The top things to know about Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is an annual holiday observed across Asia that lasts a week. The exact date is determined by the lunar calendar and it always falls in late January to mid-February. For many, however, Chunjie (or Spring Festival) feels more like 40 days of celebrations.

In China, home to 1.4 billion people (18.4 percent of the world’s total population, but who’s counting?), the holiday spurs what’s widely called the largest annual human migration in the world. Nearly three billion people fan across the country, returning to their hometowns in time to celebrate with loved ones.

From the red decorations to the firecrackers, here are 10 essential things to know about this festive time.

Is Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year the same?

For Chinese people, Lunar New Year is the Spring Festival, what many call Chinese New Year. But Lunar New Year isn’t celebrated just in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Lunar New Year is celebrated widely in Taiwan and across Southeast Asia in countries with large Chinese populations, such as Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia. In Korea, the Lunar New Year is called Seollal; in Vietnam, Tet; and in Tibet, Losar.

How to say “Happy Lunar New Year”

In Mandarin, people say gong xi fa cai (恭喜发财), wishing you a prosperous New Year. In Cantonese, it’s gong hey fat choi. Wishing someone xin nian kuai le (新年快乐), literally “happy New Year,” is perfectly welcome too.

The meaning of firecrackers on Chinese New Year

At one time in China, people set off firecrackers in the days leading up to and including the Spring Festival. These explosions would go on through the night, lighting up cities big and small.

The firecrackers served two purposes. Not only are they fun and celebratory, they also helped scare away Nian, the fearsome dragon-lion, who legend says attacked villagers and sometimes ate children.

These days, travelers are more likely to see fireworks in smaller towns and in the countryside, due to a big clampdown on fireworks in urban areas.

(Learn about other top New Year’s celebrations around the world.)

The Chinese Zodiac

The Lunar New Year follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by an animal, all with different characteristics. These Lunar New Year animals help determine what we can expect in the months ahead.

The Chinese Zodiac is taken far more seriously than any back-of-the-tabloid horoscope. Some signs, like the dragon, are considered the luckiest because they’re associated with strength and success. Some couples even aim to give birth in dragon years, believing that children born in these years will have the best chance for success in life.

Zodiac signs are determined by birth year under the lunar calendar. For example, those born between February 17, 1988, and February 5, 1989, are dragons.

(The world’s oldest calendar was discovered in this U.K. pit.)

This is an important factor in matchmaking too. People born in the year of the dog (sincere, loyal, independent), for example, are considered most compatible with those born in the year of the rabbit (sensitive, modest, warm) and least compatible with someone born in the year of the dragon (strong, charismatic, independent).

But don’t expect your Zodiac year (benming nian, 本命年) to be lucky. In fact, Lunar New Year falling on your birth year is considered especially unlucky, meaning you need to be extra careful about bad luck.

Significance of the color red

In Chinese culture, red represents prosperity and happiness. It’s considered a lucky color, so people don crimson hues to usher in an auspicious new year and block bad vibes. From underwear to jumpsuits—it all counts.

Another benefit? Layering on ruby red tones guards against misfortune during Lunar New Years that fall on your birth year. It’s also said to scare off fearsome monster Nian.

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Common Lunar New Year decorations

During Lunar New Year, neighborhoods throughout China display colorful and symbolic decorations.

Diagonally pasted up squares of red paper with white characters like 福 (fú, good fortune) and red paper cuttings adorn the front of buildings. Red banners (two vertical, with an optional third hanging horizontally) showcase Spring Festival couplets in gold.

In older neighborhoods, it’s not uncommon to see huge salt-cured fish hanging from power lines, drying next to the laundry. Fish is a must for Lunar New Year because the word fish (鱼, yu) is a homonym of 余 (yu), meaning surplus or extra, thereby boosting the chances for prosperity.

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Public buildings like offices, hotels, and malls are decorated with tasseled, red-paper lanterns along with kumquat trees positioned for good luck and wealth. In Mandarin, a kumquat is called jinju (金橘), and jin (金) is the word for gold.

What is the Chinese New Year envelope?

Hongbao (红包), literally “red packet,” is a key element of Lunar New Year. Containing “lucky money” for the upcoming year, hongbao are generally given by elders to the younger generations, especially children. However, if you are doing well, it’s considered polite to share with your parents and grandparents during Lunar New Year.

Married folks are required to give hongbao, while single people are usually recipients. Guests at Lunar New Year celebrations should bring hongbao for their host’s children.

If you’re traveling in the north, then go for a round number; in the south, use lucky numbers (anything with six or eight). Wherever you go, don’t give a multiple of four—that number is a homonym for death.

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When to cut your hair

It may seem like a good idea to enter a new year without split ends, but for many people celebrating Spring Festival, hair cuts carry more meaning than you would think.

Before midnight on New Year’s Day, hair salons are abuzz with revelers wanting to cut away last year’s bad luck and walk out with a fresh slate. Then they must wait 24 hours before washing it, to avoid scrubbing away the good luck.

How to celebrate Lunar New Year

Spring Festival is mostly celebrated at home, with family. Restaurants are closed, but leading up to the New Year, you can tuck into heaping plates of dumplings (饺子, jiao zi), which are symbolic for the new year.

The characters for dumplings sound like 交子 (jiāo zi), where 交 (jiao) means “exchange” and 子(zi) is an abbreviation for 11 p.m to 1 a.m. Put together, eating pillowy pockets of dough means you’re exchanging the old year for the new.

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Fairs at temples in Beijing offer travelers the best opportunity to participate. The largest takes place at Ditan Park, where a canopy of red lanterns strung overhead makes a festive backdrop for daily performances.

Look for Tibetan folk dancing, a reenactment of the imperial family’s traditional harvest prayers, and magic shows. Handicrafts and snacks like niangao (the holiday glutinous rice square) and jiaoquan (a savory cruller best dipped in doujiang, or fresh soy milk) round out the annual experience.