In Taiwan in the 2000s, some employers also gave red packets as a bonus to maids, nurses, or domestic workers from Southeast Asian countries, although whether this is appropriate is controversial. Incense, tea, fruits, vegetarian food or roasted pig, and gold paper are served as customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person. While large firework displays are popular in some places, Taiwan tends to focus more on temple visits, lantern-lighting ceremonies, and family reunions.citation needed ‘Spring Festival’ is the standard and official term; people in Taiwan typically do not use “Spring Festival” in daily conversations.
For example, Cantonese people eat dishes made of seven types of vegetables. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year (February 23) is when followers believe the Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, created humanity. As noted earlier, for many people Lunar New Year is a time to consult the stars to find out what lies ahead in the coming months.
Red envelopes
San Gabriel hosts an annual Chinese Gala at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in addition to its street festival. Neighboring Alhambra has also hosted a large festival since 1993 with many performances and street vendors. Monterey Park puts on the largest of such festivals, occupying 5 blocks in the city and attracting over 100,000 individuals. The Little Saigon area has hosted Tet celebrations since 1982 for its Chinese and Vietnamese communities.
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- The reason is that China has a large population, and Chinese New Year is a traditional reunion festival.
- Their son was very sleepy, however, so they let him go to sleep after placing a red paper bag containing the copper coins under the child’s pillow.
- New Year couplets printed in gold letters on bright red paper, referred to as chunlian (春聯) or fai chun (揮春), are another way of expressing wishes for an auspicious new year.
- This is an important part of Chinese New Year Celebration, where people prepare various delicacies such as fish, meat, vegetables, etc., symbolizing “surplus every year” and “steady progress”.
- US and Iranian officials are meeting in Geneva for a second round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman, amid rising tensions and military drills.
- For 2021 (for one year only), the government declared the Chinese New Year a government holiday.
It is one of the representatives of traditional Chinese snacks and is a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. Eating dumplings is a unique way to express people’s wishes for blessings and good fortune during the end of the old year and the beginning of new year. Lantern Festival is famous for its Yuan Xiao (sweet rice balls), whose round shape symbolizes family unity and togetherness. It is best to choose bright, colorful, and warm Chinese New Year clothes, especially red clothes, because red symbolizes auspiciousness and festivity. It embodies the affection and nostalgia of more than one billion Chinese people.
From ABC News (Australia), The Year of the Horse explained and how people across Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year The Horse, aligned with peak Yang energy at noon, embodies strength and outward expansion; yet even at this height of energy, balance remains essential. The black (Yin) and white (Yang) halves flow into one another, each containing a dot of its opposite, symbolizing the principle that within every extreme lies the seed of transformation.
(If you haven’t prepared your own “gou” yet, here’s an easy recipe for radish cake, a beloved Lunar New Year dish.) That means eating these treats is believed to lead to improvements and growth in the coming year. This is why wearing the fiery color, along with hanging banners and lighting firecrackers or fireworks, are Lunar New Year traditions, all of which are still followed today. The man claimed to have scared Nian away by hanging red banners on his door, lighting firecrackers and donning red clothing. According to the legend, every Lunar New Year’s Eve this ferocious underwater beast with sharp teeth and horns would crawl onto the land and attack a nearby Ringospin Casino village.
Traditional foods include carp for long life, whole fish for abundance, dumplings and spring rolls for wealth, long noodles for longevity, sticky rice cakes for success, and citrus fruits for good luck. On the first day of the New Year, sweeping or cleaning is avoided as it is believed to brush away good fortune. In 2026 the Chinese New Year marks the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of yusheng, particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì-píng’ān) immediately, which means “everlasting peace year after year”.
Southeast Asia
- The pomelo, which is believed to bring constant prosperity, also has a pronunciation that symbolize good luck.
- This festival is known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Seollal in Korea.
- The elders usually hope their kids will be healthy, happy and make progress in the coming year, so they will give red envelopes to them to pass blessings and good luck.
