Festive Fun: How Many Festive Customs Do You Know?

[Photo via VCG]

Cleaning the house, making paper-cuttings for window, pasting spring couplets, eating dumplings, and visiting the temple fairs are the ceremonial activities of every household in Beijing during the Chinese New Year, and also part of the traditional Chinese cultural customs that have been passed down for thousands of years.

01

Cleaning the House

In ancient times, the Spring Festival sweeping was called "Sao Nian" (扫年), which originated from a religious ritual of the ancient people to drive away disease and epidemics. Later on, it gradually evolved into a year-end sanitation and clean-up tradition.

02

Making Paper-Cuts for Window

As one of the festival customs, window paper-cuts, known as "Chuang Hua" (窗花) in Chinese, are rich in content and design. Their delightful patterns bring festive cheer to the holiday decorations.

03

Pasting Spring Couplets

The spring couplets express good wishes with well-structured, antithetical, concise, and exquisite words. During the Spring Festival, every family would carefully select a pair of bright red couplets to stick them on their door to enhance the festive atmosphere.

04

Reunion Dinner

The reunion dinner on the Chinese New Year's Eve is the most important part of the celebration for Chinese people. It is also the most sumptuous family banquet of the year, where family members gather together happily to enjoy the well-cooked dishes.

05

Staying up on New Year's Eve

Staying up on New Year's Eve, known as "Shou Sui" (守岁) in Chinese, means a lot for both the elderly and the young. It reminds people to either cherish the time or strive for excellence. Recreational activities are usually organized on the Chinese New Year's Eve to keep people awake, such as lighting lanterns and setting off firecrackers.

06

Lucky Money

The lucky money, known as "Ya Sui Qian" (压岁钱) in Chinese, is used to "pray for good fortune and dispel evil spirits". It contains the elders' best wishes for their children to grow up healthy.

07

New Year Greetings

During the Spring Festival, people will exchange greetings when they meet each other like "Guo Nian Hao" ("Happy New Year") and "Gei Nin Bai Nian Le" ("Happy New Year to you").

08

Eating Jiaozi

To celebrate the Spring Festival, the whole family will gather together to make Chinese dumplings, known as "jiaozi" (饺子) in Chinese. Sometimes people would wrap clean dates or coins in the dumplings together with fillings, and those who happen to eat one of these are believed to be blessed throughout the year.

09

Visiting Temple Fairs

Every year during the Spring Festival, Beijing holds a series of temple fairs in such places as the Temple of Earth, Longtan, Changdian, the Grand View Park, Shijingshan Amusement Park, and Badachu with dazzling performances and festivities.

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