Chinese New Year Quiz

Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
1. Which color envelope is traditionally used for gifts of money?
gold
red
green
God of Money, poster
Chinese Lunar New Year money god poster in Hong Kong. Image by Mk2010 available under a Creative Commons license

2. Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually takes place in which month(s)?
January or February
December or January
February or March
red lantern, lantern, chinese new year, spring festival
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

3. Which event marks the traditional end of the Chinese New Year (Spring) festival?
Qingming Festival
Dragon Boat Festival
Lantern Festival
festival, temple, lion dance
Traditional lion dance near a temple

4. Which Chinese god is given an offering a week prior to Chinese New Year?
Kui Xing - god of literature
Mi Le Fo - the Laugjhing buddha
Zao Jun - the Kitchen god
deity, eight immortals, Shandong, Penglai
Statue of the Eight Immortals at Penglai Pavilion, Shandong

5. The New Year greeting 'Gong hei fat choy' is in which language?
Mongolian
Wu
Cantonese
lanterns, new year
Chinese New Year, Saigon, Vietnam. Image by falco available under a Creative Commons License

6. What heralds the start of New Year's day?
firecrackers
President's speech
phoenix dances

7. Why are oranges, tangerines and similar fruits are often seen at Chinese New Year?
Wishes good luck
Keep away demons
Adds Vitamin C to diet
orange
Dish of oranges, Hong Kong. Image by Fung Kimmia available under a Creative Commons License

8. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2050
2042
2036
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

9. Which astrological year follows the year of the snake?
horse
sheep
tiger
Hong Kong, zodiac, sculpture
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong

10. What is the phase of the moon at Chinese New Year?
new
third quarter
first quarter
garden, Foshan, Guangdong, architecture
Moon gate in Qinghui garden, Foshan city, Guangdong

11. Which character for good fortune is widely seen at Chinese New Year?
fēi
festival, temple, lion dance
Traditional lion dance near a temple

12. What is a 'guotie'?
door guardian
fried dumpling (jiaozi)
kitchen demon
food
Eating dimsum dumplings on the street in gongguan; pictures by tashenka. February 2007. Photo by brappy! from Gongguan Market in Zhongzheng available under a Creative Commons license .

13. Which day of the New Year festival should you give the family dog a treat?
6th
5th
2nd
Ming dynasty, Forbidden City, lion, Beijing
Gilded bronze, guardian xiezhi statue at Forbidden City, Beijing

14. What are the lucky numbers in a year of the Ox?
seven and three
eight
four and one
cat
Japanese lucky cat

15. Why are fish widely eaten at Chinese New Year?
Fish in Chinese sounds like abundance
The god of fish was born on Chinese New Year
Fish were the first creatures created
taiwan, yin yang, fish
Window detail of Zushih Temple, Sansia, Taipei County, Taiwan. Aug. 2008. Image by Benjiho available under a Creative Commons License
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