A Complete Guide To Chinese New Year- 大数跨境

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A Complete Guide To Chinese New Year

Baopals

2022-01-18

导读：Here's your go-to guide on what to eat, wear, gift and how to decorate during the most important Chi

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With Chinese New Year just around the corner, we’ve put together a guide on what to eat, wear, gift and how to decorate during the holiday.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is China's most important festival. It celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. In 2022, the celebration falls on Tuesday, February 1st.

Each Chinese year is associated with an animal sign according to the Chinese zodiac cycle. 2022 is the year of the tiger.

How To Decorate

Red is the luckiest color in Chinese culture. The color red is believed to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck. So to welcome in the new year, people hang red lanterns in front of their homes and paste red couplets on their doors. Zodiac animals, especially the animal of the new year, are displayed as well.

Outdoor Waterproof Red Lantern

From ¥19.80

Small Red
DIY Lantern

From ¥13.44

Red Lanterns Chinese Knot LED Lights Decoration

From ¥8.14

Wooden
CNY Hanging
Pendants

From ¥3.35

Lucky Tiger New Year Ceramic Decoration

From ¥74.90

Red Couplets Spring Festival Decorations

¥12.49

What To Wear

Customarily, all clothes and accessories worn on New Year’s Day should be brand new. If you don't want to spend too much, just put on something red. This is the best color for the occasion. Stay away from black and white, as they are considered unlucky.

Spring Festival also doesn't have to be super serious - throw in some fun accessories!

Men's And Women's New Year Socks

From ¥22.98

Spring Festival Disposable Face Mask

From ¥44.91

Red Underwear Set For Him And Her

From ¥66.54

Unisex Red
Tiger Sweater

¥78.40

Year of the Tiger Oversized T-Shirt

¥45.34

God Of Wealth Silicone iPhone Case

From ¥10.26

What To Gift

The go-to gift for CNY is a red envelope (hongbao) with any amount of money. Actually, the significance of red envelopes is the red paper, not the money inside. Wrapping lucky money in red envelopes is expected to bestow more happiness and blessings on the receivers.

Avoid giving amounts such as 40 yuan or 400 yuan. The number '4' in Chinese sounds like 'death', so you don't want to send that kind of message to a loved one!

If you want to present a gift that lasts, go for a potted plant. Lucky bamboo and money plants are believed to bring luck and good fortune, while orchids symbolize fertility and abundance.

Tea is always a nice gesture, whether the receivers are Chinese or not.

Want something a little more modern? Go for a gift box or make your own one.

Creative New Year's Red Envelope

From ¥4.65

Kaiyun Fortune Bamboo Plants

From ¥25.85

Traditional Chinese Folk Craft Zodiac Doll

From ¥7.83

Chinese New Year Gift Paper Bag

¥3.18

Lapsan Tea Gift Box,
250g

¥85.50

Chinese New Year Creative Gift Box

¥44.28

What To Eat

Western holidays aren't the only ones associated with feasts! Spring Festival is the most important tummy-stuffing time of the year for the Chinese. Families gather for New Year’s Eve dinner (年夜饭 / Nián yèfàn) and Reunion dinner (团年饭 / tuán niánfàn) while also enjoying plenty of snacks throughout the holiday.

As with Chinese New Year activities and decorations, certain dishes are also associated with blessings for the next year. Both the names and looks are symbols of prosperity, happiness and good fortune.

Handmade Dumplings, 2kg

Dumplings are associated with wealth. According to tradition, the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebration, the more money you'll earn in the New Year. Bring your appetite!

¥37.07

Candy Mix, 500g-10kg

Have an assortment of candies for guests to pick from so you can wish them well for the coming year.

From ¥18.74

Prepared Frozen Spring Rolls, 24pc

Spring rolls are eaten during Spring Festival in southern China to celebrate (no surprise) the coming of spring.

¥30.40

Buy 1 Get 1 Spring Festival Nuts Gift Package

As everyone has about 10 days of holidays, cracking and snacking on nuts while chatting with family is a common way to pass time.

From ¥67.38

Macau Pastry Snacks Bags

Because who doesn't like a good pastry snack!

¥122.48

Sichuan Meishan Orange, 2.5kg-5kg

The words for tangerine and orange in Chinese resemble the words for luck and success, respectively. Their bright color also symbolizes gold, hence the fruits have a meaning of bringing good luck and wealth.

From ¥55.94

What To Do

Without a doubt, the most popular game during Spring Festival is Mahjong. The game is usually played in groups of 4, and involves quite complex strategic and mathematic abilities. It's astounding to see Chinese people of all ages and generations play it quickly and effortlessly with a unique sleight of hand. Not a Mahjong expert? You could just entertain yourself and family members with some DIY and crafts.

Mahjong Portable Board Game

From ¥85.50

LOZ Spring Festival Building Blocks

From ¥21.08

Dragon's Head Dance DIY

From ¥8.25

Chinese New Year Superstitions: Things To Avoid

Don't sweep up on New Year's Day, otherwise you’ll sweep all your luck away.
Don't eat porridge for breakfast, otherwise you’ll become poor in the upcoming year.
Don't wash your clothes and hair (on New Year’s Day), otherwise you’ll wash fortune away.

From all of us at Baopals,
xīn nián kuài lè
Have a wonderful Chinese New Year!

Keen for more cultural stuff? Check out our special Cultural Gifts Department.

MORE FUN!