Chinese New Year facts for kids

A shop selling decorations for the Chinese New Year in Wuhan, China, (2006)

The fireworks at Singapore's River Hongbao during the Lantern Festival in 2015

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival in China, is a big holiday. It happens around the new moon on the first day of the traditional Chinese calendar. This calendar follows the moon's changes. Because of this, Chinese New Year is never on January 1st. It usually falls between January 21st and February 20th.

This holiday is super important for Chinese people all over the world. It's a time for family to get together and share big meals. Children often get special gifts of cash in red envelopes, called hongbao, instead of toys.

Chinese New Year used to last for 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival on the first full moon of the year. Now, it's a national holiday in many places like China, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. It's also celebrated in parts of Thailand. In China, they even create a 7-day "Golden Week" holiday by moving nearby weekends.

What it's Called

Chūn Jié in traditional Chinese writing (top) and the easier way

In Mandarin Chinese, the holiday is called Chūn Jié, which means "Spring Festival." Even though it happens in winter, it's still called this. The name is written in two ways: traditional Chinese characters and a simpler way used in mainland China and Singapore. This name became common in the 1910s when China started using the Gregorian calendar more.

Before that, it was just called the "New Year." Since the traditional Chinese calendar is based on the moon, people also call it the "Lunar New Year" or "Chinese Lunar New Year." "Lunar" comes from an old Latin word for the moon.

When the New Year Happens

A picture you can touch to show the days of different years' Chinese New Years

Chinese New Year always begins on a new moon. This is when the Moon is between the Earth and Sun, making the night sky dark. Since new moons happen about every 29.5 days, the holiday falls on different dates each year. The Chinese calendar sometimes adds a 13th month. This helps keep the seasons in the right place. The first day of the new year is always between January 21st and February 20th. It is the 2nd or 3rd new moon after the winter solstice. The table on the right shows the dates for many Chinese New Years.

Animals of the New Year

The Chinese used to track time using two lists of characters: the 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches. Each was linked to either yin (dark/female) or yang (bright/male). When put together, they formed a 60-year cycle. Each stem also matched one of the 5 Chinese elements: wood, fire, dirt, metal, or water. Each branch was linked to a different animal: Rat, Ox/Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster/Chicken, Dog, and Pig.

Today, people don't use these lists to count hours or days. But many still care about the animal of the year they were born in. Like with the European zodiac, some believe the year's animal can affect a person's personality and behavior. Some even think it can affect whether a marriage will be happy. Many parents try to time their children's birth to get a good animal sign.

History of the Holiday

A kind of lion dance under the Song

Yao Wenhan's picture of Chinese New Year in 18th-century China

A Manchu businessman in Yingkou welcoming the god of Money Cai Shen to his home in the 1910s

Chinese tradition says the Chinese calendar began in 2637 BC. New Year celebrations supposedly started then. However, we know it's not that old. Parts of the old ways of counting time go back to at least 1250 BC, during the Shang times. Most of it was known by the Zhou (11th–3rd centuries BC). From eastern China, the calendar and its new year spread to places like Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Tibet. It also followed Chinese people who moved to Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The Shang kings (16th–11th centuries BC) gave special gifts to their gods and dead family members each winter. Under the Zhou, people had harvest festivals by about 1000 BC.

By the early Han, people started counting their birthdays from People's Day on the 7th day of the New Year. Dragon dances appeared during the Han. People believed Chinese dragons controlled water and rain, which was important for farming. So, dragon dances happened all year when rain was needed.

Lion dances were probably newer. They existed under the Tang and in Japan by the 8th century. But people still saw them as a foreign dance. Today, there are "Northern" and "Southern" kinds of lion dances. The northern kind started under the Southern Song (12th–13th century). The southern kind began in Guangdong later.

In 1873, Japan's Emperor Meiji changed his country's new year to January 1st. Most Japanese celebrations now happen then. In 1928, the Nationalist Party in China tried to move Chinese New Year to January 1st too. But Chinese people protested and kept celebrating as usual.

In 1967, during Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, China's government did not allow traditional new year celebrations. Public celebrations returned in the 1980s. Since 2000, Chinese New Year has been one of China's Golden Weeks. This means three days of paid time off work, plus two weekends moved to make a 7-day holiday.

In 2015, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei introduced strict Islamic laws. These laws affected how Chinese New Year could be celebrated.

How it's Celebrated

Mainland China

Spring travelers in a Beijing railway station (2009)

In China, families try to be together for at least the first few days of the holiday. Because so many Chinese people work far from home, this "spring traveling" (chunyun) is the biggest movement of people in the world each year.

