Symbolism

As with all cultures, Chinese New Year traditions incorporate elements that are symbolic of deeper meaning. One common example of Chinese New Year symbolism is the red diamond-shaped fú characters (Chinese: 福, Cantonese and Hakka: Fook, literally "blessings, happiness"), which are displayed on the entrances of Chinese homes. This sign is usually seen hanging upside down, since the Chinese word 倒 (dào) "upside down", is homophonous or nearly homophonous with 到 (dào) "arrive" in all varieties of Chinese. Therefore, it symbolizes the arrival of luck, happiness, and prosperity.

An inverted character "福 (fú)" is a sign of arriving blessings.

Red is the predominant colour used in New Year celebrations. Red is the emblem of joy, and this colour also symbolizes virtue, truth and sincerity. On the Chinese opera stage, a painted red face usually denotes a sacred or loyal personage and sometimes a great emperor. Candies, cakes, decorations and many things associated with the New Year and its ceremonies are coloured red. The sound of the Chinese word for “red” ( 紅, hóng) is “hong” in Mandarin (Hakka: Fung; Cantonese: Hoong) which also means “prosperous.” Therefore, red is an auspicious colour and has an auspicious sound.

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Chinese New Year Food – 中国贺年食品 Zhōng guó hè nián shí pĭn

年糕  nián gāo - New Year Pudding
/ New Year Cake 





椰汁年糕  yē zhī nián gāo - Coconut New Year Pudding

/ Coconut New Year  Cake


萝卜糕  luó bo gāo - Turnip Pudding 
/ Turnip Cake




芋头糕  yù tou gāo - Taro Pudding / Taro Cake





煎堆  jiān duī - Sesame Balls  







笑口枣  xiào kŏu zăo - Sesame Cookies





油角  yóu jiăo - Crispy Triangles / Fried dumpling 





炸芋丝  zhá hù sī - Deep Fried Taro 









糖莲子  táng lián zĭ – Sweet Lotus seed

糖莲藕  táng lián ŏu – Sweet Lotus Root 





糖冬瓜  táng dōng guā – Sweet Melon 





糖荸荠  táng bí qi – Sweet Water Chestnut 









糖椰丝  táng yē sī – Sweet Coconut Slice 





元宵  yuán xiāo – Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls 



红瓜子  hóng guā zĭ - Red Melon Seed 



黑瓜子  hēi guā zĭ - Black Melon Seed 

Chinese New Year Seventh day 初七 － 人日Rénrì

The seventh day, traditionally known as Rénrì (人日, the common man's birthday), the day when everyone grows one year older. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia , such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng,  is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity.

For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, the seventh day commemorating the birth of Sakra, lord of the devas in Buddhist cosmology who is analogous to the Jade Emperor.

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Chinese New Year Greetings

Chinese New Year's common greetings include:

新年快乐 xīn nián kuài lè - Happy new year

恭喜发财 gōng xǐ fā cái  - Congratulations and be prosperous

青春常驻 qīng chūn cháng zhù - Full of youthful vigour

岁岁平安 suì suì píng ān - Everlasting peace year after year

和气生财 hé qì shēng cái - Harmony brings wealth

年年有余 nián nián yǒu yú - A wish for surpluses and bountiful harvests every year

金玉满堂 jīn yù mǎn táng - May your wealth (gold and jade) come to fill a hall"

