Chinese New Year/Chinese Spring Festival 2022
Chinese New Year 2022 or Chinese Spring Festival, falls on Tuesday, February 1st, starting the Year of the Tiger. The New Year/ Spring Festival holiday will be from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6 in 2022.
Chinese Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year is the most important festival in China. There are lots of traditions, celebrations, and superstitions associated with the festival.
Chinese New Year is a time to:
- reunite the whole family and honor the ancestors
- worship gods and pray for a bumper harvest year
- get rid of the old and make way for the new
- participate in all kinds of creativity and have fun……
Read more on Top Chinese New Year Traditions
Chinese New Year 2022 Holiday
The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar. The Chinese New Year date is different every year, but it is almost in January or February.
It is a public holiday in China. in 2022, Chinese people get 7 days off from work, from Jan 31 to Feb. 6. Click Chinese New Year Dates to learn when the Chinese start their Chinese New Year holidays every year.
Lunar New Year 2022 Animal - Year of the Tiger
Every Chinese New Year starts with an animal sign. 2022 is the year of the Tiger.
There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each year is associated with an animal with its attributes.
How to Celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival?
Chinese people celebrate the festival with many traditional activities with the hope of a happy and prosperous next year. (the Lantern Festival). Top celebrations include:
1. Decorating the houses with red color
Red is the luckiest color in Chinese culture. The red color is believed to drive away evil spirits and bring good luck. So when the festival is coming, Chinese people hang red lanterns in front of their house and paste red couplets on their doors.
2. Eating lucky food
Food with lucky symbolic meanings is eaten during the festival. It is believed that eating lucky food will bring prosperity for the next year. On New Year's eve, dishes such as fish, chicken, Chinese dumplings, etc are served at every Chinese family's dinner.
2. Staying up late
Staying up late on New Year's Eve is a very old tradition of the Chinese Spring Festival. Usually, people sit around, chatting or playing cards to wait for the arrival of the New Year. Staying up late is said to bring longevity to one's parents.
3. Giving red envelopes
Red envelopes are usually given to the children. People believe that giving red envelopes to kids can keep the children safe and bring them good luck. Since 2022 is the Year of Tiger. The tiger red envelopes must be the most popular. Learn more on how to give red envelopes
4. Setting Off Fireworks
Fireworks are set off as the New Year arrives. It is believed the loud fireworks can drive the evil spirits away and bring good luck to the family. Although many cities have banned fireworks, this tradition keeps in the countryside.
The infographic below shows how Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year day-by-day. Click Chinese New Year Day-by-Day Celebrations for more details.
Top Lucky Chinese New Year Food
Certain food is eaten during the Spring Festival for its lucky symbolic meanings. It is believed that eating lucky food will bring a happy and prosperous next year.
Fish is must eaten as it is considered a symbol of abundance in Chinese culture. Chinese Dumplings, signs of prosperity, are also a must for the festival.
Click Chinese New Year Dishes to know more lucky festive dishes!
Festival Superstitions - Things You Should Not Do
People believe the start of the year affects the whole year, so the Spring Festival is a season of superstitions. There are many unlucky things you should not do as doing these things always means you will have bad luck for the coming year.
To avoid bad luck, you should not:
- Say unlucky words during the festival season
- Sweep the floor or take out the garbage on the first day of the New Year
- Breaking anything
- Take any medicine
- ...
Read the complete list of things you should not do for the festival.
How to Say Happy Chinese New Year 2022?
The Chinese New Year 2022 is coming. How to wish your friends a happy new year. Here are the three most popular ways to say "Happy Chinese New Year" in Chinese and Cantonese.
| English | Chinese Characters | In Mandarin | In Cantonese |
| Happy New Year! | 新年快乐！ | /sshin nyen kwhy ler/ (xīn nián kuài lè) | /sen nin feye lor/ (san1 nin4 faai3 lok6) |
| 新年好！ | /sshin nyen haoww/ (xīn nián hǎo) | /sen nin haow/ (san1 nin4 hou2) | |
| 过年好！ | /gwor nyen haoww/ (guò nián hǎo) | /gwor nin haow/ (gwo3 nin4 hou2) |
Read more popular New Year wishes for 2022