A "reunion dinner" happens on New Year's Eve. Older and married people give younger ones cash in red envelopes (hongbao). China Central Television puts on a long show with many famous actors, singers, and dancers. It's usually the most-watched TV show in the world.

Children can stay up until midnight. Around 12 o'clock, the new year is welcomed with public fireworks and private firecrackers. Children are told the story of a monster called "Nian" ("Year"). This monster was scared away by loud noises and bright lights long ago. Many people also call or text "Happy New Year!"

Temples have special fairs with lots of street food. There are Peking opera and martial arts shows, plus lion and dragon dances in big cities. The dragons can be very long. Hong Kong also has special horse races. Guangzhou has several special flower festivals.

The day of the new year's first full moon is the Lantern Festival. Streets and homes are decorated with old paper lanterns. In the past, this was one of the few days wealthy women could go outside. They walked the streets and could meet people outside their family. This festival still makes people think of young adults meeting their future husband or wife.

Taiwan

People being hit by fireworks in Yanshui, Taiwan (2000)

In Taiwan, most celebrations are like those in China. A special event is the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival. Here, fireworks are shot directly at the audience. Being hit is supposed to bring good luck. Today, people wear special helmets and thick clothes to stay safe. Another event is the "Bombing of Master Handan" in Taitung. People throw firecrackers at a parade wearing only red underwear and towels. Taiwan's Hakka people also throw firecrackers at dragon dancers. The dragon is then burned at the end. Taipei's City Lantern Festival lasts for most of the holiday.

Philippines

A cross at Binondo's Catholic church decorated for Chinese New Year in the Philippines (2014)

Chinese New Year is a national holiday in the Philippines. People who work on this "special non-working day" get extra pay. Binondo, sometimes called the world's oldest Chinatown, has many traditional celebrations. These include lion and dragon dances. People also try to pay back any money they owe before the New Year.

In 2001, Davao City stopped allowing fireworks because too many people were getting hurt. Their mayor Rodrigo Duterte later became president and wanted to stop fireworks everywhere. However, as president, he has continued to allow them.

Indonesia

Chinese New Year (Indonesian: Imlek) is a 1-day national holiday in Indonesia. Chinese people have lived there since at least the 15th century. Indonesian president Suharto stopped Chinese Indonesians from celebrating in 1967. After he left power in 1998, things changed. Indonesia made Chinese New Year a national holiday for everyone in 2003.

Today, Chinese Indonesians celebrate much like people in China. Dragon and lion dances are common at shopping centers. Malls sometimes have special sales for new (often red) clothes. People cannot use fireworks in most of Indonesia, but some cities like Jakarta allow firecrackers.

Some older Chinese traditions still exist in Indonesia. Like in the Philippines, people try to pay back debts before the New Year. They also try not to lend money during the holiday, believing it will make them lend money all year. Doors and windows are opened the day before New Year to "let the old year out." People wake up early the next morning to avoid being lazy all year. The red envelopes of money (Hokkien: âng-pau) are given on New Year's Day morning, not the night before. Many visit Chinese temples during the holiday.

It's also common to leave food on the table for dead family members and give them gifts. Chicken is often eaten with the head, tail, and feet still on, showing "completeness." Fresh white tofu is not eaten because its color reminds some of death and bad luck.

Malaysia

Lion dancers on poles above the streets of Kuala Lumpur (2013)

Yusheng, a fish-and-noodles dish, is eaten in Malaysia by tossing it high in the air

Most of Malaysia gets two days off for Chinese New Year: the New Year itself and the day after. Some still follow the tradition that the second day is for married women to visit their parents, after visiting her husband's family on New Year's Day. Most Chinese Malaysians take the whole week off. Traditional Chinese use the 3rd day to visit the resting places of family members who died in the last 3 years. People without a recent death stay home.

An unusual tradition in Malaysia is "open house" dinners, especially on the 2nd and 3rd nights. Guests, friends, and even strangers from different backgrounds can join big dinners. The Malaysian government even holds its own "open houses."

Besides fireworks at the start of the New Year, many light them on the 9th day to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor, the boss of the Chinese gods. This day was for a special Hokkien New Year. A story says the Hokkien people once hid from robbers for 8 days in a sugarcane field. Because of this, lots of sugarcane is used for Malaysian decorations.

