The Chinese believe that with the arrival of spring, the spirit and ancie culture will come alive in this land. Therefore, Chinese spring festivals are associated with various rituals and customs! From dragon dances to colorful laerns, each ceremony has a story woven io the fabric of Chinese history. Spring festivals are not only a display of visual beauty, but also an opportunity for gathering promising a more hopeful future in the hearts of millions of people. Join us in this article to learn about the magic of spring in China and the secrets hidden in these rituals.
2025 – Year of the Snake in China
In 2025, the Chinese New Year festival will be held on January 29. According to the Chinese zodiac, which has a 12-year cycle and is represeed by a specific animal each year, this year is the year of the snake! People born in the years of the snake including 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989 and 2025 will experience their zodiac year of birth (Ben Ming Nian). Accordingly, Chinese New Year 2026 will be on February 17 and it is the year of the horse. Like Nowruz and Christmas, Chinese spring festivals are accompanied by various ceremonies. Gathering the family together, chatting and cooking famous dishes are an importa part of this ceremony.
When is Chinese New Year and Spring Festival?
Unlike Chinese New Year, which is celebrated on January 1st, Chinese New Year does not have a fixed date, as the dates of Chinese Spring Festivals vary based on the Chinese lunar calendar, but usually fall between January 21 and February 20 in the Gregorian calendar.
At this time, most Chinese people have at least seven days off, including three statutory holidays every weekend uil the end of the ceremony. You can see the Chinese New Year holidays in the following years in the table below:
year | date | day | vacation |
2025 | January 29 | Wednesday | January 28 – February 4 |
2026 | February 17 | Tuesday | February 16 – February 23 |
2027 | February 6 | Saturday | February 5 – February 12 |
2028 | January 26 | Wednesday | January 25 – February 1 |
2029 | February 13 | Tuesday | February 12 – February 19 |
Why is the Chinese New Year also called the Spring Festival?
The date of the festival is in January or February, sometime around the Chinese solar year or “beginning of spring”, so it is also called “Spring Festival”.
Read more: When is the date of Chinese New Year 2025? (Getting to know the history of Chinese New Year)
Customs of Chinese Spring Festivals
Chinese New Year, also known as Chinese Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the biggest festival in the coury, which is usually accompanied by an 8-day holiday. The flying of the iconic red laerns, exciting fireworks, feasts and huge parades all add exciteme to the atmosphere of China during this exciting round. In fact, when all the streets and alleys are decorated with red laerns and colorful lights, we should know that the Lunar New Year is near! In the following, we have iroduced the most common cultures and customs of these celebrations:
Cleaning and decorating the house / before the arrival of the new year
As Chinese New Year approaches, it doesn’t matter if you live in a city apartme or a villa in the couryside. Because usually women use all their energy to completely clean the house before Chinese New Year. Sweeping, dusting, washing etc. In some houses, the whole family should help in doing things to make sure that the house gets rid of the dust of the old year and is ready to attract wealth in the new year. Each house is then decorated with the most popular color. The use of red laerns, Chinese knots, images of the character “Fu” and red window paper cutouts to welcome the New Year are common in Chinese spring festivals.
Family meeting and dinner on New Year’s Eve
Family Reunion Dinner Home is the most importa ceremony of Chinese Spring Festival. All Chinese can go home to meet and have dinner with the whole family by New Year’s Eve at the latest. The New Year’s meal on all Chinese menus will be a whole steamed or boiled fish, which represes an increase in wealth each year. Also, differe types of meat, vegetables and seafood are used for auspiciousness. Ierestingly, each region has its own food, for example, cooking meatballs is esseial for northerners and rice cakes for southerners. In this way, the New Year’s Eve is spe enjoying this feast with happy family conversations.
Red envelope “symbol of best wishes by giving money”
Red envelopes wrapped in red packages are given to newborns to teenagers by elders in hopes of warding off evil spirits from children. 100 to 500 yuan bills are usually sealed in a red envelope, while large bills up to 5,000 yuan are common, especially in the wealthier regions of the southeast. In addition, the amou of money is spe or saved for children to buy toys, snacks, clothes, stationery.
Congratulatory message and red envelope through WeChat One of the new Chinese spring festival customs
By sending greeting messages and red envelopes through Wechat, which has become popular with the ery io the world of technology, unfortunately, giving red envelopes in the traditional way has become less common. From New Year’s morning to midnight, people use the Wechat app to send various text messages, voice messages and emojis, some of which feature New Year’s animal symbols, to exchange greetings and good wishes. Digital red envelopes are becoming quite popular, and a big red envelope in a group chat always starts a fun game!
Read more: Chinese food Comprehensive and complete iroduction
Watching the New Year celebration “Closed circuit camera” on TV from 20:00 to 00:30
Undoubtedly, the program “CCTV New Year Celebration” is the most watched TV program in line with the Chinese Spring Festival. The 4.5-hour live broadcast includes music, dance, comedy, opera and acrobatic performances. Although this program has its critics, but that never stopped people from missing this happy program. Somehow, delightful songs and words serve as a consta backdrop to a family dinner, and it’s almost become a Chinese New Year tradition since 1983.
Fireworks game at 00:00
The fireworks show will be broadcast at 0:00 with the New Year ringing in the televised celebration. According to the ancie tradition, Chinese people set off light and fire games to scare away the legendary Nian monster that appears at midnight. In rece years, many urban areas have banned firecrackers or designated a specific area or period for fireworks to preve incides.
Meeting with relatives after the New Year of the Chinese Spring Festival ceremonies
People start visiting relatives from the second day of the new year. On the second day, the couple goes to the house of the wife’s pares. The next days will be spe in the houses of differe relatives. For some large families in rural areas, 15 days is hardly enough to meet everyone. People go to each other’s houses and give red envelopes to the children.
Local shows coinue uil the 15th day of the first lunar moh
During Chinese New Year there are local shows in urban areas, lively temple shows with religious worship, costume shows, games and local snacks. Some places have laern shows that provide great nighttime eertainme. In rural areas, more autheic folk performances are likely to be seen, including the yangku dance and stilt walking in northern China and the dragon and lion dances prevale in the southern regions. You can see the best temple exhibitions in Beijing.
The best places to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival
Beijing, Xi’an and Pingyao celebrate traditional northern Chinese festivals, Guangzhou preserves southern Chinese folk customs, while Harbin is a popular January destination for exciting ice and snow activities.
Read more: Travel guide to China in spring
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final word
China’s Spring Festival is a magnifice display of rich culture, deep traditions and family ties, not only a symbol of new beginnings and hope for the future, but also an opportunity. It is considered to respect the roots and common values of the Chinese people. These celebrations, with their variety of colors, rituals and ceremonies, remind us how celebrating the changing of the seasons can bring people together around the world. get closer
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