18 Facts About the Lunar New Year for 2018

With the Chinese Lunar New Year almost upon us, we’re here to share some interesting facts about the history and meaning behind these new year traditions!

1. In 2018, the New Year on the Chinese calander falls on Friday 16th
2. This year will be the year of the dog.
3. The Lunar New Year is celebrated during the second new moon after the winter solstice.
4. The new year will fall sometime between 21st January and 20th February each year.
5. One-sixth of the world’s population celebrate the festival.
6. The day is a public holiday in many countries, including China, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
7. New Year festivities typically last around 2 weeks; they begin on the first day of the lunar month and continue for around 15 days, until the moon is full.
8. There are many traditions involved in this 15 day period; from visiting specific family members to welcoming good fortune from your own home.
9. One important tradition is the giving of cash to children and single adults. The tradition is know as ‘hongbao’, and sees money gifted in red envelopes.
10. Fireworks are very common for the New Year as they are based on traditions which originally saw bamboo stalks set on fire as a way to ward off evil spirits.
11. The New Year celebrations end with a lantern festival, which sees parades of lights and beautifully, intricately decorated lanterns.
12. Part of the lantern festival is the Dragon Dance, which involves dragons constructed from bamboo, paper and silk, paraded through streets.
13. Home is an important theme of the holiday, with an estimated 200 million Chinese people making the journey to return to their family home for the celebrations.
14. The home is usually thoroughly cleaned before the day, as this is said to get rid of bad emotions and feelings. It is believed that failing to do this will lead to bad luck falling on the family.
15. Homes are also filled with red decorations, and ‘Chunlian’, a red strip of paper with gold Chinese characters to convey good luck messages. Red is a very lucky colour, so all of the banners seen out and about in China will be red at this time!
16. The colour red also has traditon associated with it, as legend states that Nian, a ferocious beast, comes out to prey on humans on New Year’s Eve, but is frightened away by all of the red decorations it encounters!
17. Many families stay up til midnight to see in the new year, this is known as Shou Sui.
18. A family feast is common at this time, with gatherings taking place on New Year’s Eve. As well as traditional dishes, like dumplings, this is the perfect time for indulging in some luxurious treats!

If you’re looking to take part in some Lunar New Year celebrations, be sure to stock up on some fresh oriental produce from Oriental Mart!