Chinese New Year 2019: It’s Chinese New Year on 5 February 2019. Also known as the Spring Festival, it is the most important festival celebrated by Chinese people all over the world. The first day of the Chinese New Year is celebrated on the new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20. This year, the Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 5 2019, ushering in the Year of the Pig.

Unlike other festivals such as Christmas that falls on a specific date every year and follow the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the lunar calendar that depends on the moon. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated on different dates every year. So, while the rest of the world celebrates New Year on January 1, the Chinese wait for a few more days to start their celebrations.

2019: Year of the Pig

There are 12 zodiac signs in the Chinese Zodiac system. After every 12 years, the cycle repeats itself — the first zodiac animal is Rat and the last is Pig. Until 4 February 2019, it was the Year of the Dog. In Chinese culture, pigs represent wealth.

Celebrations during Chinese New Year:

An evening prior to the New Year, people get together for the annual “reunion dinner”, largely considered across the country as the most important meal of the year. The families thoroughly clean their house for the day, though, interestingly, no sweeping is done on the New Year’s Day as it is believed that it will “sweep the luck away”.

Aside from being the most important festival in China, the Chinese New Year is also celebrated in other parts of Asia such as Korea, Vietnam and Tibet. Hundreds of fireworks go up in the air as people spend time visiting their loved ones.

Significance of Red colour:

Red is considered to be the auspicious colour for the festival with red lanterns hanging on the streets, children receiving money in red envelopes and red couplets pasted on doors, among other activities.

Chinese New Year: What not to do

There are a number of dos and don’ts while celebrating the festival. Scissors, knives and other sharp objects should not be used since it is believed they will cut the stream of wealth.

Fighting and crying should also be avoided to encourage the fortune to shine upon you.

It is believed that your zodiac animal year is unlucky, and people are encouraged to wear red underwear to protect themselves against the attention of demons. People also wear charms like red belts, shoes, strings and much more.