Chinese New Year Q/A:

• How many days does the Chinese “New Year” last?

Traditionally, the Chinese New Year lasts from “New Year’s Day(First day in the lunar new year)” to “Lantern Festival( the 15th day in the lunar new year),” which is fifteen days long. However, “New Year’s Eve” is generally more important than New Year’s Day because it’s the most crucial day for family reunion and bidding farewell to the old year to welcome the new one. On this day, we bid farewell to the old year and prepare for the new one.

BTW, we call the first month in the lunar year “正(Zheng) 月(Yue)”.

• Do you know another meaning of “年” (nián) in Chinese tradition?

In Chinese tradition, “年” (nián) is not just a unit of time; it’s also the legendary “Year Beast” that comes to wreak havoc on New Year’s Eve. Therefore, the significance of New Year’s Eve also lies in driving away the “Year Beast.” That’s why Chinese people light fires and set off fireworks on this day to scare away the beast.

• Why does the Chinese New Year last so long?

I haven’t looked into the history, but as I understand it, the most important tradition in Chinese New Year is visiting relatives and friends. There’s a saying in my hometown, “First day of the New Year, for sons; second day, for in-laws; on the third and fourth days, for friends.” which indicates that on New Year’s Day, people visit their parents, on the second day, people visit their in-laws, and then they visit various relatives and friends. Chinese term “拜(Bai) 年(nián)” meant people had to bring gifts to visit every relative and close friend in person and congratulate them for the new year; the host, then, would ask the guests to stay and treat them to a big meal. So, you can imagine how many days it would take to complete all of these visitings.

• Do you know how many countries and regions celebrate “Chinese New Year”?

I would use “Lunar New Year” rather than “Chinese New Year” for this question and answer. In fact, the Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated in many Asian countries, occurring on the same day every year, making it a shared celebration among us, including South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, North Korea, Thailand, and others.

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