15-Day Celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year, also called ‘Spring Festival‘ in China, is the longest and most important one of Chinese traditional festivals. It begins on the first day of the first lunar month, and ends with Lantern Festival on the 15th day. For Chinese people, it is a time for family reunion, just like the Christmas in the West.

Year of the Dragon 2012, Chinese Lunar New Year

Actually, preparation for Spring Festival starts a month or days earlier. Chinese people buy presents, decoration materials, food and clothing for the coming celebration. Also, they would give their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes their homes ready for good luck to arrive. After that, the doors and windows are decorated with paper cuts and couplets with Chinese auspicious phrases.

Chinese New Year’s Eve, known as “Chu Xi” or “Eve of the Passing Year”, is a a day when Chinese families gather for their annual reunion dinner. A dish consisting of fish will appear on the tables of Chinese families. It symbolizes surplus or success. After dinner, many families in mainland China will banter whilst watching the CCTV New Year’s Gala in the hours before midnight. They would hold a countdown to the new year, then the 15-day celebration comes.

Reunion Dinner on New Year's Eve, Chinese Spring Festival

The First Day of Chinese New Year
The first thing of that day is to welcome the Gods of the heaven and earth, which officially begins at midnight. It tells the arrival of Chinese New Year. After getting up in the morning, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the new year. Most importantly, it is a time to honor one’s elders, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Red envelop, a monetary gift for the new year, are typically given by the married to the unmarried, most of whom are children.

Red envelope - a monetary gift for the new year

The Second Day
Traditionally, married woman will visit and pay respect to their birth parents with her husband on this day.

The Third Day
Though the first week of Chinese New Year is the most important and most celebrated with visits to friends and family. But it is generally accepted that the third day is not a good time to socialize or visit your relatives and friends.

The Fourth Day
This is an auspicious day to re-open the businesses after the main New Year holidays.

The Fifth Day
The day is regarded as the birthday of the God of Wealth. People stay home to welcome the God of Wealth into their homes. In some pleaces, people also re-open their businesses; and shoot off firecrackers in the attempt to get the attention of the God of Wealth, for a good fortune of the new year.

God of Wealth, Chinese Culture

The Sixth Day
It marks the time to visit relatives and friends, plus temples for good fortunate & health.

The Seventh Day
The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common man’s birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older. Noodles are eaten to promote longevity.

The Eighth Day
Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor. However, everybody should be back to work by the eighth day.

The Ninth Day of the Chinese New Year
It is a day for Chinese to offer prayers to the Jade Emperor of Heaven to ensure a good year to come.

The Tenth through Twelfth Day
In these days, friends and family are invited for dinners.

The Thirteenth Day
On the 13th day people will eat pure vegetarian food to clean out their stomach due to consuming too much food over the last two weeks.

The Forteenth Day
Preparations will be made for the Lantern Festival.

The Fifteenth Day

Beautiful lighted lanterns at night, Lantern Festival

The tradition of Lantern Festival (also called “Yuanxiao Festival” or “Shang Yuan Festival”) on the fifth day has been part of Chinese New Year celebration for more than 2,200 years. Tangyuan or Rice dumplings, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, are eaten this day. At night, children go out to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns. The day brings the 15-day celebration of Spring Festival to an end.

Chinese Lunar New Year – Year of the Dragon 2012 is Coming

In Chinese tradition, each year is dedicated to a specific animal. The 12-year cycle of animals are, in order, the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. They appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. In 2012, the Dragon is welcomed back after the 2011 year of the Rabbit. January 23rd, 2012 is the first of 15 days of Chinese New Year’s celebration, and also the start of the Year of the Dragon.

In Chinese culture, dragon is the only animal of the Chinese zodiac year that is not real. Legend says that it is made up of different parts of animals such as a tiger, fish, snake and an eagle. Thus, dragon is alway seen as a powerful almighty king. Chinese people associate the dragon with power, superiority and wisdom – rather a threatening evil in Western culture. Moreover, the Han Chinese call themselves the descendants of the Dragon.

With the approaching Chinese traditional lunar new year – Year of the Dragon 2012, dragon decorations are seen everywhere in China.


A man fixes a giant dragon lantern in Rushan City, east China's Shandong Province.


Handicraftsmen make dragon lanterns in Suzhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province.


Folk artist Cheng Fuyun shows pupils the art of dough carving in an art school in Xiangyang City, central China’s Hubei Province.


Workers make dragon lanterns in Rushan City, east China’s Shandong Province.


Folk artist Xu Jian (1st L) shows his paper-cut work of 100 dragons in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong Province.

(Photos from www.china.org.cn)

Chinese Ghost Festival falls on August 14, 2011

The Ghost Festival, also known as Zhongyuan Jie in Taoism or the Ullabana in Buddhism, is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month. In Chinese tradition, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is called "Ghost Day"; and entire month is known as “Ghost Month”, when the Gates of Hell are opened up and the ghosts are free to walk the earth. The ghosts on the 15th night are in high gear. In 2011, the Ghost Festival falls on August 14.



For Chinese people, Ghost Festival is for assoiling and sacrificing the ghost of the Hell. At that day, the dead would return to visit their living relatives. Tradition states that Family members offer prayers to their deceased relatives, burn joss sticks, paper money and offer food. People now also burn paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to their dead relatives. It said that the offerings would reach the ghosts and help them to live comfortably in the afterlife. Almost as important as honoring the ancestors, offerings to ghosts without families must be made, so that they will not cause you any harm.

Another activity of the festival is to release and flow water lanterns on lakes or rivers. These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a piece of board. People use these floating water lanterns to direct the lost ghosts back to hell.


In China, there is a ghost city - Fengdu modeled after the Chinese Hell, built over 1,800 years ago. In Chinese culture, Fengdu is believed to be the resting place of the spirit of the dead. All people's ghosts, regardless of age and sex, will come to Fengdu after death. Today, Fengdu is a very popular shore excursion site for tourists on the Yangtze River. It offers a good chance to explore Chinese ghost culture.

For more information about China travel, please view http://www.easytourchina.com/