Chinese New Year Quiz

Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
1. What is the phase of the moon at Chinese New Year?
new
full
third quarter
garden, Foshan, Guangdong, architecture
Moon gate in Qinghui garden, Foshan city, Guangdong

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

3. Which event marks the traditional end of the Chinese New Year (Spring) festival?
Confucius' Birthday
Lichun Festival
Lantern Festival
festival, temple, lion dance
Traditional lion dance near a temple

4. What is a 'guotie'?
fried dumpling (jiaozi)
rice cake
lucky fish
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 .

5. Which Chinese god is given an offering a week prior to Chinese New Year?
He-He - the Heavenly twins
Zao Jun - the Kitchen god
Sun Wukong - the Monkey King
deity, eight immortals, Shandong, Penglai
Statue of the Eight Immortals at Penglai Pavilion, Shandong

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

7. Which day of the New Year festival should you give the family dog a treat?
2nd
5th
4th
Ming dynasty, Forbidden City, lion, Beijing
Gilded bronze, guardian xiezhi statue at Forbidden City, Beijing

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

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

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

11. Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually takes place in which month(s)?
April or May
January or February
January
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

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

13. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2028
2031
2036
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

14. What heralds the start of New Year's day?
drinking vodka
firecrackers
phoenix dances

15. Which color envelope is traditionally used for gifts of money?
blue
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
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