6 Top Traditions in China Celebrating Chinese
New Year
Traditions celebrating Chinese New Year do vary from
region to region in China, but these 6 traditions are the most widely
practiced.
1 Clean the house and go shopping
Before the New Year coming, every house is spring-cleaned
and well decorated. It's essential to start the new year with a clean house to
symbolize a fresh new start. Sweep away all the dust and bad memories and open
the door to a year of endless possibilities.
Like the western celebrates Christmas, Chinese people
will shop for new clothes and accessories. If this is the year of your birth
zodiac sign 本命年(běn
mìng nián), then it's tradition to wear at least one red item (such as belts,
socks, underwear, sweaters, scarves or dresses) every day for the whole year to
negate the bad luck brought about by the year.
2 Hang couplet 对联 (duì lián)
对联（duì lián）are
a type of poetry couplets in which the two lines are antithetical yet contain
complementary words that will bring good fortune to the home and its residents.
They are
usually written in black paint on red papers and hanged around a front
door frame. Some people buy pre-made对联 to
hang on their doors, while others write their own to show off their calligraphy
skills.
3 Have a reunion dinner and make dumplings 饺子 (jiǎozi).
Follow the Chinese tradition, family members will return home and reunite with their parents. On this day all the
members of a Chinese family gather around the table for a "reunion
dinner," called 团圆饭（tuán yuán fàn）。
A common tradition in the north of China is to make
dumpling饺子(jiǎozi)
at New Year’s Eve. This usually involve the whole family from mother mixing up
the dough to father rolling it out the wrappers as kids fill them and all
family stands watch as they boil on the stove. Some families even put a
freshly-washed coin inside a dumpling. The person who gets that dumpling will
have good fortune all year long.
4
Give children red envelop 红包 (hóng
bāo)
红包 (hóng bāo)
are given to children on the
New Year’s Day. The amount of crisp Yuan notes contained in the envelope usually ends with an even digit. The money was
referred to as "money warding off evil spirits" (压岁钱yā suì qián) and was believed to protect the person of younger generation from
sickness and death.
5 Congratulate the new year 拜年 （bài nián）
Relatives and friends
would send New Year’s greetings each other to wish everything smoothly in the
new year. The greetings enhance relations between friends.
6 Hold Lantern Festival 元宵节（yuán xiāo jié）
The Lantern Festival is celebrated
on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year marking the last day of the lunar
New Year celebration
During the Festival,
children go out at night carrying paper
lanterns, and thousands of colorful lanterns are also hung out in public
area for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve puzzles
on lanterns, eat glutinous rice balls 元宵（yuán xiāo） or 汤圆（tāng yuán）at home and enjoy a family reunion.
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