Chinese New Year: What is the Spring Festival in China? (2024)

February 28, 2020

Spring Festival or Chinese New Year is undoubtedly one of China’s most important holidays. In China, it means that it is time to break out every article of red you own and stock up on your animal paraphernalia.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Spring Festival, this article will give you a bit of background to get you up to speed and explore:


You might also like these traditional Spring Festival greetings for the Year of the Rabbit.

What is Spring Festival?

In China, the Spring Festival or 春节 chūnjié is a seven-day celebration of the beginning of the Spring according to the Chinese lunar calendar. This also marks the start of a new year, which is why it is also called Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year. Don’t let this fool you though—there are several nations in Asia that celebrate their own Lunar New Year.

Why is Chinese New Year called "Spring Festival?

The Chinese New Year is also called Spring Festival because the start of the new year coincides with the start of Spring according to the Chinese lunar Calendar. Therefore, "Chinese New Year" and "Spring Festival" refer to the same Chinese holiday.

When is Chinese New Year?

If you are looking at the Gregorian calendar, every year the Spring Festival falls on a different date. This is because the date of the festival is based on the lunar calendar and therefore changes with the cycle of the moon each year.

Usually, Spring Festival is celebrated somewhere between late January and mid-February.

    Chinese New Year was on February 10th in 2024.
    Next year it will be on January 1st, 2025.

Is the Spring Festival related to the Chinese Zodiac?

Yes! Every year is represented by one of the 12 animals of the Zodiac.

Last year (2023) was represented by the Rabbit, this year (2024) is the year of the Dragon, and 2025 will be the year of the Snake.

What are some Spring Festival traditions in China?

Red Decorations

Before gathering together for the New Year’s eve feast, families will clean their homes and decorate with red. Popular decorations include lanterns, Chinese knots (中国结), 福 characters, Spring Festival couplets (春联), and paper cuts.

Family reunion

Family is very important in China, and this becomes most evident around the Spring Festival. On New Year's eve, families will come together to enjoy a reunion dinner, in Chinese called 年夜饭 Nián yèfàn or 团圆饭 tuányuán fàn。

In the days and weeks which follow, it is customary to visit various relatives and friends to wish them a Happy New Year. People also flock to local temples for temple fairs, which include performances, games, food, and even religious ceremonies. (You may be familiar with the Dragon Dance, which is a common performance at many temple fairs.)

Red envelopes

Other traditions include sending red packets (红包 hóngbāo)—decorative red envelopes filled with money in auspicious amounts. Numbers including 6 and 8 are popular. Generally, these money-filled red packets are offered to children and unmarried adults to wish them good fortune for the coming year. In the modern age, you can also send red packets via WeChat.

Watching 春晚

Families may also watch the annual Spring Festival gala or 春晚 chūnwǎn on TV. This is a popular television special featuring musical performances, acrobatics, comedy sketches, and more.

Firecrackers

Setting off firecrackers is another key Spring Festival tradtion. You will definitely hear the boom of firecrackers at midnight to welcome the Chinese New Year! (Just not inside the 5th Ring Road or select districts of Beijing. Sorry, guys.)

What foods do Chinese people eat for Spring festival?

Traditional Spring Festival foods include fish (which sounds like “surplus”, a good sign for the new year), spring rolls, dumplings, glutinous rice balls, and plenty of other delicious fare!

What is the history of the Spring Festival?

As the story goes, there was once a monster named Nian that terrorized a village every year on New Year’s Eve. Tired of being eaten and having their houses burned to the ground, the villagers decided to fight back.

They hung red banners all around the village and when Nian approached, the villagers banged drums and cymbals, and set off firecrackers. Afraid of the bright colors and loud noise, Nian fled and never disturbed the villagers again. This is why firecrackers and the color red are so crucial to the Spring Festival celebrations in China.

Useful Spring Festival Phrases

Chinese Pinyin English
春节快乐 Chūnjié kuàilè Happy Spring Festival!
过年好 Guònián hǎo Happy New Year!
贴春联 tiē chūnlián to hang Spring Festival couplets
团圆饭 tuányuán fàn family dinner for Spring Festival
守岁 shǒusuì stay up late to welcome the new year
发红包 fà hóngbāo to give a red packet
拜年 bàinián to pay someone a visit to wish them happy New Year
恭喜发财 gōngxǐ fācái Wishing you prosperity in the new year!
年年有余 nián nián yǒuyú May you have abundance every year!
万事如意 wànshì rúyì Wishing you all the best!

You might also enjoy reading about these other Chinese holidays.