Chinese New Year 2024

Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals for Chinese people, where family members travel thousands of kilometres to reunite and gather together.

This year is the Year of the Dragon; the Chinese dragon is one of the strongest and most wanted species from Chinese mythology, and therefore, it is the most expected in the Chinese New Year because this legendary creature symbolises courage, strength and good fortune.

In China, the new year is the busiest time because usually, people go back to their hometowns to visit their families after working the whole year outside. Finding air or train tickets around this date is almost impossible, and people need to buy them in advance.

I had the chance to live in Beijing, and I have seen that for two weeks, shops and markets are closed; it seems like a lockdown, and you need to buy food to survive; at night, is expected to see people playing fireworks, there were some shops where people can purchase any fireworks without restrictions; I'm not sure now if still the same.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, families have a family reunion dinner. In Hong Kong, people prefer to go to Chinese restaurants, but you need to make reservations in advance; the prices are pretty high, but still, some families cook some dishes at home and combine them with food bought outside.

Moreover, on New Year's Eve, the crowd go to the flower markets where people buy flowers to receive the new year because it represents the birth of a fresh start and prosperity; this market is in almost every district to avoid crowds in a single area.

Most companies organise dinners for their employees and show gratitude for the year's hard work. If the boss is generous, their employees will receive some bonus, for example, a double salary.

Another interesting thing about Chinese New Year is that people give Lai See or red packets, and inside the red packet, they put money or some good message or candies; this is a kind of tradition in Chinese culture; apart from this people greet each other by saying "Kung Hei Fat Choy(Wish you getting a lot of money)" but you must be careful with this greeting because there are some other religions and they might feel uncomfortable with this; instead is common to hear them saying "sun tai gin hong". Which means "Good Health".

Finally, in some ancient villages, it is expected to see this kind of decoration for the Chinese New Year. The decoration is excellent and has a good message, allusive to this famous festival.

This report was published via Actifit app (Android | iOS). Check out the original version here on actifit.io

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