The Ultimate Guide to Chinese New Year: Day by Day Breakdown

Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is not just 1 day, 2 days or even 15 days as you may have heard Traditionally people start preparing as early as 23 days before the new year’s day and the holiday spirit can go on for up to 30 days after the new year’s day It is the most important Chinese holiday after all According to Chinese tradition there are different customs people follow on specific days during this almost two-month period This is going to be a complete list of all the important Chinese traditions of the new year but oversimplified so it can fit into one video There’s no time to waste, let’s get started! The Laba Festival kicks off the first day of the Chinese new year celebration It falls on the eighth day of the twelfth month in the Chinese calendar On this day, people eat mixed grain congee called Laba zhou or Laba congee as a way to celebrate the enlightenment day of Buddha Śhākyamuni After this day, people usually start cooking and preparing all the things that’s needed for Chinese New Year And for kids, the best time of the year has officially started The 16th day of the twelfth month is a day people pay respect to the Earth God or 土地公 In the past, business owners would prepare meat for the ritual and afterwards share the meat with their workers Today companies host banquets to treat their employees to thank them for their hard work for the past year The 23rd day of the twelfth month is called the Little New Year also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God On this day, it is believed that the Kitchen God who observed the family for an entire year from their kitchen would report the family’s behavior to the Jade Emperor for him to judge People serve sweets and candies to the Kitchen God on this day hoping that he will say only good things about the family so that they can be rewarded for the good deeds they’ve done The 24th day of the twelfth month is cleaning day This is the time to clean the house inside and out This symbolizes getting rid of the old and welcoming the new It’s also taboo to clean the house on the first few days of the new year so this is the chance to do a thorough cleaning, including dusting all vessels changing out curtains and beddings, washing all clothes and cleaning every corner of the house On the 25th day of the twelfth month, people eat bean curd or tofu It is believed that the Jade Emperor himself would come to inspect the human realm on this day So people make and eat tofu to show the Jade Emperor they have been living a modest and honest life On the 26th day of the twelfth month, people buy and cook meat, mainly pork In the old days, meat was always more expensive and harder to come by But people would save up and cook lots of meat dishes in preparation for the new year On the 27th day of the twelfth month, people buy and cook chicken Similar to pork, chicken is also a must have dish for a new year’s feast It’s also taboo to kill chickens on New Year’s day I’ll get to that later On the 28th day of the twelfth month, people usually take care of two things First is making steamed buns Chinese people eat a lot of sweet and savory buns It takes time for the dough to rise, so people prepare them ahead of time Second is decorating the house for the new year People hang 春聯 or spring couplets around the doors They are composed of a pair of poetry lines expressing well wishes for the new year ahead The character 福 which means good fortune is also a common decoration around the house as well as pasting paper-cuts on the windows The 29th day of the twelfth month is the day before the Chinese New Year’s Eve It’s the day people offer sacrifices to their ancestors and visit their tombs The 30th day of the twelfth month is called 除夕 or Chinese New Year’s Eve All that preparation has finally come to an end This is the day to enjoy The whole family must get together to have a reunion feast, called 團圓飯 Among all the dishes, there must be dumplings on the table which symbolizes transition from the old year to a new year 年糕 or rice cake, which symbolizes growth and advancement Noodles for longevity and fish for wealth After the feast, people don’t go to sleep right away They stay up until at least midnight if not the morning and it’s called 守歲 Children also set off firecrackers for fun, which was originally a tradition to chase away diseases and evil spirits Moving on to the new year On Chinese New Year’s Day, everyone puts on a new clean festive outfit Because traditionally on this day everyone including emperors are supposed to worship heaven and earth and pay respect to the gods and deities, either at home or by visiting the temples so they should look their best for the ceremonies And then it’s time to 拜年 or giving new year’s wishes In the past, generations of family members would all live together So the entire family would line up to greet the most senior members of the family and then greet each person from oldest to youngest Young children will receive 紅包 or red envelopes filled with new year’s money for good luck It is, however, forbidden to clean or sweep from this day on to prevent any newly arrived good luck from being swept away On the 2nd day of the new year, married couples, especially newly weds go back together to visit the wife’s family In the past, married women didn’t have many chances to go back home so this was their chance to greet their own parents The 3rd day of the new year is considered an unlucky day to do anything including visiting guests. So it’s a day to stay home and get some rest On the 4th day of the new year, it’s time to welcome back the Kitchen God People replace the Kitchen God poster or statue with a new one to symbolize the return of the Kitchen God from Heaven People would regulate their own behaviors because they know everything they do is now being watched by the Kitchen God again The 5th day of the new year is also known as 破五 which means Break Five All taboos for the new year are lifted on this day such as no cleaning and no throwing out trash On this day, people in the north would clean out some garbage and call it sending away the Ghost of Poverty People from the south would worship the God of Wealth for a prosperous new year The 7th day of the new year is known as 人日 or human’s creation day In Chinese mythology, Nüwa was the goddess who created the living beings She created the animals on different days The first day was chickens, the second day was dogs the third day was pigs, the fourth day was sheep the fifth day was cows, the sixth day was horses and on the seventh day, she created human beings So traditionally, people wouldn’t kill these animals on the day they were created that’s why there’s no killing chickens on New Year’s Day And to celebrate the creation of humans people would wear human shaped ornaments and eat a soup made of seven types of vegetables The 8th day of the new year is known as grains’ day because grains were created on this day It is also stars’ day People would worship the stars and observe the celestial bodies to predict the future The 9th day of the new year is the Jade Emperor's birthday People host grand worshiping ceremonies and rituals to honor the Jade Emperor also known as the Heavenly Grandfather and God of all Heavens according to Daoist theology The 15th day of the new year is the famous 元宵節 or the Lantern Festival People originally lit lanterns as a way to show respect to a Taoist god and later Buddha Śhākyamuni’s teachings Nowadays people hold lanterns while admiring beautiful lantern displays and guess lantern riddles It’s common for people, especially ladies, to walk through bridges in groups It’s believed to help prevent diseases Eating sweet glutinous rice balls is also a must on this day It’s called 元宵 in northern China and 湯圓 in southern China The lantern displays will usually last a few days past the 15th For some, the end of the Lantern Festival marks the completion of the Chinese New Year celebration. However, there’s a popular saying “Chinese New Year is not over until the first lunar month is over” So in some regions, the holiday spirit would go on until the end of the month The 20th day of the new year is known as Mending the Sky Day In Chinese mythology, Nüwa not only created living beings but also mended the sky when it cracked open It’s believed that Nüwa patched up the sky on this day So people make Chinese pancakes and put them on top of the roof to honor her act The 25th day of the new year is known as Filling the Barn Day People would have big meals on this day and try to fill their grain storage as much as possible for an abundant harvest in the new year The 30th and last day of the new year is called 晦日 New Moon Day In ancient times, this used to be a big holiday and people used to send away the Ghost of Poverty on this day until the custom eventually migrated to the 5th day after the Qing dynasty And after this day, the Chinese New Year celebration is truly over for everyone Of course, these Chinese New Year traditions are not absolute. Some minor customs have evolved from region to region and changed throughout different dynasties. But it might be a shock if I tell you the Chinese New Year was banned and almost eliminated in China by the Chinese Communist Party Check out my other video to find out why it happened and how it changed the way modern Chinese people celebrate the new year I also have videos explaining the history and origin of the Laba Festival and the Lantern Festival in detail I’ll link them in the description below. So how do YOU celebrate the Chinese New Year? Share with us in the comments I hope you all have a healthy and wonderful new year to come Happy Year of the Dragon! 龍年大吉！ I’ll see you next time!