21 Amazing Facts About Chinese New Year

Here are 21 amazing Chinese New Year facts.

1-5 Chinese New Year Facts

1. The largest human migration in the world, “Chunyun”, occurs annually around Chinese New Year when everyone returns home to reunite with family. – Source

2. The Chinese New Year Gala gets about 700 million viewers yearly, five times the viewership of the Super Bowl, making it the most-watched entertainment show. – Source

3. The numbered year for the Chinese New Year is somewhat subjective, so one could ask for the “Chinese Year” and be given at least three correct answers. – Source

4. There’s a Chinese New Year’s tradition of putting a coin in the dumplings, whoever eats the coin will have good fortune. – Source

5. Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated with a salad toss. – Source

6-10 Chinese New Year Facts

6. Chinese people give out red envelopes during Chinese New Year. – Source

7. Almost all of the police is off duty during the Chinese New Year in Singapore. – Source

8. The popular Chinese New Year song “Gong Xi Gong Xi” was originally written to celebrate the Japanese defeat and liberation of China in WW2. – Source

9. China is not the only country to celebrate the new year on Chinese New Year. – Source

10. Every Chinese New Year starts a new animal’s zodiac year. – Source

11-15 Chinese New Year Facts

11. An important part of the Chinese New Year is the chuen-hop, or the “tray of togetherness.” This usually consists of eight compartments that are filled with special and symbolic food items that are offered to guests. For the Chinese, the number 8 symbolizes good luck! – Source

12. On the stroke of midnight on the Chinese New Year, every door and window in a Chinese house are opened to allow the old year to go out. – Source

13. The Chinese New Year lands on the first day of the lunar month and continues for 15 days until the moon is full. Each of the 15 days of the celebrations has a particular role, such as celebrating the birthday of chicken and similar such celebrations. – Source

14. It doesn’t matter when someone was actually born—on the Chinese New Year, everyone turns a year older. – Source

15. Chinese New Year is also called the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. – Source

16-21 Chinese New Year Facts

16. Firework displays during the Chinese New Year stem from the tradition of lighting bamboo stalks on fire to ward off evil spirits, especially Nian, the evil dragon most commonly portrayed in the new year parades. – Source

17. Eating a whole chicken is popular during the Chinese New Year. It is important for the chicken to still have its head, tail, and feet to symbolize completeness. – Source

18. The Yule Log is an important symbol of the Chinese New Year celebrations. – Source

19. Nianhua are Chinese New Year pictures that are traditionally hung on the doors during the new year celebration. – Source

20. An island in Shanghai was once mostly owned by a powerful and wealthy family who lived in a mini-palace with a moat and they invited all islanders over for banquet on Chinese New Year. It was destroyed after the war, when their land was confiscated and it is unknown where the family is today. – Source

21. Depiction of pigs were banned from appearing in any ads on the state-run broadcaster, CCTV, to avoid conflicts with ethnic minorities. A Coca-Cola ad features a piglet braving city streets to get home for the Chinese New Year but a second version using pandas was shown in Muslim areas. – Source