Chinese New Year Quick Facts

Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in China, and has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations such as the Losar of Tibet (Tibetan: ལོ་གསར་) and of China's neighbouring cultures, including the Korean New Year (Korean: 설, seol), and the Tết of Vietnam.[4] It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries with significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, including Singapore,[5] Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,[6] Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines,[7] and Mauritius,[8] as well as many in North America and Europe.

The Chinese New Yearis associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors.

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding the New Year's Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner.

It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. 

Another custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets. Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets include that of good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity. 

Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes. 

For the northern regions of China, dumplings are featured prominently in meals celebrating the festival. It often serves as the first meal of the year either at midnight or as breakfast of the first day.