2020 is the year of the rat Eastern calendar .

In 2020, the Chinese New Year according to the Eastern calendar, is celebrated on the night of January 24-25, at 24:00.

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival: (Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, 春节, 过年) is the most important holiday in China, the date of celebration of which is determined by lunar calendar, in 2020 it falls on January 25th.


Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, has over 4,000 years of history. It is the greatest and most important holiday of the year for the Chinese, let's see why:

  • Time for a family reunion

The Chinese New Year is a celebration of family reunion, similar to how it is done on Christmas in the West, only on a larger scale: on the eve of the new year, all the masses leave the cities to meet at the family table in their hometown. What causes a traffic collapse for many weeks before and after the new year.

  • The longest holiday in China

In most organizations in China, holidays last from 7 to 15 days, and schoolchildren and students go on vacation for a whole month.

Traditionally, the celebration lasts 15 days from the 1st to the 15th day of the first lunar month, and it is customary for people to start preparations even earlier - from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

  • The holiday owes its origin to the monster "Nian"

The holiday originates from the time of the Shang Dynasty (17-11 centuries BC). Back then, the festival was held to banish the Nian monster, which loved to devour children, supplies, and livestock. The monster was afraid of the color red and loud sound, so people decorated their houses red and set off many fireworks to drive it away.

Chinese New Year dates

When is Chinese New Year? Based on the lunar calendar, the festival does not have a fixed date and it changes every year, but mostly falls on a day between January 21st and February 20th in the Gregorian calendar.

The lunar calendar also determines the 12-year repeating cycle of the eastern zodiac, and each year belongs to an animal.

How long is the Chinese New Year? The festival lasts 15 days: from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival.

How is Chinese New Year celebrated?


Preparations begin seven days before the Chinese New Year, and the holiday itself lasts until the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the new year.

The Chinese have a daily to-do list to follow during the holiday. important days- Eve and the first day, these days they arrange a festive feast and fireworks.

▷ 23rd day of the last lunar month (8 days before the new year)

Making offerings to the kitchen god

General cleaning in the house

Holiday shopping, buying new year attributes,

▷ Chinese New Year's Eve:

Preparing red envelopes, family reunion dinner, watching festive TV programs, launching fireworks.

▷ 1st day of the first lunar month:

Launching fireworks, cooking and eating dumplings or nengao (sweet treat), visiting relatives.

▷ 2nd day:

Worshiping the God of wealth, married daughters visit their parents' house (the first day should be spent with the groom's family).

▷ Day 5:

Greeting the deity of wealth and prosperity, visiting friends.

Day 15 (Lantern Festival):

On the last day of the new year, the Lantern Fair is held and sweet stuffed rice balls are cooked and eaten.

Events on the eve of the holiday


Before the Spring Festival, every family does a thorough house cleaning and goes shopping. Red gift envelopes are being prepared, various New Year's decorations for the house are being purchased, red ribbons are hung on the doors calling for good luck and wealth.

Also, be sure to buy new clothes, especially for children, it is very important for the Chinese to celebrate the new year in everything new. During a family dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year, northern Chinese eat dumplings, while southerners eat Nyangao 年糕 (cookies made from glutinous rice and flour). All family members exchange red envelopes with money.

Why is red so popular in China? Red symbolizes happiness, prosperity and good luck in Chinese culture.

Do's and Don'ts for Chinese New Year

At the beginning of the Lunar New Year, the Chinese in their daily activities try to set the pace of their lives on next year, as they say: as you meet the new year, so you will spend it. During the whole holiday, it is forbidden to pronounce such words as "death", "loss", "murder", "ghost" and "disease".

During the entire Chinese New Year it is forbidden:

    Breaking things - you will be away from your family all year.

    Crying is bringing bad luck.

    Take medicine - the whole year will be in illness.

  • Borrow and lend money - will bring financial losses next year.
  • Wash your hair - wash off wealth (in Chinese, the words hair and wealth are synonyms).

    Sweep - sweep good luck.

