About China's Spring Festival

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THE SPRING FESTIVAL
The dates shown are for the official national holiday.

The Spring Festival, a major holiday, is the name for the 15 days between Chinese New Year's Eve and the Festival of Lanterns. It is revered like Christmas in the west or the Eid holidays in the Islamic world. Nationally, it is a whole week's celebration.

During the Spring Festival, gifts and red packets of money in even number denominations are exchanged. Families travel to be together; holiday foods are prepared on Chinese New Year's Eve. That night's feast is the "reunion dinner" and the most important holiday meal. Retailers go crazy with specials leading up to and during the festivities. Activities culminate on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival, marking the end of the annual Chinese New Year Celebration.

For organizations with business interests in China, block out the week leading up to and the first seven days of the Spring Festival. Getting anyone to pay much attention will be challenging, and celebration is the theme.

Each day of the Spring Festival has a different activity.

Day one is the welcoming of the deities with firecrackers, dragon dancing, and a vegetarian diet.

On day two, married daughters visit their parents.

Day three is Red Mouth Day, and paper is burned, symbolizing the destruction of wrath. It is considered very unlucky to visit or have guests on this day.

Day four features dinners hosted by employers. Businesses go back to work.

Day five features birthday celebrations for the god of wealth. Firecrackers light the sky, ensuring his favor, good fortune, and prosperity in the year ahead.

Day six is a day of rest.

Day seven is the universal birthday, where everyone becomes one year older, regardless of their actual birthday. Buddhists will avoid meeting people, and non-Buddhists will eat a raw fish salad to promote wealth and prosperity in the year ahead.

Day eight focuses on family dinners, with companies hosting lunch or dinner to celebrate the birth of the Jade Emperor. In the hours leading up to midnight, burning incense and food offerings make their way to the shrines of the Jade Emperor. Should a family fail to make offerings, the kitchen god reports their lack of adherence to the Jade Emperor.

Day nine is a day for prayers and offerings to the Jade Emperor.

Days ten through twelve host parties for the Jade Emperor.

Day 13 is vegetarian, a day designed to cleanse the stomach. Prayers, offerings, and tributes to the Chinese god of war, General Guan Yu of the Han Dynasty, take center stage.

Day 14 is open.

The final day features the Shangyuan Festival of Lanterns. People eat traditional Chinese foods like rice dumplings, rice ball soup, and candies. Traditionally, families stroll the town carrying colorful lanterns.