Guo Nian Hao, or in other words, Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the year of the dog, and if you’re wondering exactly how the Chinese New Year is celebrated, what each animal has to do with the calendar year and more, we’ve got all the details for you.
Known alternatively as the Spring Festival, the festival falls after the solar term usually at the beginning of the spring season, hence the name. Unlike other holidays that fall on a specific date, the Chinese New Year changes every year. Because it follows the lunar calendar, the date changes based on the movement of the moon, between mid-January and mid-February. This year it falls on February 16, 2018.
As for the animals, that change with each new year, in China, each lunar cycle has 60 years while the small cycle has 12. Each of the 12 years is defined by an animal sign: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This year is represented by the Dog.
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Regarding celebratory events, the Reunion Dinner is a common tradition celebrated around the New Year. Held on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the reunion dinner is a big feast celebrated by families to commemorate the past year. After the reunion dinner, families usually will sit together to watch the Spring Festival Gala. The gala is not only considered to be the most watched program, but it also consists of various performers who were carefully selected to adhere to the wide range of age groups tuned in.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a true New Year without firework which usually is seen during the Spring Festival. Families usually set off their fireworks to celebrate while the biggest firework show is on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
The Chinese New Year celebration usually lasts for about 15 days with the peak times of the celebration being on Chinese New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar new year.