    Use scissors - quarrels with people.

    Eat porridge - bring poverty.

gifts for chinese new year

What to give for the Spring Festival in China:

  1. Alcoholic drinks
  2. Cigarettes
  3. Tea and Fruit
  4. Cosmetics and products for longevity (balms, swallow's nests)
  5. Red envelopes with money (in no case should the amounts contain the number 4, the amount with big amount eights).
How to give gifts correctly: Gifts for Chinese New Year are better to buy in red boxes, or pack in a red wrapper. The combination of yellow and red in China is also considered extremely auspicious. Black should be avoided white color, as they are considered mourning flowers.

Quantity also has great value, since numerology is of great importance in China, and there is a certain meaning behind each number. The Chinese believe that all good things must come in pairs, so gifts are also given in pairs, such as two packs of cigarettes or two bottles of rice wine. If you decide to give a red envelope with money, it is best that the numbers are multiples: 8 (the most revered number in China, consonant with the word wealth), 6 or 9, for example, you can put 68, 288, 688, 999 yuan in the envelope Follow beware of the number 4, this is an unlucky number, and is consonant with the word death.

Congratulations on the Chinese New Year:

春节快乐 (chūn jié kuài lè) - Happy New Year!
新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) - Happy New Year!
恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) - I wish you great wealth!
一凡风顺年年好,万事如意步步高!心想事成大吉大利! - I wish you success in all your endeavors, and the fulfillment of all desires, so that prosperity increases every year! I wish you happiness and prosperity!

What can not be given to the Chinese:

  1. Umbrellas
  2. Shoes
  3. Pears
  4. sharp objects
  5. Chrysanthemums.

Where to meet the Spring Festival?

In China, each province has its own traditions and activities that are held during the celebration of this grandiose festival. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an with authentic folk festivals are great places to visit during your vacation. But still, we advise you to choose another country to visit during the Chinese holidays, since most of the establishments are closed in China at this time, the vast majority local residents leaves the cities, and tickets for all modes of transport become scarce.

Chinese New Year celebrations in other countries

The festival is celebrated not only in China, but also in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, some Asian countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam, as well as Chinatowns in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Celebration traditions in different places gradually modified under the influence of local characteristics and become unique.

Chinese New Year 2018 © depositphotos.com

Chinese New Year 2018 - what is this event

Chinese New Year is one of the most important Eastern holidays, which has been celebrated for quite a long time not only in Asian countries, but all over the world. After all, our people love holidays with a broad soul and are happy to perceive the New Year according to the Eastern calendar as another reason to get together and celebrate a significant event.

As for us, the New Year among the inhabitants of the East marks new round time, start, update. On the day when the New Year comes Chinese calendar, winter will meet spring and a new life cycle will begin.

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Chinese New Year 2018: when does it start

© depositphotos.com

The Chinese New Year has a fickle date because it is entirely dependent on the lunar calendar. Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after winter solstice, 21 December. Every year this holiday can fall on one of the days in the interval from January 21 to February 21.

Chinese New Year 2018 begins on February 16th. More precisely, 2018 will be according to the Gregorian calendar, but according to the Chinese calendar we will meet the year 4716, which will come under the sign and last until February 4, 2019, when it will be replaced by the year of the Yellow Pig.

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Chinese New Year 2018: how it is celebrated in China

© depositphotos.com

The Chinese call this holiday "the meeting after parting", because according to the tradition on the New Year, all family members, wherever they are, come home and gather at a richly laid festive table. It is also believed that on the Chinese New Year, the spirits of deceased ancestors are present at the table, who are also participants in the holiday.

During the New Year holidays, people visit each other with congratulations, gifts in the form of money in red envelopes, and necklaces made of coins and tangerines as a symbol of wealth.

Throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations in China, fun festivities, fairs, costumed dances and masquerade street processions.

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Chinese New Year 2018: When does the celebration end?