Teochew-style Yusheng, a fish-and-noodle dish, is common in Malaysia. It's called "yee sang" or "prosperity toss." A restaurant in Seremban started having people eat it by throwing it high in the air for good luck in the 1940s. People had so much fun that they've done it ever since. Another common dish is "steam boat," a kind of seafood hot pot. Like in other Chinese places, eating and giving oranges and tangerines is common. A special tradition is for single women to throw an orange into the sea to find a man. Some now write their phone numbers on the oranges, and men use boats to get the fruit.

Many people in Malaysia who follow Islam and Hinduism have also started giving red envelopes of money.

Singapore

Singapore's "steam boats," another name for hot pot, are heated pots of soup used by everyone around a table to cook side dishes of meat, fish, vegetables, and other things.

Singapore, like Malaysia, has a national holiday for Chinese New Year and the day after. It also has many "steam boat" hot pot dinners. In 1972, the government stopped people from using their own fireworks. To keep the celebration fun, they started the Chingay Parade in 1973. In 1977, Indians and Malays joined the parade. It happens on the 8th day of the New Year. The parade is now the biggest in Asia, with over 10,000 people and floats showing every animal of the Chinese years and the money god Cai Shen. Over 100,000 people see it in person, and millions watch on TV. There are still government firework shows. People in Singapore now make noise by hitting bamboo sticks together.

Holiday shopping and street shows are focused in Chinatown. Downtown, the holiday shows off Chinese arts and customs.

Brunei

Chinese New Year, the day before it, the day after it, and the Lantern Festival are national holidays in Brunei. Brunei has had many Chinese people since the 1930s and 1940s. The sultan sometimes attends their New Year celebrations. However, since 2015, Brunei has put in place strict Islamic laws. These laws try to stop Muslims from joining or even seeing Chinese celebrations. Lion dances are only allowed at the last Chinese temple in Brunei, at Chinese schools, and at Chinese homes. Only Chinese people can join the dance. People cannot use fireworks or firecrackers. Dances must stop during Islamic prayers. Breaking these rules can lead to big fines and jail time.

Korea

Koreans playing tuho during their new year celebrations in 2005.

The Chinese New Year celebrations in North and South Korea are called Korean New Year. The time in Beijing is 1 hour different from Pyongyang and Seoul. About once every 24 years, this makes the Korean New Year start the day after the Chinese New Year.

The Korean holiday is very similar to the Chinese one. Families gather, children are very respectful to their parents and grandparents, and older people give money to the young. However, the Korean holiday has different traditional foods and games.

Vietnam

A home altar decorated for the 2007 Tet.

The Chinese New Year celebrations in Vietnam are called Tet. Like in Korea, the Vietnamese New Year is mostly the same as China's. Families gather, children say nice things to their parents and grandparents, and older people give money to the young. There are some different foods and traditions, like their New Year tree or special games. Some differences come from changes in China. Tet sees more people do nice things for their dead family members. In China, most of those traditions moved to Tomb Sweeping Day in early April.

Other Places

The biggest celebrations in the US and Canada happen in Chinatowns. People eat Chinese food, give gifts, and have dragon parades that sometimes include marching bands. There is no national holiday with time off work. But different events go on for the full traditional 2 weeks, until the Lantern Festival.

In the United Kingdom, the celebration in London's Chinatown and Trafalgar Square had 500,000 people in 2015.

The holiday is so important that many world leaders send good wishes to China and Chinese people.

Customs and Traditions

Red envelopes (hongbao) for sale in Taipei on Taiwan

A home decorated with home-made couplets and a picture of a healthy and happy baby

A family gathered to welcome the New Year with loud noises (1910s)

Religious ceremonies used to be very common, especially for the Kitchen God and Cai Shen, the god of money (1910s).

Most traditions are about getting good luck for the new year and avoiding anything bad.

Houses are cleaned completely. People hang up decorations, especially pairs of Chinese poems (couplets) on either side of their doors. Some put pictures of Taoist gods on doors to scare away bad things. Live plants mean growth, and flowers mean good things are coming. Pussy willow is common because its Chinese name sounds like "money coming in." Big decorations often look like the animal for the new year.

People used to welcome the New Year with anything that made loud noises, like drums or cymbals. Fireworks and firecrackers became very common. But lately, many places have stopped allowing most people to use them. This is because of danger, fire, and air pollution. There are still big firework shows in most large cities with many Chinese people. But the city government puts on the show for everyone to watch.

When visiting houses, people wear new or well-kept clothes. They wear more red than usual, which reminds them of happy times like weddings. They wear less black and white, which reminds some of sad times like funerals.

There are common phrases people say to wish good luck, like gōngxǐ fācái ("congratulations that you are now rich"). People try not to say bad words, tell ghost stories, or talk about death. Some even avoid the number four, which sounds like "death" in Chinese. Crying babies are also thought to bring bad luck. Family members try to keep children happy during visits.