- Red envelopes are then kept under the pillow and slept on for seven nights after the Chinese New Year, before opening, because that symbolizes good luck and fortune.
- In addition to red envelopes, typically given from older individuals to younger ones, small gifts such as food or sweets are exchanged between friends or relatives from different households during Chinese New Year.
- The Japanese New Year (正月, Shōgatsu) is an annual festival that takes place in Japan.
The remaining 14 days are usually only celebrated by ethnic Chinese families. In Indonesia, the first day of the Chinese New Year is recognized as a national holiday. In Singapore, Chinese New Year is officially a two-day public holiday and is accompanied by various festive activities. George Town, a Chinese-majority city, is known for its lively Chinese New Year celebrations that last until the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day. Chinese New Year’s Eve is typically a half-day holiday in Malaysia, while Chinese New Year is a two-day public holiday.
Because it marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year and coincides with the return of spring and the revival of all things, people name it “Spring Festival”. The name “Spring Festival” literally means a festival celebrating the arrival of spring. As one of the most important and distinctive traditional Chinese folk festivals, Chinese New Year carries rich cultural connotations and profound national emotions. Although Vietnam replaces the Rabbit with the Cat in its zodiac sequence, the Year of the Horse remains consistent across these cultures, underscoring shared cosmological heritage. These practices reflect the enduring symbolic association between the horse and swift achievement. The horse, delayed by helping others along the way, finished seventh – reinforcing cultural values of loyalty and benevolence.
In Bangkok, there are large celebrations in Chinatown, Yaowarat Road, where the main road is closed and turned into a pedestrian street, with a member of the royal family in attendance each year to open the ceremony, such as Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun, and Songkhla. Celebrations are centered primarily in Binondo in Manila, the oldest Chinatown in the world, with other celebrations taking place in key cities. Chinese temples are generally open for 24 hours on the first day, distributing red envelopes and sometimes rice, fruits or sugar to the poor.citation needed On 19 January 2001, the Ministry of Religious Affairs issued Ministerial Decree No.13 of 2001 on Imlek Day as a National Holiday to set Hari Tahun Baru Imlek as a “facultative holiday” for the Chinese community.
As mentioned, the Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival in China and marks the beginning of the spring season. “China Xian Tour put together 9 days Beijing, Zhangjiajie, Guilin and Xian Tour bespoke to us. Start planning your China holiday with one of our local specialists. Besides Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival are also representative traditional festivals in China.
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Thus, it’s called renri/jan jat (the people’s birthday). Every year, certain Chinese zodiac signs clash with the stars negatively, so temple visits are considered a good way to resolve those conflicts and bring peace in the coming months. To kick things off, festive cakes and puddings are made on the 24th day of the last lunar month (February 11 in 2026). Festivities often last for 15 days — sometimes even more — with different tasks and activities taking place over that period. Like many major holidays, Lunar New Year can be a lot of work.
The parade is attended by some 500,000 people, along with another 3 million TV viewers. They invited a variety of other groups from the city to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, carrying colourful flags, banners, lanterns, drums, and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. In 1849, with the discovery of gold and the ensuing California Gold Rush, over 50,000 people came to San Francisco to seek their fortune or just a better way of life. The festival incorporates Grant and Kearny Streets into its street festival and parade route, respectively. The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is the oldest and one of the largest events of its kind outside of Asia, and one of the largest Asian cultural events in North America. Many communities throughout all of California celebrate with large celebrations taking place in both the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, as well as in Fresno, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Rosa, and Stockton.
These yearly combinations are believed to influence the traits of the era and the people born in that year. Every year, a different animal is honoured based on the Chinese zodiac. In 2027, the celebrations will begin on Saturday, February 6, ushering in the Year of the Goat. For many families, the festival marks more than a change of date, but a cultural reset rooted in renewal, reunion and hope for the months ahead. Community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, and fireworks will mark the Year of the Horse. A huge part of Asian culture is not just family and togetherness – but incredible food.
