Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a 15-day festival!
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, is a 15-day festival that is celebrated annually depending on the sighting of the new moon. The occasion is also known as the Spring Festival, and an animal is associated with each New Year. The animals rotate and repeat according to a fixed cycle.
Since its first edition in the current format (2014), the Chinese New Year has become a cultural event of reference in Barcelona. The celebration has achieved a great citizen and media repercussion, not only in the national and regional media, but also in China.
The Chinese New Year in Barcelona will be celebrated this year on Saturday January 21 and will consist of a big party with a big parade through the streets of Barcelona that will start at 11:00 am in Vilanova Street. As usual, from 12:00 h there will be shows and a gastronomic fair in Arc de Triomf that will last all day. The activities will last until February 9.
Like many major holidays, Lunar New Year is best spent with family and friends. The tradition is so crucial that LNY travel is annually heralded as the ‘world’s largest human migration’ – at least until Covid-19. In 2019, three billion trips were made during the holiday season.
Celebrations to usher out the old year and bring forth the luck and prosperity of the new one, therefore, often include firecrackers, fireworks, and red clothes and decorations. Young people are given money in colourful red envelopes. In addition, Chinese New Year is a time to feast and to visit family members.
Traditional Lunar New Year foods include longevity noodles, a whole steamed fish for abundance, sticky rice balls for togetherness, and more. Below you'll find some of those lucky foods, along with other traditional dishes like dumplings and rice cakes.
According to the Cantonese speaking Southern Chinese, giving Mandarin oranges ('song gam') sounds like 'giving gold'; thus, the giving of mandarin oranges is a gesture of wishing prosperity to the recipient. While giving Mandarin oranges, do give them in a pair (or several pairs) for good luck.
As is probably already very well-known, red is the top Chinese lucky color and represents strength and prosperity. After the festival has passed, many may go back to their normal-colored clothes.
The colour red brings literal wealth in the form of red lai see packets gifted to children and unmarried adults during the holiday. These packets are cash gifts that can range from a few dollars to quite hefty amounts, depending on the relationship to the recipient. Employers are also expected to gift red packets to unmarried employees as a sign of gratitude.
For Seollal celebrations in Korea, these presents take the form of red satchels, and monetary gifts are accompanied by encouraging messages and blessings of good luck for the new year.
At WRC we would like to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year!