生意兴隆 shēng yì xīng lóng - Business prospers

大展鸿图 dà zhǎn hóng tú - May you realize your ambitions

步步高升 bù bù gāo shēng - Be promoted to a higher position

迎春接福 yíng chūn jiē fú - Greet the New Year and encounter happiness

万事如意 wàn shì rú yì - May all your wishes be fulfilled

新春大吉 xīn chūn dà jí - Good fortune in the New Year

吉庆有余 jí qìng yǒu yú - May your happiness be without limit

出入平安 chū rù píng ān - Wishing you safety wherever you go

竹报平安 zhú bào píng ān - May you hear [in a letter] that all is well

花开富贵 huā kāi fù guì - Fortune comes with blooming flowers

一本万利 yì běn wàn lì - May you make great profits

心想事成 xīn xiǎng shì chéng - May all your wishes come true

福寿双全 fú shòu shuāng quán - May your happiness and longevity be complete

身壮力健 shēn zhuàng lì jiàn - Be healthy and vigorous all year

招财进宝 zhāo cái jìn bǎo - When wealth is acquired, precious objects follow

龙马精神 lóng mǎ jīng shén - The energy of a dragon and a horse

Red envelopes or Red Packets or Red Pocket

Red packets for sale in a market inTaipei, Taiwan, before the Year of the Rat

Shoppers at a New Year market inChinatown, Singapore

Traditionally, Red envelopes or red packets (Cantonese: lai sze or lai see) (利是, 利市 or 利事; Pinyin: lìshì); (Mandarin: 'hóngbāo' (红包);Hokkien: 'ang pow' (POJ: âng-pau); Hakka: 'fung bao'; are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children. Red packets are also known as 壓歲錢/压岁钱 (yàsuìqián, which was evolved from 壓祟錢/压祟钱, literally, the money used to suppress or put down the evil spirit ) during this period.

Red packets almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals (帛金: báijīn). The number 8 is considered lucky (for its homophone for "wealth"), and $8 is commonly found in the red envelopes in the US. The number six (六, liù) is also very lucky as it sounds like 'smooth' (流, liú), in the sense of having a smooth year. Sometimes chocolate coins are found in the red packets.

Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. Thirty and fifty, for example, are odd numbers, and are thus appropriate as funeral cash gifts. However, it is common and quite acceptable to have cash gifts in a red packet using a single bank note – with ten or fifty yuan bills used frequently.

The act of requesting for red packets is normally called (Mandarin): 讨紅包 tǎo-hóngbāo, 要利是. (Cantonese): 逗利是. A married person would not turn down such a request as it would mean that he or she would be "out of luck" in the new year.

The Japanese have a similar tradition of giving money during the New Year called Otoshidama.

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Chinese New Year's Third day - 大年初三

The third day is known as Chìkǒu (赤口), directly translated as "red mouth". Chìkǒu is also called Chìgǒurì (赤狗日). Chìgǒu means "the God of Blazing Wrath" (熛怒之神). It is generally accepted that it is not a good day to socialize or visit your relatives and friends.^[17][18]. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home.^[19] This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one's future told.

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Chinese New Year's Second day-大年初二

It is also the God of Wealth's birthday. During the days of imperial China, "beggars and other unemployed people circulate[d] from family to family, carrying a picture [of the God of Wealth] shouting, "Cai Shen dao!" [The God of Wealth has come!]."^[16] Householders would respond with "lucky money" to reward the messengers. Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a 'Hoi Nin' prayer to start their business on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year so they will be blessed with good luck and prosperity in their business for the year.

The second day of the Chinese New Year, known as kāinián (开年, "beginning of the year")^[15], was when married daughters visited their birth parents, relatives and close friends. (Traditionally, married daughters didn't have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.)

Some believe that the second day is also the birthday of all dogs and remember them with special treats.

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Chinese New Year First day 大年初一

The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the days before. On this day, it is considered bad luck to clean.

Most importantly, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time to honor one's elders and families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended families, usually their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.

For Buddhists, the first day is also the birthday of Maitreya Bodhisattva (better known as the more familiar Budai Luohan), the Buddha-to-be. People also abstain from killing animals.

Some families may invite a lion dance troupe as a symbolic ritual to usher in the Chinese New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises. Members of the family who are married also give red envelopes containing cash to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers. Business managers also give bonuses through red envelopes to employees for good luck and wealth.

While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards, which have resulted in increased number of fires around New Years and challenged municipal fire departments' work capacity. For this reason, various city governments (e.g., Hong Kong, and Beijing, for a number of years) issued bans over fireworks and firecrackers in certain premises of the city. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks have been launched by governments in such cities as Hong Kong.

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