7 Fascinating Facts About the Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is one of the biggest annual events for many South Asian countries. These days are marked for grand celebrations, where honour and respect are paid to their ancient traditions. If you are fascinated by the festivities and would like to find out more about the Chinese New Year, we’ve collected some interesting facts about the holiday that are well worth a read! If you are planning on celebrating the Chinese New Year, you can find plenty of recipes on our blog as well as a much needed Chinese grocery store online in the UK here at Oriental Mart, we offer a great range of auspicious ingredients, which we’re sure will help to create some incredible feasts for your New Year festivities!

Also Known as The Spring Festival

Chinese New Year is also referred to as the Spring Festival, you will hear people in China calling it Chunjie (春节). Although it is still winter, the holiday will mark the end of the coldest days. It is a festivity that welcomes the spring and commences the start of planting, harvests and new beginnings.

The Date Depends on The Lunar Calendar

The festival is also known as the Lunar New Year in countries such as North Korea, South Korea and Vietnam. The reason for this is because the festival date will change according to the moon cycle. The lunar calendar is also known as a lunisolar calendar. Although China has converted to the Gregorian calendar for official and business purposes, the lunar calendar still plays an important part within China. It is widely used for their traditional holidays and to help choose a lucky day for special events.

It Originates from Ceremonial Praying

Originally, the Spring Festival was a designated time to pray to the gods, this was on behalf of hoping for a good planting and harvest season. Due to being an agrarian society, a good harvest was incredibly important.Prayers were also made to ancestors as they were treated as gods too!

A Festival Full of Fireworks

According to legend, a monster named Nian (年) would roam the world around New Year’s Eve, causing everyone to hide away in their homes, but a brave boy fought against the monster and scared him off using a firecracker.The next day everyone celebrated their survival by setting off more firecrackers. This became a common practice and is seen as crucial to the celebrations of Chinese New Year.Firecrackers are associated with scaring off monsters, bad spirits and bad luck. People within China will stay up on Chinese New Year’s Eve to set off their firecrackers at midnight, and then once again the following morning to welcome the new year and good luck.

A Specific Spring Festival Drink

Every festival has a special drink to be enjoyed over the celebratory period!The most important meal of the New Year’s celebrations is the reunion dinner. Every household will enjoy this meal together with their very own version of niánjiǔ. Niánjiǔ translates to ‘year alcohol’, which is enjoyed with Chinese New Year snacks and desserts.The drink is encouraged to be shared; everyone will at least have a little sip as it is thought to protect you from bad luck.

Rent a Partner for New Year’s

Chinese New Year is a time for celebration with family members and their significant other! But for those out there who are single and over the ‘normal’ matrimonial age, it can be a slightly different story. One of the most important parts of Chinese culture is to pass down the family name. A common ideology is for those above the age of 32 to be settled down. To avoid interrogation or the topic of their love life resurfacing throughout the celebration, some singles hire a fake girlfriend or boyfriend. Hiring a fake boyfriend has become a popular option for singles over the festivities. For those who can’t make it home for the celebration, or do not wish to, can offer out their services, although this year due to the pandemic this may not be possible.

The Largest Human Migration in The World

Because of the importance of family reunion during this festival, Chinese New Year is the cause of the largest human migration of the year! Everyone tries to travel home to spend the festivities with their loved ones. The earliest you can buy a ticket to get home is about two months prior. The travel rush is referred to as “Chunyun”; in 2019 it was estimated that 2.9 billion trips were taken. Sadly, due to the pandemic, this year families may not be able to travel and reunite to celebrate the Spring Festival together. We might encounter the smallest human migration for Chinese New Year yet.For more information about Chinese New Year or recipes to include in your celebratory feasts, you can check out our blog! It’s full of inspiring ideas and interesting cultural information!