© depositphotos.com

In the countries of the East, Chinese New is one of the longest holidays, which lasted a whole month in the old days. However, in our time, due to a busy lifestyle and busy work schedule, the Chinese have reduced the number of days off by almost half, and the holiday ends on the fifteenth day.

Chinese New Year 2018 (holiday for the Chinese) lasts for 15 days. On March 2, the grandiose Chinese Lantern Festival will take place. Until this day, the meeting of the Chinese New Year 2018 will last, when the festival ends, and the people return to their usual working rhythm.

READ ALSO:

Recall that we previously said what should be on the table in the New Year of the Dog 2018. Read more on.

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Coming Chinese New Year 2017 Year of the Rooster, differs from ours, if only by the fact that for the Chinese, any event in life is permeated with a spirit - evil or good, but always alive. This means that he should either be appeased or driven away if he came with bad intentions, or treated and honored if his arrival will bring good to the family. The Chinese live according to the lunisolar (Chinese) calendar, so their chronology does not coincide with what we are used to. For example, in 2016, the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire celebrated the advent of the 4714 New Year of the Monkey, which took place on February 8th.

It is not for nothing that this event is otherwise called the Spring Festival, because for the Chinese this date symbolizes the beginning of sowing work (often in the buttonhole outerwear insert several spikelets of rice as a symbol of the abundance of the harvest). All Chinese in honor of such an event gather at their native hearth - in the house of their parents. If someone is away, then they definitely try to be in time for the family table - this is the most enduring tradition of celebrating Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year Celebration Gifts are not common in China. However, after the date of the first day of the Chinese New Year comes, parents always give their children money in a red envelope with the hope of their material well-being. Greeting cards are also hard to come by in China. But the red color hits the eye from all possible places - red is the main color of the New Year. After all, he is so afraid of the evil spirit, which the Chinese call the New Year. It should also be driven away with the noise of fireworks and loud laughter. Houses are decorated with many red lanterns and scrolls with good wishes to their family, protecting the home from evil spirits. Decorating houses for the Chinese New Year In honor of the New Year of the Rooster 2017, the people of China will change their old clothes with new ones, clean their houses (so that the favorable energy of the house circulates freely in it and does not stagnate), and prepare treats. Their favorite dish is dumplings, whose shape resembles an ingot of gold - a symbol of prosperity. Often houses are decorated with tangerines, always eight pieces - a number symbolizing infinity.

When does Chinese New Year 2017 end?
Chinese or Eastern New Year- this is a grand event that lasts a whole month in the old days, but now with a modern busy lifestyle, the people of China cannot afford so many days off, and the holiday ends on the fifteenth day (in 2017 this date falls on February 11) with a huge Chinese Lantern Festival .

Initially, it is worth mentioning that the New Year according to the Chinese calendar is fundamentally different from traditional holiday which is celebrated all over the world. This is due to the fact that the Chinese are literally permeated with mysticism, images of evil and good. With the advent of the New Year, the task becomes to appease the good spirits, drive away the evil ones (as an option, you can appease the evil ones, for this case China has its own practice). If we are talking about good spirits, they must be appeased, because they can bring goodness and prosperity to the house, make every day a real holiday. Below it is proposed to consider when the New Year will come according to the Chinese calendar, as well as analyze how to celebrate this magnificent event.

Features of chronology in China

The Chinese themselves live exclusively according to the lunar calendar (more precisely, lunisolar), it is for this reason that the chronology does not correspond to the European one. You can consider an example, namely, in 2016, the inhabitants of the country celebrated the year of the Monkey - 4714 (which is actually twice the standard European chronology).

It is worth noting that the date of the celebration of the New Year 2016 was then celebrated on February 8th. However, this date is not annual, it changes. What date is the Chinese New Year in 2017? According to calculations, the celebration will fall on January 28, at the specified time, and you can safely proceed to the celebrations.

