Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
1. What heralds the start of New Year's day?
firecrackers
phoenix dances
military parade
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.
2. Which character for good fortune is widely seen at Chinese New Year?
福fú
飞fēi
去qù
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’
Traditional lion dance near a temple
3. Which astrological year follows the year of the snake?
horse
dragon
monkey
The sequence of 12 astrological animals is rat; ox; tiger; rabbit; dragon; snake; horse; sheep; monkey; rooster; dog and finally pig.
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong
4. Which event marks the traditional end of the Chinese New Year (Spring) festival?
Easter
Qingming Festival
Lantern Festival
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.
Traditional lion dance near a temple
5. Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually takes place in which month(s)?
February or March
March or April
January or February
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.
Red lanterns are hung from the trees during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Ditan Park (Temple of Earth) in Beijing. Image by Paul Louis ➚ available under a Creative Commons License ➚
6. What is the phase of the moon at Chinese New Year?
new
third quarter
first quarter
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.
Moon gate in Qinghui garden, Foshan city, Guangdong
7. Why are oranges, tangerines and similar fruits are often seen at Chinese New Year?
Keep away demons
Wishes long life
Wishes good luck
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.
8. Which color envelope is traditionally used for gifts of money?
yellow
green
red
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.
9. What are the lucky numbers in a year of the Ox?
five
four and one
seven and three
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.
Japanese lucky cat
10. The New Year greeting 'Gong hei fat choy' is in which language?
Japanese
Cantonese
Wu
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 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.
13. Why are fish widely eaten at Chinese New Year?
Fish in Chinese sounds like abundance
Fish keep away demons
Fish were the first creatures created
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.
Window detail of Zushih Temple, Sansia, Taipei County, Taiwan. Aug. 2008. Image by Benjiho available under a Creative Commons License ➚
14. Which day of the New Year festival should you give the family dog a treat?
6th
2nd
5th
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.
Gilded bronze, guardian xiezhi statue at Forbidden City, Beijing
15. Which Chinese god is given an offering a week prior to Chinese New Year?
Sun Wukong - the Monkey King
Zao Jun - the Kitchen god
Kui Xing - god of literature
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.
Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
