recently, dumplings are served for dinner the first day. Desserts also have special meaning during this time, mostly based on the name of the dish. One popular dessert, tangyuan, for example, means \u201csoup balls,\u201d but it sounds like tuanyuan (\u56e2\u5706), meaning reunion.<\/p>\n
Fa gao (\u53d1\u7cd5) is a hybrid of sponge cakes and muffins that are dyed in festive colours. The fa as in fa cai (\u53d1\u8d22), means \u201cto get rich\u201d\u2014a great reason to eat this dessert!<\/p>\n
7. The Year of the\u2026<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Like Western zodiacs, there are 12 Chinese zodiac animals. However, unlike the Western ones, Chinese zodiacs represent an entire year instead of a month. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. While some animals aren\u2019t auspicious in Chinese culture, the positive traits of these zodiac animals are bestowed on the people born in that year. You\u2019ll want to know what your Chinese zodiac animal is<\/a>!<\/p>\n8. Festival\u2019s End<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe festival ends on the first full moon of the lunar cycle, 15 days from the start of the Chinese New Year. Known as the Yuanxiao Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282 \/ yu\u00e1n xi\u0101o ji\u00e9) or Lantern Festival<\/a> (\u706f\u8282 \/ d\u0113ng ji\u00e9), that night is one of freedom and celebration, marked largely with the release of lanterns.<\/p>\n9. Around the World<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nIf there is a Chinatown near you, head over to get a feel for what the festival is all about. Cities all over the world boast that they have the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia. San Francisco, Sydney, and London all have large Spring Festivals, though they will likely be scaled back this year. Chinese New Year has also been known to the biggest human migration event of the year, however, with travel still on the back burner, local and home festivities are more likely.<\/p>\n
<\/h4>\n
\n\nWritten by Stephanie Kerr. Stephanie is a seasoned storyteller, developing enriching content and telling brand stories for over 15 years. She also enjoys photography, painting, and video editing, which she uses in her storytelling and her personal life. In her spare time she is busy walking, playing, and cuddling as a dog mom of two.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This festival is celebrated around the world as a fresh start, the introduction of spring, plantings, and new beginnings\u2014we could all use that this year! Nearly 20% of the world takes part, so check out these nine interesting facts about the Chinese New Year. 1. Chinese Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[682080,137,634730,70,227,634733,682081],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-celebration","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-food","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-traditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5256,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions\/5256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Like Western zodiacs, there are 12 Chinese zodiac animals. However, unlike the Western ones, Chinese zodiacs represent an entire year instead of a month. 2022 is the year of the Tiger. While some animals aren\u2019t auspicious in Chinese culture, the positive traits of these zodiac animals are bestowed on the people born in that year. You\u2019ll want to know what your Chinese zodiac animal is<\/a>!<\/p>\n The festival ends on the first full moon of the lunar cycle, 15 days from the start of the Chinese New Year. Known as the Yuanxiao Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282 \/ yu\u00e1n xi\u0101o ji\u00e9) or Lantern Festival<\/a> (\u706f\u8282 \/ d\u0113ng ji\u00e9), that night is one of freedom and celebration, marked largely with the release of lanterns.<\/p>\n If there is a Chinatown near you, head over to get a feel for what the festival is all about. Cities all over the world boast that they have the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia. San Francisco, Sydney, and London all have large Spring Festivals, though they will likely be scaled back this year. Chinese New Year has also been known to the biggest human migration event of the year, however, with travel still on the back burner, local and home festivities are more likely.<\/p>\n Written by Stephanie Kerr. Stephanie is a seasoned storyteller, developing enriching content and telling brand stories for over 15 years. She also enjoys photography, painting, and video editing, which she uses in her storytelling and her personal life. In her spare time she is busy walking, playing, and cuddling as a dog mom of two.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today marks the start of the Chinese New Year. This festival is celebrated around the world as a fresh start, the introduction of spring, plantings, and new beginnings\u2014we could all use that this year! Nearly 20% of the world takes part, so check out these nine interesting facts about the Chinese New Year. 1. Chinese Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[682080,137,634730,70,227,634733,682081],"class_list":["post-5247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explorica-news","tag-celebration","tag-china","tag-cuisine","tag-food","tag-holidays","tag-international","tag-traditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5247"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5256,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5247\/revisions\/5256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}8. Festival\u2019s End<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
9. Around the World<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/h4>\n
\n