Chinese New Year Secrets Most People Don't Know

What really happens on Chinese New Year’s Eve? hello class Happy Chinese New Year This is the Year of the Horse. For Chinese families, this night carries traditions thousands of years old. A night of reunion, blessings, and crossing into a new year together. Before New Year’s Eve, people clean the house thoroughly. Chinese New Year begins with reunion. Before midnight, families return home, clean the house, and gather for the most important meal of the year. Then the whole family gathers for a big meal. No matter how far away you are from home, everyone returns home— just like Christmas Eve here in the United States. It is a very big family reunion event, and you really try to make it. But the night is not over yet. then the first one is 守歲（Shǒusuì）， 守歲（Shǒusuì）, staying up late. the moment we cross from the old year into the new year. Elders told stories, children listened, elders told stories children listened and the whole family stayed awake to cross into the new year together. it's a very meaningful tradition the moment we cross from the old year into the New Year is very important people welcome the New Year together When midnight arrives, another important tradition begins. Then Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, aunts, and uncles give New Year’s money. The money is placed inside a red envelope. In Chinese culture, it is called Hongbao. and it's put in the red envelope the kids take the money and put it under their pillow, to suppress evil spirits. In ancient China, money was made of copper coins. Copper is a type of metal. People believed metal could drive away evil spirits. So the red envelope was not just money. It was blessing and protection from the older generation. Metal was believed to have the energy to drive away evil spirits. The money also carries blessings from the older generation to the younger generation. Another important food on New Year’s Eve is dumplings. Chinese dumplings are called 餃子（Jiǎozi） The pronunciation comes from 交（Jiāo）. 交（Jiāo） shows a person standing with the arms and legs crossed. Standing like this. That is the basic meaning of 交（Jiāo）—to cross. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the old year crosses into the new year. So eating dumplings at that moment symbolizes the crossing of time. From the old year into the new one. Now you understand why it is called 餃子（Jiǎozi）— Because you cross and press the edges together—that is 交（Jiāo）. Another traditional food during the New Year festival is Tangyuan. The word Tangyuan literally means “round balls in soup”. Tang yuan means you want to use water to cook it you use water to to make it This is a circle. This is 圓（Yuán）, which means circle. and this is circle this is yuan circle yuan means harmonized perfect 圓（Yuán） means harmony, perfection—everything complete and good. It means everything is as good as you wish—that is 圓（Yuán）. After we eat 餃子（Jiǎozi）, We cross it, close it up, and it becomes a circle. a harmonious and perfect circle, In Chinese culture, the circle symbolizes reunion and completeness. That is why people eat Tangyuan during the New Year celebrations. that represents good wishes. Chinese New Year traditions are not random customs. They reflect ideas about family, protection, time, and harmony. For thousands of years, these traditions have connected generations together. Even though we introduced the New Year traditions, we are still going to focus on the characters. it's a very meaningful tradition it's very important even though we introduce the Chinese New Year's the tradition, we are still going to focus on the characters. Now let’s review two characters: 爆竹（Bàozhú）. 爆（Bào） means “to explode,” Join our membership to explore more Chinese wisdom