There is no generally applicable rule on the sum, either.īefore the Lunar New Year holiday, Taiwanese companies will gather employees and give out red envelopes, which represent good fortune and luck for everyone. Some families hand out hongbaos until the children get married, reach a certain age, or start earning money. Children receive lucky money from their parents and grandparents, which is supposed to transfer fortune from the elderly onto the younger generations. Besides decorating everything in red for the celebrations, there is another particularly popular tradition, exchanging red envelopes with 'lucky' money. Red decorations, red lanterns, red.envelopes with money!.This year, you can greet with: Happy Year of the Tiger (虎年快樂, Hǔ nián kuàilè). Other common phrases include sayings such as Happy New Year (新年快樂, Xīnnián kuàilè) or Happy Year of the Zodiac Sign. It might be surprising to foreigners but the most popular phrase associated with the Lunar New Year is wishing people prosperity or, in other words, getting rich (恭喜發財, gōngxǐ fācái). The following day is referred to as the Spring Festival (春節, Chūnjié).Īs for sending wishes, both days are acceptable as well as anytime before the holidays. The family stays up late, waiting for the New Year (守歲, shǒusuì). The families reunite to enjoy traditional New Year's Eve dinner and afterwards, children receive hongbao (紅包, hóngbāo), red envelopes with money inside.
Imagine a fusion of Christmas Eve and New Year's party in one day. This year, February 11 stands for the New Year’s Eve (除夕, Chúxì), the last day of the lunar calendar December 30 (大年三十, Dànián sānshí). Read more about the Pingxi Sky Lanterns and Yanshui Fireworks.
#Lunar new year traditions full#
This festival is undeniably one of the most popular events in Taiwan, as the first full moon of the year is a considered an auspicious time. Since 1990, the Tourism Bureau has been organizing the Taiwan Lantern Festival to preserve the customs of celebrating this festival in the traditional manner of the Taiwanese ancestors. The festival ends with the first full moon, concluded with the Lantern Festival (燈節, dēngjié) celebrations. The dates alternate anywhere between January 21 to February 20. The Spring Festival takes place on January 1-15 of the Lunar calendar. Spring Festival is often considered similar to Christmas in spirit, although its moving dates are easily comparable to Easter. Either way, these festivities mark the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. Spring Festival (春節, Chūnjié) indicates the beginning of the spring season in the lunisolar calendar Lichun (立春, Lìchūn) celebrated around the time of the Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year mostly refers to East Asia's new years' celebrations. Here is a brief recap of all you should know about this holiday, a mix of useful facts and interesting traditions. When to send wishes to your business partners? How about hongbaos? The year of the Tiger is around the corner, and for Taiwanese, the Lunar Year is the most important festival of the year.