What you need to know about the Chinese New Year

Having determined when the New Year begins according to the Chinese calendar, it is worth highlighting a few key features that a European who decides to visit the country in a specified period of time will face. So, what traditions will surprise all the guests of China:

  • According to ancient tradition, the celebration is referred to as the Spring Festival, which is due to the fact that for the Chinese this date is positioned as the beginning of sowing. As practice shows, the Chinese wear several small ears of rice in the upper buttonhole of their clothes during the specified period of time, which is a symbol of the future high harvest.
  • On such a day, all citizens gather in big families and prefer to spend time comfortably near their own hearth, in true home conditions. Even if a person is located relatively far from the family (for example, on a business trip, traveling), he will definitely strive to be on time and enjoy the variety of dishes on the table and the warm homely atmosphere. This is the most well-established tradition of this holiday.
  • The tradition of bringing gifts to relatives and friends is not widespread in the country. This does not mean that nothing is passed on to each other. When the cherished date comes, parents should definitely bring their children a gift in the form of a small red envelope with the funds invested in it. Such a gift is rather a concern for the future well-being and prosperity of the child, ensuring his comfort.
  • It is quite difficult to find greeting cards in China, but you can safely pick up numerous red products for yourself. In accordance with Chinese ancient tradition, it is the red color that is a kind of symbol of the New Year in China. This is due to the fact that an evil spirit is afraid to visit him, which means that you can thus drive him away from his family, at home, guaranteeing himself well-being and prosperity in this new period of life.
  • Another amazing tradition is the use of fireworks and just merry laughter on the day of the celebration, thanks to which you can easily drive away all unfriendly spirits from yourself. You need to know this when deciding how to celebrate a holiday.

Holiday data can be summarized conditionally in a table

Having specified when to celebrate the New Year, it is necessary to give a few useful advice. It is imperative to be prepared for the fact that the tradition has been adopted with the advent of the holiday to replace old clothes with new ones. It is also worth noting the need to clean the energy at home, which will allow you to move into a new time period fully prepared to receive positive moments, joy and fun. It is worth noting that the main dish for the holiday is dumplings, in their shape they resemble a gold ingot, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. This is an amazing holiday and it must be spent with soul.

Chinese New Year 2020 - Year of the Golden (Metal) Rat - will come on January 25th. Official holidays in the country - from January 24 to January 30, 2020.

Date of the Chinese New Year - how to determine what dates

Chinese New Year datedetermined according to the lunar calendar: the holiday falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice on December 21. So every timeNew Year in Chinafalls on different dates familiar to us Gregorian calendar, between January 21 and February 20.

Holiday decorations will appear on the streets and in the homes of residents of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Looking forward to the holiday in Singapore, South Korea and Chinatowns around the world!

When does Chinese New Year start and end?

Spring Festival - how many official non-working days in China?

New Year in China is the main celebration and great occasion get together with the whole family. The Chinese themselves call the New Year Spring Festival, and the history of this holiday has more than 4000 years.

Traditionally, festive festivities last 16 days. In 2020, the Chinese New Year will last from New Year's Eve to February 8 (Lantern Festival). Official holidays in the country - from January 24 to January 30, 2020.

Although the office of China Highlights will be closed on these days, you can make a reservation on our website: the travel consultants will definitely respond as quickly as possible. You can also always call us at round the clock hotline: 86-773-2865612.
Thank you in advance for your patience and we apologize for any delay in response.

2020 year of what animal

New Year Traditions: How the New Year is Celebrated in China

New Year's Eve in China, as in many countries around the world, is customary to spend in the family circle, celebrate the end of the past year, have a good rest and wish each other happiness and prosperity in the coming year.

The Chinese believe that a good start year will mean good luck for the whole coming year. That is why traditionally in China the celebration of the New Year began with the wishes of a good harvest. Today, they wish each other financial well-being and successful career growth.

Chinese New Year: Ancient Traditions and Modernity

Chinese omens and superstitions, traditional red envelopes with money "hongbao", launching fireworks, decorating houses - we will talk about what forms the ancient customs of this amazing country have taken today!

