The Meaning of Chinese New Year and its Traditions

BY MADI ZHOU ’28

It’s that time of year again: Chinese New Year! An important holiday to many in the Jericho community, Chinese New Year actually comes from a legend about a monster called 年 (Nian) terrorizing a village every New Year’s Eve. As legend goes, the villagers learned that the Nian 年 was afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the color red, leading to the establishment of lucky traditions many know today of wearing red, setting off firecrackers, and banging pots. The festivities of Chinese New Year usually last 15 days, and the first few days are used to visit family and friends.

Many different countries have their own name for this New Year, but most East Asian New Year celebrations are derived from Chinese New Year. While people have begun to combine the East Asian New Year celebrations into one holiday called Lunar New Year, the name is inaccurate as Vietnam, Korea, and China all use the Lunisolar, not Lunar, calendar to determine the date of their New Year’s celebration.

Chinese New Year is celebrated very differently in China than in America. Chinese teacher and Chinese Honor Society advisor Ms. Han said, “It’s different how you celebrate [Chinese New Year] here versus in China. In China, Chinese New Year is a big thing because the celebration is 15 days long, so you start with prep, and cleaning the house, and decorating. Then on Chinese New Year’s Eve, we have a big dinner with our family, and then you watch the Spring Festival Gala with your family and eat dumplings at midnight, which is a tradition in the North. In the South, people eat nian gao or tangyuan, and then the next day which is first day of Chinese New Year people visit family and relatives and wish each other 新年快乐 (Happy New Year), but in the U.S., I usually try to make dumplings with family and friends and eat the dumplings together because making dumplings, the activity is a tradition in Chinese culture.”

This year is the Year of the Horse and funnily enough, Draco Malfoy has reemerged as a Chinese trend, partly because his Chinese name 马尔福 (Ma Er Fu), which includes characters associated with horse and luck, aligning with the transition from the Year of the Snake to the Year of the Horse. People celebrating in China have started hanging posters of the Snake from Slytherin, wishing him health and wealth.

Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, even in America. Many favor the tradition of getting hong bao, or red envelopes full of money. “As many know, it is a tradition of Chinese New Year to give children 红包, or red envelopes,” said Ms. Han. “As a kid my favorite part was getting hong bao (red envelopes), but now since I have to give hong bao to kids, that’s not my favorite part. Now it’s that you get a day off and you get to see family and friends, the reunion part is the part I treasure the most, spending time with family and friends. That’s what this holiday is about.”

Since this year, Chinese New Year happens to fall during mid-winter break, Jericho High School students have the opportunity to prepare and celebrate with their families, making memories and luck to last not just the year, but a lifetime.