The Chinese New Year welcomes the beginning of spring and celebrates the start of a new year in the Chinese Lunar year.
As the date which Chinese New Year is celebrated is based on the cycle of the moon, the actual date varies from year to year but is either in January or February.
In 2025, it will be celebrated on 29th January, marking the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake.
How is the festival celebrated?
There are many traditions to mark the Chinese New Year including: the cleaning of homes which will remove any bad luck; the giving of money to children in red envelopes; decorating homes; enjoying fireworks; and spending time with family.
Red is an important colour for Chinese celebrations as it symbolises happiness, good luck and success.
The festival is celebrated for 15 days, with the final event of the Chinese New Year being the Lantern Festival. Homes are decorated with colourful lanterns and there are parades which include lion and dragon dances.
Fun activities!
Here are some fun and creative craft projects to mark the Chinese New Year:
- Decorate plain, paper lanterns with patterns using red paint/pens
- Make a New Year greetings card, complete with a Mandarin Chinese message
- Make a mini dragon puppet, using lollipop sticks as supports and folding paper in a concertina shape for the body of the dragon
Which foods are eaten during Chinese New Year?
As with other festivals, special foods are eaten as part of the celebrations. These include sweet rice balls, spring rolls, oranges/tangerines, dumplings, and fish.
Some foods have symbolic significance such as the rice balls, the shape of which represents completeness of the family.
Spring rolls, which are golden in colour, symbolise gold and prosperity, as do oranges and tangerines. Dumplings look similar to small purses and so are linked to wealth and fish represent having an abundance in life. When a fish is served whole, the head and tail symbolise the successful end and start of a new year. Some of the fish is saved for the new year, to represent the hope that there will be plenty for the year ahead.
Have a go at making and tasting these baked spring rolls. If you fancy trying to eat with chopsticks, then you could prepare Oodles of Noodles (recommended for age 9+ due to some fine cutting techniques). You can find the full recipes within the Recipe section of this site.
