The 15 Days Celebration of Chinese New Year

The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional festival in China. The festival begins on the First Day of the first lunar month and ends on 15th.

  Spring Festival is a very important occasion for the Chinese people, and it is a time for families to be together. So no matter how far away people are, they will try their best to go home and spend the festival with their families.

Spring festival is an official holiday in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. In mainland China, most people will have 7 days off. In Hong Kong and Macau, the first three days is celebrated as New Year Holiday. The New Year's Eve will be included if one of the three days happens to be Sunday.

    Chinese New Year Celebration usually lasts for 15 days. Celebratory activities include Chinese New Feast, firecrackers, giving lucky money to children, giving New Year gifts to friends or relatives, the New Year bell ringing and Chinese New Year Greetings. Most of Chinese people will stop the celebrating in their home on the 7th day of New Year because the national holiday usually ends around that day, however celebrations in public areas can last until the 15th day of New Year.

Christmas: Less Important Than Chinese New Year, But Still Sometimes Celebrated

Chinese New Year is the foremost winter holiday in Chinese culture. Still, that doesn't mean that Christmas is ignored altogether. Christmas: Less Important Than Chinese New Year, But Still Sometimes Celebrated.

While Christmas Day is not a public holiday, Christmas celebrations are becoming more popular in China itself. Many Chinese people celebrate by decorating their houses with Christmas trees, cooking and eating special foods, and spending time with family and friends. Particularly in urban areas, you'll find Christmas trees, lights, and other decorations on the streets and in department stores. Children hang up muslin stockings in the hope that Dun Che Lao Ren, the Chinese version of Santa Claus, will visit and leave gifts. Attendance at Christmas Eve mass has also become more popular in recent years.

Since the Chinese New Year falls around the end of January and the Chinese celebrate that with a lot of pomp and circumstance, Christmas in China is celebrated almost like a run to the New Year.

Chinese taboos culture

Like any other race the Chinese has their fair share of taboos, some of them are related to the language and culture.

Red is considered an auspicious color and black is considered the exact opposite in its meaning. If you are invited to a joyous occasion like a wedding dinner or Chinese New Year dinner, as much as possible, try to wear red or colorful clothes. If you are attending a wake, try very hard to avoid red and color clothes, go for dark color clothes.

When a parent or senior member in the family is dying, the children, grand children and other close relatives will surround the death bed and listen to his last words. This is called “songzhong” and giving a clock as gift sounds like “songzhong” in Chinese. This is not so much of superstitious but Chinese just does not like the sound of it.

On the dining table, do not stick the chop stick into the bowl of rice that you are eating. Rest the chop stick on the table or plate. Do not shake your leg when you are eating, actually anywhere, it is unsightly and traditionally believe it will shake the luck away.

The number 4 sounds like “death” in Chinese, as such is considered an auspicious word. Most of the Chinese will avoid using this in mobile phone number, house block number.

  Death is a taboo which is not to be discussed in “joyous” occasions such as Chinese New Year, weddings or birthdays.Never buy a green hat for any male married friend, as wearing a green hat has the same meaning that his wife commits adultery. In china, you must avoid these taboos, otherwise people may think you are a impolite person.