Preparing for the New Year

Spring-cleaning

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)- the most long-awaited holiday and the Chinese are preparing for it thoroughly.
A week before the New Year, from the 23rd of the 12th lunar month (in 2020 - from January 17), China begins the traditional New Year's cleaning of houses: they wash, tidy up and throw away everything unnecessary. Thus, last year's failures are "sweeped" out of the house and prosperity and well-being are invited to the house in the New Year.

Decoration of streets and houses - red color brings good luck

Every street and every house is decorated in red. Red is the main color of the holiday, as it is believed to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. Red lanterns appear on the streets, paired inscriptions on red paper are hung on both sides to the right and left of the door with wishes for good and happiness (“paired couplets”), banks and others official institutions decorated with red New Year's symbols of prosperity and good luck.

Families First

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) This is the time when families are reunited. Those who live in other cities always return to their parental home to celebrate the main holiday with the whole family.

A festive dinner unites the family, first of all, it is the unity of generations: those present at the festive table and the spirits of their ancestors. The most important dishes of the year are traditionally prepared for the New Year's Eve dinner. Several generations sit around the table, make dumplings (饺子), enjoy food and spend time together.
After dinner is over, no one goes to bed, so as not to miss their future happiness. Night vigils for the New Year are called: "Protect the Year."

Find out how it is customary in China to congratulate each other and learn how to draw the hieroglyph "happiness" for a real New Year's card -.

What is served on the New Year's Table in China:

Dishes that bring good luck in the New Year

All 16 days up to Lantern Festival in Chinese families cover festive table, always in abundance a variety of traditional delicacies.
Dinner is especially important New Year's Eve. The choice of dishes is symbolic: appearance, ingredients, name - everything has special meaning and centuries of history.

Fish is a must for the Spring Festival. In Chinese, the word for "fish" is consonant with the word for "excess". The Chinese believe that eating fish dishes will bring profit and good fortune in the coming year.
Others are jiaozi dumplings, which the whole family makes the day before, spring rolls, glutinous rice cakes, and sweet rice balls.

How to properly launch fireworks and firecrackers - Chinese traditions

Launching fireworks and firecrackers is a Chinese tradition

With the advent of the New Year, deafening cannonades of fireworks and firecrackers begin to be heard throughout China. Accompanied by smoke and hundreds of car alarms, the noise and rumble go on for hours without interruption.

Fireworks launch in China is not only entertainment, but also ancient tradition. Rumble and crackle are designed to scare away evil spirits that are just waiting to settle in the new year in every home. And yet, by exploding firecrackers, they say goodbye to the old year and welcome the onset of a new one.

The traditional order of launching fireworks: first, a row of small firecrackers explodes, then three large ones - this is how they see off old year and rejoice in the arrival of the new. It is believed that the louder these three firecrackers explode, the better and happier the coming year will be for Agriculture and business.

New Year Gifts and Hongbao Traditional Red Money Envelopes

On the Spring Festival in China, it is customary to exchange gifts. The Chinese are a very practical people. Therefore, the most common gift is a red envelope with Hongbao money. It is presented to relatives and friends, and traditionally, company management congratulates their subordinates in this way.
Hongbao Red Envelopes- this is not only money, but also a wish of good luck and prosperity to their recipient.

With the development of technology, giving Hongbao has become even easier! Since 2015, Wechat, a popular messenger in China, has provided its users with the opportunity to send cash hongbao to private and public chats.

Cultural Events and Folk Festivals

New Year in China you can see a lot of bright traditional productions and performances: Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, as well as performances from the time of the Chinese Empire, such as the Emperor's Wedding. Here you will be offered a huge variety of traditional Chinese dishes and exotic snacks, which are rarely seen during the year.

Prayer in the temple - a blessing in the New Year

It is believed that prayer in the temple on the New Year brings a special blessing and success in the coming year. in Shanghai, largest city In China, thousands of people gather at the Longhuasa Temple, the most famous and largest temple, to pray for happiness and good fortune.

