New Year’s Day vs. Spring Festival: Key Differences in China
Today, let’s talk about two important Chinese festivals: New Year’s Day (元旦, yuán dàn) and Spring Festival (春节, chūn jié). They are both significant holidays, but there are many differences between them.
1. The Dates Are Different📅
New Year’s Day is on January 1st every year, the first day of the new year. Spring Festival is the Chinese Lunar New Year, usually in January or February. New Year’s Day is relatively short, while Spring Festival is much longer. On New Year’s Day, we have one or two days off, but for Spring Festival, we have one or two weeks off.
2. The Ways of Celebration Are Different🎊
On New Year’s Day, we celebrate with family or friends. We might go out for fun or eat at a restaurant. In the evening, we count down together, set off fireworks, and welcome the new year. New Year’s Day marks a fresh start, and we set new goals and plans. We also make New Year’s wishes, hoping that our dreams come true.
Spring Festival is the most important holiday for Chinese people, and it is a time to be with family. We hang red couplets (对联, duì lián) on the door, set off firecrackers (鞭炮, biān pào), have a reunion dinner (团圆饭, tuán yuán fàn), and give red envelopes (红包, hóng bāo) to children.
3. The Food: What We Eat🍗
On New Year’s Day, we can eat anything. We can either eat at home or go out to eat.
Spring Festival is the most important family time of the year. People in the north always eat dumplings (饺子, jiǎo zi), while those in the south eat rice cakes (年糕, nián gāo) or sweet rice balls (汤圆, tāng yuán). There are many interesting traditional customs during the Spring Festival, and I will talk more about them as it gets closer.
4. What We Say: New Year’s Wishes✨
What we say during New Year’s Day and Spring Festival is different:
On New Year’s Day, we say “新年快乐！xīn nián kuài lè ” or “元旦快乐！yuán dàn kuài lè” – Happy New Year!
During Spring Festival, we like to say “Congratulations and prosperity (恭喜发财, gōng xǐ fā cái)!” and “Happy New Year (新年好, xīn nián hǎo)!”
Both New Year’s Day and Spring Festival are joyful holidays that we all enjoy. Chinese New Year/Spring Festival is coming soon—how do you plan to celebrate? 🙂
Read the same article in Chinese with Pinyin here!
