Chinese households will put up couplets with good wishes or statements, paper cuttings, and images in relation to the Chinese zodiac. Flowers also represent Chinese New Year festivities.
While in the West we put up Christmas trees during the Christmas season, in China kumquat trees can be found because the Chinese word for kumquat contains the word for 'gold', representing wealth.
While firecrackers and fireworks are set off to be as loud as possible in China in order to scare away the above mentioned Nian monster, during Christmas the atmosphere is generally calmer, with church bells and Christmas carols taking a quiet approach to festivities.
Christmas in the West generally sees no fireworks, although New Year's Eve does. Even then, however, the focus is on aesthetically pleasing fireworks in the West, whereas Chinese New Year fireworks are aiming to be as loud as possible rather than as beautiful as possible.
In both Chinese and Western cultures, the importance of being with family takes a central role during celebrations, and traveling home is an important part of this. The only difference here is that going home during Chinese New Year is so important for Chinese people that this time of year is also known to be the biggest human migration. Millions leave the cities on trains, planes, and buses to get to their families in the countryside.
Also, both of these celebrations are a way to make the long, cold winter seem less daunting, providing hope at the end of the tunnel, these days also with a new commercial twist. We've got plenty of tours going around Chinese New Year, whether you already know what you want to see, want to experience the celebrations in the capital, or are only just starting to research your first trip to China.
We have even compiled a list of the four best cities to visit for Chinese New Year China Highlights uses cookies to give you the best possible service. If you continue browsing, you agree to the use of cookies. More details can be found in our privacy policy.
Chinese lanterns. Lion dance. New Year's Decorations. A huge Roll of Firecrackers. Family togetherness is important during Chinese New Year. Our Beijing guide makes this Christmas sidecar tour of Beijing special. Lucky Sayings and Phrases. Related Articles. Chinese New Year Date: Feb. During Christmas, decorations are put everywhere. Entire cities, including shops, homes, and streets, are decorated with many colors and lights, although red and gold are the ones that often stand out.
Most Chinese people start decorating their homes around 10 days before New Year. The incoming year is the Year of the Rooster which means that this year will have many rooster themed decorations. Kumquat trees are a very popular plant which can be seen during this holiday. Follow the Conversation on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and are not necessarily those of World Religion News.
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Profiles in Faith: Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Both Chinese and westerners will prepare for their biggest festival for a long time. For Christmas, some westerners will start preparation from late November, to get ready for everything they might need, including decorations and presents.
For Chinese New Year, some Chinese people prefer to do shopping very early, because some goods get more expensive as the date nearby. In addition, with the highly developed e-commerce in China, lots of online platforms will have big sell, in other words, people will buy things for the new year as the promotion begins. Chinese New Year and Christmas share one main similarity, the colors accordingly. The themed color for Christmas must be red, green and gold, while red and gold are also typical colors for Chinese New Year, especially red.
Normally you will see decorations for Christmas everywhere even before December, all the streets, shopping malls and homes are delicately decorated with colorful lights, Christmas trees and other stuff related to Christmas. The decoration style for Chinese New Year is quite different from Christmas. Chinese people use red couplets, paper cuttings, lanterns for decorations. Some Chinese people also like to decorate the house with flowers. In the west, attending mass may be main tradition for some people.
For other activities, decorating Christmas trees and houses, writing Christmas cards and exchanging presents are also common. And during this period of time, adults will give Hongbao to children.
Meanwhile, Chinese people will wear new clothes for the new year, to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. There are parades for the new year in some places, with lion and dragon dances along the streets. Just like typical food for Christmas vary from country to country in the west, regular food for Chinese New Year are also different in each part of China. In northern part of China, dumplings, or Jiaozi, are always the norm, while people in the southern area prefer a big meal with various dishes.
Speaking of dishes for Chinese New Year, fish and spring rolls are popular in most places in China, especially fish.
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