Chinese New Year Superstitions:

What can be done and what should be avoided so that the coming year is successful

The Chinese believe that "how you meet the year is how you spend it", and there are many superstitions and customs to follow during the Spring Festival. Starting a month before the New Year and up to the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the lunar calendar) - in China they believe in the following signs:

  • It is believed that no cleaning or hair washing on the first three days of the new year, because it will sweep away / wash away luck
  • crying baby, is believed to bring bad luck to the family, so they try to calm the children
  • You can't ask for money or take out a loan
  • And, of course, red underwear...

Bride/groom rental!

For most Chinese, the Spring Festival is a joyful time. However, if you are over 30-35 years old and you still have not found your soul mate, then be prepared for concern from numerous relatives. Embarrassing moments are guaranteed: desperate parents even organize dates (potential marriages) for their unlucky children.

In China, it is believed that girls should marry before 30 years old, and men should marry before 32. Those who do not marry / will not marry before this age are subjected to merciless criticism in society.

Help to avoid pressure on such an important holiday, which has become very popular service "Bride / Groom for rent!" .
There are special websites and intermediary agents specializing in this business. Taobao, China's largest online retailer, has an entire section dedicated to bride and groom rentals. The cost of the service is approximately 100 yuan ($16) per day.

100 million people on the move - New Year's chaos on the roads

If you are interested in traditional Chinese culture and travel during the Chinese New Year, you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the holiday and learn more about local traditions. But you should know that the whole country travels with you during this period. Get ready for the fact that at stations, at airports and in all sights you will be surrounded by crowds of people and general turmoil.

Crowded Train Station Guilin city

The whole country seems to come alive during the holiday and is in motion. Keep in mind that train, bus and even plane tickets for these dates sell out at lightning speed and are very difficult to get.

The thing is that for the Chinese it is very important to spend the New Year with the family. That is why you often have to agree to buy tickets at several times the price, spend three days in queues in the struggle for tickets, endure standing for more than 20 hours on a crowded train or 12 hours on a bus sitting on chairs standing in the aisle. And, of course, all this with luggage and gifts for numerous relatives and friends.

Practical Guide: How to Celebrate Chinese New Year

If you are in China during the Chinese New Year 2020, then the following table will definitely be useful to you. You will find out when the transport will be crowded, and when there is a chance to avoid the crowd, when fireworks are launched, how banks and government agencies work, whether shops are open, what traditions and customs are observed today, and how it is customary to congratulate the main holidays of the country.

Events

Transport situation

Shops, offices

Millions of people return home. cleaning, shopping

Crowded to overflowing

The companies sum up the results of the year, complete the work

Door decoration with paired inscriptions on red paper with wishes for good and happiness (“paired couplets”), hanging red lanterns, new year's dinner family reunions, fireworks, red hongbao envelopes, late viewing of the New Year's Gala Concert on CCTV

Already better, but transport within cities can be loaded

Most shops are closed after noon

At midnight, a deafening sound is heard throughout China. the roar of fireworks and firecrackers run by millions of Chinese families. They continue to blow up in the morning and late in the evening before dinner. Children are given red envelopes with hongbao money, families relaxing at home or walking in nature

Free

Banks and government institutions closed

Firecrackers are set off to greet guests and also before dinner

Free

Almost all banks and government agencies closed. Only large ones are open. shopping centers

Visiting friends and relatives living in a nearby town or village

Buses inside cities and villages are loaded, but free to move to other cities, including domestic flights

Some banks and government agencies are open, but private companies operate on reduced hours. Only some large shopping malls are open

The official non-working weekend has come to an end. Someone continues to visit friends and relatives, and someone returns to work

Very busy

Most banks and public institutions are open, but private companies operate on a reduced schedule. Many shops are open

For most this first work day after holidays

Very busy

Some shops, companies and offices start working on this day, as number 6 is considered lucky in Chinese culture

Return from trips. Lantern Festival- on the 15th day of the 1st month according to the lunar calendar (in 2020 - February 8)

Crowded to overflowing

Some companies and shops open on day 8(February 12), since 8 is also lucky number. Those who do not believe in omens start working on the 7th day (February 11)