Some old customs are hardly done anymore. In old China, people didn't sweep or wash clothes on New Year's Day. They feared cleaning away good luck. For the same reason, some didn't wash their hair. They were also careful not to break any tools. The 5th or 6th day after New Year was for "sending off" the god of Being Poor. People near Beijing thought it was unlucky to cook or steam food for the first 5 days. They would cook all their next week's food 2 days before, so it was ready for the reunion meal. On People's Day, the 7th day, people used to wear special headbands. They believed good weather meant good luck for everyone. Everyone used this day to count their age, even if it wasn't their birthday. None of that is common anymore.

Taoist traditions of giving gifts to the Chinese gods are also less common now. People believed gifts would make the gods nicer and prevent bad luck. Fewer people worry about those things today.

Special Foods

A small family reunion dinner on the day before Chinese New Year in 2006.

The reunion dinners on New Year's Eve are often the biggest and most expensive of the year. Some families use special and expensive foods to impress others. Others use foods that have a special meaning to bring luck. Jiaozi (a kind of dumpling) are common in northern China. People think they look like old Chinese silver bars and hold luck inside. Egg rolls and spring rolls like lumpia can also look like golden bars. Oranges and tangerines are thought to look like gold coins. Noodles like yīmiàn or Filipino pancit are eaten uncut to wish for a long life. Other foods are eaten because their Chinese names sound like lucky words.

Some Chinese also put out "Trays of Togetherness." These are dishes with eight different kinds of snack foods. Common items include kumquats, longans, pieces of coconut meat, peanuts, candies, and melon and lotus seeds. Eight is a lucky number for many Chinese people. These dishes are very common among Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese.

For the Lantern Festival, the special food is yuanxiao. These are small balls of sticky rice in a sweet soup. Lichun always happens near Chinese New Year. It is celebrated by eating spring pancakes (chūnbǐng).

Fun Facts About Chinese New Year

• About 1/4 of the world's people celebrate Chinese New Year.
• San Francisco has celebrated Chinese New Year since the 1860s. It claims its Chinese New Year parade is the biggest celebration outside of Asia.
• People try to eat as many dumplings as they can. Dumplings represent wealth.
• Giving pears as a gift is considered rude. The Chinese word for pears (梨 lí) sounds like the word for leaving or parting (离 lí).
• In China, females are said to be ready for marriage up to age 30, and males before 32. Because of this, some people rent a boyfriend or girlfriend for Chinese New Year. This makes visiting their families easier.
• An old Chinese belief says the second day of the new year is the birthday of all dogs. People should be extra kind to dogs that day.
• According to Chinese tradition, whatever someone does on New Year’s Day sets the example for the rest of the year.
• Chinese supermarkets report that sales of adult diapers go up by 50% during the Chinese New Year traveling season.

Images for kids

• 

  The largest Chinese New Year parade outside Asia, in Chinatown, Manhattan.

• 

  Chinese New Year eve in Meizhou on February 8, 2005.

• 

  Spring couplets written by Qianlong Emperor of Qing dynasty, now stored in The Palace Museum

• 

  Chinese firecracker, 鞭炮.

• 

  Incense is burned at the graves of ancestors as part of the offering and prayer rituals.

• 

  Chinese New Year's celebrations, on the eighth day, in the Metro Vancouver suburb of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

• 

  One version of niangao, New Year rice cake

• 

  Chinese candy box

• 

  Chinese New Year festival in Chinatown, Boston

• 

  Decorations on the occasion of Chinese New Year – River Hongbao 2016, Singapore

• 

  Southeast Asia's largest temple – Kek Lok Si near George Town in Penang, Malaysia – illuminated in preparation for the Chinese New Year.

• 

  Greeting banners of various companies in the Chinese New Year 2016, Yaowarat

• 

  Lanterns hung around Senapelan street, the Pekanbaru Chinatown

• 

  Gaya Street in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia filled with Chinese lanterns during the New Year celebration.

• 

  Liong attraction during Chinese New Year in Jakarta, Indonesia

• 

  Cian cui is an Indonesian tradition during the Chinese New Year which involves splashing others with water. Photograph taken in Selatpanjang, Riau, Indonesia.

• 

  Melbourne: Chinese New Year in Chinatown

• 

  Lion dance in Fuzhou Town, Brooklyn

• 

  Chinese New Year 2014 Celebration in Kolkata

See also

In Spanish: Año Nuevo chino para niños