Chinese New Year is not just your average celebration. Also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, it is the grandest festival in China, and it lasts for days. The festival is dominated by iconic red lanterns, loud fireworks, massive banquets, colorful parades, myth-telling, and adherence to customs that have been passed on from one generation to the next for thousands of years. And it’s not just limited to China; the festival triggers exuberant celebrations across the globe in regions with significant Chinese populations and ancestry. Read on for 5 interesting facts about Chinese New Year and get your free 1-page text for your students.

 1) It starts February 1st this year: Chinese New Year dates vary slightly every year. The Chinese New Year of 2022 falls on February 1, and the festival will last until February 15. As an official public holiday, Chinese people can get seven days’ absence from work, from January 31 to February 6 this year.

2) A Transition from One Animal of the Zodiac to the Next: The Spring Festival marks the transition from one animal of the zodiac to the next. The lunar calendar is associated with 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, or Sheng Xiao (生肖), a repeating 12-year cycle. Your birth year determines your Chinese zodiac sign. Each animal is associated with certain attributes related to its personality, fortune, and compatibility with others. This is the year of the Tiger.

3) Sweep Away Your Bad Luck: It is traditional for families to thoroughly clean their houses, in order to “sweep away” any ill-fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Then, they decorate their windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets whose themes include that of good fortune, happiness, wealth, and longevity.

4) Red Envelopes are the Best: Other activities include giving money in red paper envelopes. They can be given from grandparents or parents to children, or between special friends and family.

A red packet (hongbao in Mandarin) is a gift of money inside an ornate red pocket of paper that may be decorated with calligraphy and symbols. They are given as a way to send good wishes. Wrapping the money in red envelopes is meant to bestow blessings for the coming year.

The color red symbolizes energy, happiness, and good luck in Chinese cultures.

5) Family and Dumplings: Lunar New Year’s Eve is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for an annual reunion dinner. Dumplings are a key feature in this Chinese meal. Spring rolls, noodles, plus steamed meats, fish, and vegetables are customary dishes as well. And to top it all off, the Chinese enjoy nian gao, a New Year’s rice cake. Plus, while the family is all there, it is customary to light firecrackers.

But wait, there’s more! Here’s a FREE 1-page high-interest informational text you can use in your classroom today.

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