Huilai, China on Chinese New Year
Angela is a 12-year-old girl from China.
She visits her grandmother in Huilai, China for Chinese New Year celebrations.
Exploring Huilai, China
Hi, My name is Angela.
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Angela.
I'm staying with my grandmother and my aunties in Huilai China.
Huilai is close to the sea.
Every year for New Year we come to visit my grandma, because New Year is a very important time to see family in Chinese culture.
I like to spend time with my grandma.
When I come to visit her in Huilai I give her a Chinese massage.
My grandma likes to drink tea.
Huilai is famous for its tea.
When I visit my grandma we drink a lot of tea.
My grandma makes the best fish balls and she always makes them when I am here so first we need to buy some fish from the market.
Once we have everything, we will go back to my grandmother's house.
Making fish balls is a very old tradition in China.
Family is very important in Chinese culture.
At New Year we watch the special New Year TV programme, it is my favourite.
Nǎi nai, xīn nián kuài lè, gōng xǐ fā cái, xiè xie!
My relative give me red envelopes (hóng bāo) with money in, so I'm very happy.
The New Year (Chūn Jié) is a very special time for Chinese people as it is a celebration of the last year and a time for new beginnings.
At New Year we celebrate with fireworks.
Fireworks actually came from China and they are very popular.
I love to watch them with my grandma.
Why is Chinese New Year celebrated?
Chinese New Year is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Chūn Jié) in China as it marks the end of Winter (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Dōng tiān) and the beginning of Spring (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Chūn tiān).
It is one of the four most important traditional festivals in China and celebrates the beginning of a new year in the Chinese lunar calendar.
When is the Chinese New Year?
The traditional Chinese calendar, also called the Chinese lunar calendar (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. nóng lì), is based on the cycle of the moon (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. yuè liang).
Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the new lunar year and, as such, the date changes each year.
It begins on the new moon that appears between late January and February.
The New Year celebrations last fifteen days, ending with the Chinese Lantern Festival.
During this time, you can say these greetings in Mandarin:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Xīn nián kuài lè! - Happy New Year!
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. Chūn jiē kuài lè! - Happy Spring Festival!
How do Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year?
Red envelopes (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. hóng bāo) filled with money are often given to children during Chinese New Year to pass on the good fortune and blessings for the coming year
Cleaning is another tradition of the Chinese New Year.
This is because, in Mandarin, ‘dust’ (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. 肠丑é苍) is a homophone (same pronunciation but different meaning) for the word for ‘oldness or staleness’ (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. 肠丑é苍).
Paper cutting (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. jiǎn zhǐ) is a form of traditional art in China.
People put them on their windows during Chinese New Year as a way to welcome Spring.
Why not try and make your own paper cuts?
The Spring Festival is a time for family (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. jiā tíng) and as such the festival brings with it a travel rush, known as Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. chūn yùn.
As a large part of the Chinese population returns home to reunite with their family, China faces one of the largest movement of humans on Earth.
What do Chinese people eat for the Chinese New Year?
Food plays a big part of the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Different foods represent different things in China:
Fish (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. 测ú) - surplus (extra or remaining) and fortune
Chinese dumplings (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. jiǎo zi) - wealth
Glutinous rice balls (Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. tāng yuán) - family reunion
You can make your own Chinese dumplings by following this recipe.
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