Spring Festival (zhongguó xinnián) at SCDS

We have introduced the culture and traditions associated with Chinese New Year in our K-8 Mandarin classes. It is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays and more commonly known as "Spring Festival.” We hope you will enjoy our students’ work, in the West Gallery from February 5-11, displaying their knowledge about Chinese New Year and Chinese culture. This year the Chinese New Year is on Monday,  February 8, and it is the Year of the Monkey.

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The New Year festival begins on the first day of the first month of the traditional Chinese calendar and ends with the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the new year. The purpose of the Chinese New Year tradition is reconciliation by forgetting all grudges and sincerely wishing peace and happiness to everyone.The main color used in Chinese New Year celebrations is red. It is the symbol of joy and also symbolizes virtue, truth, and sincerity. Families also thoroughly clean their houses to sweep away any ill-fortune and make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red paper displaying popular wishes of good fortune, happiness, wealth, or longevity.

On the eve of Chinese New Year, families feast on delicacies such as duck, chicken, dumplings, and sweets. Families end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children greet their grandparents and family members by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes in return.