This will be the first time I actually decorate my apartment’s front door with the bright red couplets. I lived in China for years ago being a Peace Corps Volunteer and never did it once. I don’t know what I was thinking.
While decorating your front doorway with red couplets seems like a big task, there is a big myth behind this tradition. I learned about this myth during my last visit to the northern part of China in 2016. So what’s the method on how to celebrate Lunar New Year in China? Here’s what I’ve learned from my time living in China.
The Reasons for Red
The reason families decorate their front doors with red couplets stems from a Chinese legendary monster known as Nian. They also stay up throughout the night for the tradition, 守岁 (shou sui), which is a tradition meant to keep an eye out for the monster.
Winter is known to be a time when food is scarce in the countryside. So to stay full during the winter, Nian was famous for visiting small villages during the Chinese Lunar New Year to devour the people and livestock and destroy homes. In the legend, for the whole year before the Chinese Lunar New Year arrive, Nian would stay in its ocean or mountain cave.
In the legend, the Nian monster was said to have fears of loud noises, fire, and the color red. It was also said the creature had the features of a lion, the body of a dog, and the talons of an eagle.
The Story of Nian
As the Nian spent years devouring many villages, it was also said that a man came to a village once. He told the village people about ways to keep Nian from destroying their homes and families. He said red couplets, lanterns, and fire would keep the monster away. The village people ignored the strange man. Instead, they retreated to places high in the mountains and away from the Nian’s path toward their village.
The strange man visiting the city didn’t leave the village, instead, he stayed. He pasted red couplets above the door and hung red lanterns outside. Then, he waited. As the lanterns swayed in the winter chills, the earth rumbled beneath him — signs the Nian was approaching.
As the Nian grew closer, the man lit the lanterns and fireworks with fire. The right red colors and the loud pops from the fireworks frightened the monster and its loud footsteps thundered off into the night where it could never be seen again. When the village people returned and discovered their homes were still standing, they adopted the traditions of red lanterns, couplets, and fireworks.
If you live in China, you are likely to see lanterns and couplets pasted on the doorways. In the countrysides, you might hear fireworks sounding off from late evening to early morning. This is a very important part of how to celebrate lunar new year.
Hanging Your Couplets
There are many different messages you can choose from when selecting the couplets to hang on your door. For those who can’t understand, the WeChat app has a built-in camera function that allows you to scan the text on the couplets.
There are three parts to the red couplets, one small piece that goes above your door, and to longer pieces that go on either side of your door. When you buy the couplets, pay attention to the orange sticker on the top of the package. It will show you a picture of which long piece goes on which side of the door. Believe me, it’s important to have this correct, or the meaning will be wrong. Match the long pieces to the picture and you’re good to go.
Then, in the middle of your door, there is a square piece labeled 福 (fu), which means happiness. You turn the character upside down to show happiness has arrived at your home.
Burn Your Incense
From what I understand, and what I’ve witnessed, during a traditional Northern celebration of Chinese New Year, praying to the Gods is a huge part of the ritual.
There is a giant altar with the Sky, Earth, and Ghost Gods. You pray to all three Gods to enrich your lives and grant you luck, health, prosperity, and happiness. On the altar, you offer fruits and bread as a sacrifice. You burn incense and then family bows to the Gods starting from the oldest in the family and ending with the youngest. Each person bows three times and then ends their worship with a wish.
Once you offer your worship, they unload huge bricks of fake paper money and it is burned at the altar as a form of payment to entice the Gods to bring you a prosperous year. Fireworks are then set off until dawn to chase away evil spirits.
Giving and Receiving Hong Baos
Who doesn’t love money when the holidays come around? Hong Baos, or red envelopes, are usually filled with money and given to family members. From my understanding, parents and grandparents will give their children and grandchildren hundreds of Chinese dollars during Chinese Lunar New Year.
It is also my understanding that once you are married, you no longer receive the hong baos. From here, you will be able to use the money for whatever you please!
How to Celebrate Lunar New Year With Food
Eat food with your family, and eat a lot of dumplings. I recall eating a lot of dumplings for Chinese Lunar New Year four years ago. On the other hand, I remember having a lot of other delicious food that wasn’t dumplings or noodles.
What’s important about eating is that you’re doing it together, as a family. But here are some common foods to eat for Lunar New Year.
- Nian Gao
- Dumplings
- Longevity Noodles
- Fish
- Fruit
How to Wish People a Happy New Year in Chinese
There are a few ways to wish people a Happy New Year in China. Depending on the region you live in, it’s different. Here are some of the most common ones.
- 新年快乐 (xin nian kuai le) – Happy New Year!
- 恭喜发财 (gong xi fa cai) – Have a prosperous New Year! [Mandarin]
- 恭喜发财 (kung hei fat choy) – Have a prosperous New Year! [Cantonese]
To see other new years greetings, go here.
Things NOT To Do for Chinese New Year
China is heavy with superstition and rather than scoff and shake your head, honor these superstitions, they’ve been around for a long time. Below are some of the things you should avoid doing during the Lunar New Year should you decide to celebrate.
- Never give gifts in fours – the pronunciation for the number four and the word ‘dead’ are the same
- Don’t give pears, cut flowers, or anything black and white – presents or colors for funerals
- Never give shoes – resemble evil
- Don’t give mirrors – attracts ghosts
- Never give clocks – symbolizes parting
- Don’t give sharp objects – symbolizes cutting off relationships
- Never cry – believed to bring bad luck to the family
- Don’t wash your clothes or your hair – the word for hair in Chinese is 发 (fa), the same word used in wishing someone a prosperous new year, so washing your hair would mean washing the wealth away.
- Never take out your garbage or sweep – means you could be sweeping wealth away.
Enjoy This Incredible Holiday
The holiday doesn’t just last one day, but more like over a week! Take the time to celebrate! If you have some special traditions you follow for Chinese New Year, share them in the comments! And watch the video below!
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