Chinese New Year Customs

On Chinese New Year, friends and family give and receive gifts. They don’t have to be expensive, flashy items, as it’s the thought that counts. It is best to wrap the present in red and yellow as those are the lucky colors.

For friends that you don’t know very well, you can give some “can’t go wrong” gifts such as: alcohol, tobacco, tea, fruits, and household supplies. If you know your friend drinks, give them a nice bottle of alcohol. Tobacco- find out what brand they enjoy and get them a carton. Most Chinese people love tea, give them some quality tea leaves, avoid the kind with tea bags. Fruit! Delicious and great gifts! Give some oranges or apples to your buddy to symbolize safety and fortune. If you friend has just brought a new home, consider pitching …show more content…
In China, people will get together with their entire family and celebrate the lunar calendar’s new year. They eat specific foods, each with a different meaning as to why they eat it during the party. For example, they eat “nian gao” because “nian” means year and “gao” means tall or big. When they eat this the meaning behind why is because they believe that in the next year, you will be even better than the last. They also have many other customs, each with their own meanings .
Another type of food people eat during the Spring festival is “yu,” which is fish. The pronunciation of fish in Chinese is the same as the pronunciation of surplus. So when people eat fish, they say that you will have more of a surplus in the next year. They do not eat the entire fish on the eve of the Spring Festival. They save some for the next few days so that they will continue to get a surplus of money or food. Chinese people also watch lion and dragon dances, and special Chinese New Year’s programmes are on if you watch TV. It is similar to the Ball Drop as some people can be there and some people can see it on a