Year of the 龙 Lóng: Chinese Vocab

As the Spring Festival (春节 Chūnjié) is coming soon, let's look at some keywords you might use to talk about it in Chinese - and to wish a Happy New Year of the Dragon to your Chinese friends, colleagues, and family.

Spring Festival Vocab

              

01. Spring Festival

春节

Chūnjié

Spring Festival

(also known as the Lunar New Year / Chinese New Year)

02. The Date

The celebration of the holiday follows the lunar calendar (农历 nónglì), causing its date on the Gregorian or solar calendar (阳历 yánglì) to vary each year.

This year's (春节 Chūnjié) falls on February 10, Saturday.

2024年二月十日

èr-líng-èr-sì nián èr yuè shí rì

February 10, 2024

(by the solar calendar)

正月初一

zhēngyuè chū yī

the 1st day of the 1st lunar month

(by the lunar calendar)

除夕

chúxī

Lunar New Year's Eve

03. Year of the Dragon

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and this year's zodiac animal is the Dragon (龙 lóng).

龙年

Lóng nián

Lóng nián

By now, the dragons are all around 🐲

Colorful, realistic, funny – have you taken a moment to notice the dragons around?

📌 If you haven't done so yet, there's still a chance to immerse yourself in the dragon mood. If you're in Shanghai, consider visiting the "10,000 Dragons" exposition.

// nikandreyevas

10,000条龙艺术大展

Yí wàn tiáo lóng yìshù dà zhǎn

10,000 Dragons Art Exhibition

📍上海王小慧艺术馆, 威宁路369号

⏰ Jan 25-Apr 20

To avoid spoiling too much, here are just 3 of the 10,000 dragons!

04. A Year Filled with Lóngevity!

In the upcoming year, lóngevity is anticipated, as the Dragon (龙 lóng) spreads its wings. Here are some 龙-related greetings you can share with your friends, colleagues, and family:

祝你在新的一年里:

Zhù nǐ zài xīn de yì nián lǐ:

In the new year, I wish you:

龙年大吉

Lóng nián dàjí

Good luck in the Year of the Dragon

生龙活虎，龙马精神

Shēnglóng huóhǔ, lóngmǎ jīngshén

A year filled with energy, spirit, and vitality

New Year's

Traditions

              

In the last week's article, we talked about traditions before the Spring Festival (春节 Chūn Jié). There's still time to do some New Year's shopping or try your hands at paper-cutting ✂️

Hurry and make the most of the festive preparations!

| Spring Festival Countdown: 8 Things to Do Before CNY

Now, here are a few Chinese traditions you can participate in the days after 初一 (Chūyī), Day 1 of the New Year.

🎉 Celebrate the Chinese New Year’s Day

🗓 Day 1 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 10, 2024

初一 

Chūyī

Day 1 of the New Year

The Year of the Dragon is here 🐲

It's quite common to exchange 红包 (hóngbāo) – red packets! They can be "physical" red envelopes with cash, but nowadays, most of 红包-s are exchanged "digitally" on Wechat.

🤓 Have you ever exchanged 红包 hóngbāo-s on WeChat? Are you good at snatching them quickly?

👨‍👩‍👦 Visit the Wife’s Family

🗓 Day 2 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 11, 2024

初二

Chū'èr

Day 2 of the New Year

According to the tradition, the 2nd day of the New Year is the time to 回娘家 (huí niángjia) – visit the family of one's wife's side. This is the time when the gifts bought earlier start coming in handy! Along with 红包 (hóngbāo), red envelopes🧧

🤓 Is there a special day of the year in your culture when a wife, with her husband and children, should visit her parents?

🏠 Stay at Home

🗓 Day 3 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 12, 2024

初三

Chūsān

Day 3 of the New Year

On the 3th day of the New Year, people traditionally stay at home and don't go out. It's a perfect time to relax, watch TV, and engage in indoor activities.

🍚 Greet 灶神, the Kitchen God

🗓 Day 4 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 13, 2024

初四

Chūsì

Day 4 of the New Year

And on the 4th day, the tradition continues – but with a new twist. Because it's the day when 灶神 Zàoshén (the Kitchen God) comes back! And what's the proper way to welcome the Kitchen God? By tricking him a little, of course!

This time, it's done by having a meal put together of all the food left since the CNY feast (过年以来的剩饭剩菜 guò nián yǐlái de shèngfàn shèngcài). First of all, it's practical: this way the family can finally finish all the food. And secondly, once the Kitchen God arrives and sees a family having leftovers, he will feel sorry and help make the new year more prosperous.

🧧 Greet 财神, the God of Wealth

🗓 Day 5 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 14, 2024

初五

Chūwǔ

Day 5 of the New Year

The 5th day of the New Year got the name 财神节 Cáishén Jiē ("the day of the God of Wealth"), and as it happens to be his birthday, many people will post welcoming messages to him online, and make fruit offerings offline.

Indeed, nowadays the tradition of welcoming in (迎接 yíngjiē) the God of Wealth is still very popular. Who doesn't want to be prosperous, and let their businesses thrive in the new year?

🏮Celebrate Lantern Festival

🗓 Day 15 of the New Year

🗓 Feb 24, 2024

This day marks the last day of the Chinese New year celebrations. It's the first full moon in the New Year!

元宵节

Yuánxiāo Jié

Lantern Festival

On this day, people traditionally eat sweet dumplings called 元宵 (yuánxiāo, "first night") in the north and 汤圆 (tāngyuán, "round balls in soup") in the south. They resemble the shape of the full moon, and symbolize reunion ✨

It's also a lovely tradition to send sky lanterns 孔明灯 (kǒngmíngdēng) into the sky. Although nowadays in big cities it's a bit dangerous – it's flying "fire", after all! – so you can always choose to send a digital 孔明灯 (kǒngmíngdēng) instead.

Practice with Teachers

              

To discuss the upcoming Year of the Dragon and Spring Festival traditions with Chinese teachers, book a free trial class with That's Mandarin 👇

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@thatsmandarin006