Chinese New Year Customs
Chinese New Year is a time when families get together to celebrate. It is
also a special time to remember members of the family who have died. In the
days coming up to New Year every family buys presents, decorations, food,
new clothes and people have their hair cut. Houses are cleaned from top
to bottom. The aim is to sweep out any bad luck from the old year and clear
the way for good luck. However, it is bad luck to clean on New Years Day itself.
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Doors and windows are often newly painted in red. On New Years Eve decorations
made from red and gold paper are hung down the doors to keep in good luck.
These are marked with messages of good fortune such as happiness, prosperity
and long life. These mostly have four Chinese characters. These are called
Hui Chun. In the photograph the man has a stall where he
is writing a message for a customer.
Design and print out your own Hui Chun at the
Hong Kong Tourism Board website. The colour red is chosen
for two reasons. The first is because red is a lucky colour and the second because
it is supposed to frighten off the monster Nian who is thought to come on New Years Eve.
The colour gold represents wealth. Families also decorate their homes with lanterns
and put stickers on things in their homes.
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