Chinese New Year Quiz

Early on New Year's Day is the time to have ears blasted with numerous firecrackers 爆竹 bào zhú but firecrackers are now regarded as such a noise and pollution nuisance that they are banned from the center of large cities.

This the Cantonese pronunciation of the greeting which in standard Chinese is 恭喜发财 gōng xǐ fā cái which means ‘congratulations, become wealthy’ and is often a greeting between people in business.

The date of Chinese New Year moves because it is tied to the phase of the moon. It is timed to occur on the second new moon after the winter solstice on December 21st; this makes it fall in late January or February.

Red is the luckiest color and is widely seen at festivals and marriages to bring good luck and keep evil at bay. Charms written on red paper are plastered all over houses at Chinese New Year because according to legend the Nian monster is frightened by anything red. 宏 hóng sounds the same and means ?great; magnificent? so a red color bestows idea of wish for greatness in decorations.

The Chinese for fish is 鱼 yú which in standard Chinese sounds the same as 余 yú which means 'surplus, abundance'. So it is making the wish for abundance in the new year.

It is on the eve of Chinese New Year that families pay particular deference to Zao Jun so that he can relay a favorable report on the household's life to heaven for the last year - his lips are smeared with honey. Traditionally a portrait of him was hung in the kitchen which was ritually burned and replaced every New Year.

Any mixture of 1s and 4s is considered lucky in the year of the Ox or people born in that year so 4141 is lucky and so is 144.

The Spring Festival starts on the second New Moon after the Winter solstice, the date falls between January 20th to February 21st depending on the position of the moon each year and lasts for two weeks.

The character for good fortune 福 fú has an interesting derivation. It is widely seen on Chinese gifts. Just to add to confusion it is often shown ‘upside down’

The Lantern festival occurs on the full moon following Chinese New Year and so is two weeks after it. Traditionally lanterns are lit and lion dances take place

The character 桔 jú is made up of the radical 木 mù ‘wood’ and 吉 jí ‘lucky’. Also ju sounds close to 祝 zhù ‘to wish’ so it symbolizes a wish for good fortune.

The sequence of 12 astrological animals is rat; ox; tiger; rabbit; dragon; snake; horse; sheep; monkey; rooster; dog and finally pig.

A guotie is literally a 'pot sticker' - a parcel of meat or vegetables wrapped in dough that has been fried.

The dragon is considered the most auspicious astrological year with couples choosing to wait so their child can be born as 'dragons'. Dragon years include 2000, 2012 and 2024.

It is on the second day (the day after New Year's Day) that it is traditional to give the family pet a special treat.