Chinese New Year: A Celebration with Ancient Roots

While there's no exact record of its origin, it's believed that the Chinese New Year celebration began with the Legend of Nian over 4,000 years ago during the Shang Dynasty.?

This popular legend tells of a monster named Nian that terrorized villages every New Year. Villagers discovered that the monster feared loud noises and the color red, so they began decorating their homes in red and making noise to scare Nian away. This legend explains many customs of the present-day celebrations, from the colors to the use of fireworks.?

The date of Chinese New Year is determined by the lunisolar calendar, and so the exact day it falls on can vary between late January and early February.?

The significance of the New Year celebration is tied to the cycles of nature and new beginnings. Each Chinese New Year represents exactly that: the start of a new cycle and an opportunity to leave behind the negatives of the past year and begin anew.?

In this sense, it’s similar to the Western idea of the New Year: We feel refreshed and empowered to take on new endeavours, and personal and professional goals.?

It’s a time for family reunions—gatherings and celebrations that help strengthen family ties. It’s also about remembering, thanking and honoring the ancestors, and being grateful for their blessings for the New Year.?

We took the opportunity to ask our international team what this Chinese New Year means to them and how they will be celebrating it.?

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What does the Chinese New Year symbolize for you??

In general, this celebration forces people to take the time to visit with loved ones and catch up with them.?

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Shi Jing Chee , Key Account Director?

It’s an opportunity to meet with friends and relatives that I couldn’t see throughout the year due to busy schedules.??

Haozhe Ma , Business Operation Manager?

It’s also a chance to worship or honor the Kitchen God (灶王爷) for next year’s harvest.?

Kofan Yeh , Senior Key Account Director?

The Chinese New Year is about family gatherings and not religious. It’s the time to visit family, relatives and ancestors.?

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How do your family and you traditionally celebrate the Chinese New Year? Do you find any specific traditions particularly meaningful to you??

Loke Hwee Wong , VP & GM for the APAC region?

We pay respect to ancestors, celebrate dinners with immediate family and “distant” relatives, and hand out hong-pow (red envelopes with money inserted) to the elders and children and teenagers.??

Gio Chang , Partner Relations Manager?

I pay special attention to honoring my ancestors and the Earth God on the day before Chinese New Year's Eve and gathering with family. Having dinner around a big round table, playing Mahjong, giving red envelopes to children, setting off firecrackers, and playing scratch cards are the highlights of the celebrations.?

Shi?Jing Chee

My family and I try to get new clothes or a full outfit, if possible. It’s a family tradition that celebrates the new opportunities to come.?

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Food plays a vital role in the Chinese New Year celebrations, not only as fuel for the body, but also as a symbol of good fortune and wishes for the year to come. Each dish has a special meaning and is carefully chosen to attract prosperity, health and happiness.

Dumplings, fish, and spring rolls for wealth and prosperity; chángshòu miàn or “longevity noodles” symbolize a long, healthy life; niángāo or glutinous rice cake represents progress and social status; oranges indicate fortune; tangyuan represent family reunion; and dry nuts and seeds are a symbol of wealth and fertility.?

What can’t be missing from your table??

Hotpot is the go-to option for most Bokuers. It provides a hot meal for everyone in a sharing environment and it adapts to all tastes: hotpot can include fish, prawns, chicken, pork, dumplings, various types of vegetables and mushrooms, and glass noodles. Anything goes!?

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Gio?Chang

It's not often when you can see the elders and finishing the dishes can sometimes make the cook feel happy. So, I try my best to finish everything. My family typically serves "longevity peach" (壽桃, shòu táo), a traditional Chinese symbol of longevity and good fortune. The peach is often associated with the mythical Peach of Immortality from Chinese folklore, which grants eternal life.??

Shi?Jing Chee

I can’t imagine a Chinese New Year without pineapple tarts, shrimp rolls, lover letters and Bak Kwa (dried meat or meat jerky).?

Kofan?Yeh

My essential foods are fish (it represents a good year), chicken, leaf mustard (longevity), and fried red bean glutinous rice cake.?

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Chinese New Year is a cultural reference—not just in China. Please share how you celebrate this in your specific region, country, or city.?

In Singapore, Chinese New Year lasts a total of 15 days and comprises a sequence of visits.?

The first day is dedicated to the husband’s family. On the second day, families visit the wife’s side. From the third day onward, people visit other more distant relatives.?

On the weekends, people can meet with friends. During those gatherings, one would eat, drink, and catch up with people.?

In Taiwan, people do a thorough house-cleaning before New Year’s Eve and put out spring couplets. During the holiday, people go to a temple to pray for good luck and good fortune.?

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What is, in your perception, the impact of this celebration on the economy??

While in the past, no stores opened during Chinese New Year, in recent years, people have started to dine out or travel abroad or to different cities, and more stores are open during Chinese New Year. Some families take the opportunity to go on a short vacation.?

Chinese New Year certainly gives a boost to the economy. People buy new items (i.e. apparel, sofa, furniture, electronics...) and stock up on CNY goods to welcome visiting guests.?

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The Chinese New Year is often a time for family reunions and reflection. How do you think these values resonate with teamwork and collaboration in Boku??

Shi?Jing Chee

Chinese New Year can be used to empathize and catch up with colleagues, to see where they need a hand and reach out to them.?

Gio?Chang

Boku is the perfect example of how families stick together in the Chinese culture, often living close to each other and taking care of one another.?

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How can traditions from the Chinese New Year inspire us to enhance our workplace environment, in terms of teamwork, creativity, leadership, and cultural events??

The most important is to promote and bring awareness around different local traditions. Boku is a multicultural company, and we should try to be part of our colleagues’ cultures, bring awareness around them, and respect them.?

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We wish you a Happy Chinese New Year celebration and a year filled with happiness, health, love, and prosperity.?

Special thank you to Shi, Haozhe, Kofan, Loke Hwee and Gio for contributing to this article with their experiences and making it a more representative picture of what the Chinese New Year is like across Asia.?