Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and whether that means sweet memories, relief, soul-crushing agony, or awesome February 15 candy deals for you, the holiday season isn’t over yet — it’s time to ring in the Chinese New Year!
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, marks the first day of the Chinese calendar and is traditionally the most important Chinese holiday. By the solar or Gregorian calendar, the date changes every year. The Year of the Sheep begins on February 19, 2015.
The holiday is celebrated in various countries in Asia, such as mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore, as well as in Chinatowns and Chinese communities in the United States. In Davis, the Confucius Institute recently paired with the International House to host a Chinese New Year celebration.
Thanks to the increased popular observance of the holiday, even many non-Chinese in the U.S. now are somewhat familiar with Chinese New Year. However, many of the traditional festivities, like Chinatown dragon and lion dances (though Davis does have a lion dance group!) or setting off firecrackers can be difficult to partake in for the average collegiette. If you want to observe the Lunar New Year but don’t know how, here’s Her Campus’ handy guide to celebrating the Year of the Sheep.
Spring Festival Cleaning
Chinese families prepare for the New Year by thoroughly cleaning the house. This represents a symbolic “sweeping away” of the old year and an auspicious welcome of the new one.
This custom is not quite as popular outside the Chinese community as eating awesome food and blowing things up, for whatever reason. Still, now might be an especially appropriate time to tidy up your dorm or apartment.
Decorations
Popular household decorations during the Spring Festival include red paper, paper cutting, spring couplets (paired red paper phrases for good luck), red lanterns, New Year paintings, images of the character for “Luck” upside down (a play on words — in Chinese, “Luck upside down” sounds identical to “Luck has arrived”), and images of the door god pinned on the door for protection. Why all the red? In addition to being the traditional color of good luck in China, there is a New Year story involving a vicious monster scared away by the color red—as well as by loud noises, which is the basis for the tradition of setting off firecrackers.
Clothing
It is custom to wear new clothes for Chinese New Year. If it’s too late to use this as an excuse for some last-minute shopping, wear red— again, a lucky New Year color.
Food
Popular New Year foods include dumplings, glutinous rice cakes, and spring rolls. Certain foods are eaten for good luck, such as oranges, noodles (which represent longevity), and fish (which is only partially eaten, leaving some surplus to represent abundance). Many households also purchase red candy boxes, which contain sweets like peanut or sesame brittle, chocolate coins, dried fruits, melon seeds, sugar coated nuts, or Chinese candies.
Warning: Chinese restaurants tend to be very busy on the Lunar New Year. But if you’re in the mood for holiday-appropriate dining, you can visit any of the UC Davis dining commons for a special Chinese New Year meal on February 19 or head to one of downtown Davis’s many great Chinese restaurants, like Dumpling House, Open Rice Kitchen, or Hometown Chinese Restaurant.
Family
The most important event of Chinese New Year’s Eve is the family reunion dinner. This is a very important occasion—think Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Though traditionally such dinners were held in people’s homes, now family banquets in restaurants are now very popular as well. Relatives greet each other by saying xin nian kuai le, or “happy new year”, as well as gong xi fa cai or gong hey fat choy, meaning “congratulations and prosperity.” Adults also customarily give children and young people hong bao, gifts of money in red envelopes.
Unfortunately, this year Chinese New Year is on a Thursday, meaning you might not be able to just drive or fly home to spend time with family. Not being able to make it home for the reunion dinner can be a blessing the hardest part of Chinese New Year for Chinese-American collegiettes, but Skype was invented for a reason: if you can’t make it home, pick up the phone or go on your Mac and give the folks a call.
TV Special
Quick, what’s the most-watched television program in the world? No, it’s not the Super Bowl — it’s actually the CCTV New Year’s Gala. This TV special is the Chinese equivalent of counting down as the Ball drops in Times Square and has an annual viewership of over 700 million. The New Year’s Eve special is a variety show featuring Chinese folk and pop songs, comedic sketches, and acrobatics, as well as appearances from mainland China’s biggest celebrities.
In the U.S., select TV packages include CCTV, but you can usually find New Year’s Gala performances on YouTube. Or, you can improvise and celebrate Chinese New Year the easiest way possible: dinner and a movie night. Browse Netflix for English-language favorites like Mulan or The Joy Luck Club, or seize the opportunity to watch a foreign film. Suggestion: Eat Drink Man Woman, a film about family and food from Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee, who won an Oscar for Life of Pi.
Xin nian kuai le!