The Chinese New Year is one the most celebrated and colourful events across the world and this year is the “year of the rooster” starting on the 28th January 2017.
7 Interesting Facts about the Chinese New Year
1. You can wish someone a happy new year in Chinese by saying xīnnián kuàilè (new year happiness!), xīnnián hǎo (new year goodness!) or gōngxǐ fācái (happiness and prosperity!)
2. Chinese New Year’s date is regulated by the Chinese lunar calendar. That’s the reason why the start date is never fixed and it falls in either January or February each year.
3. 12 different animals give name to the 12 years in the Chinese calendar (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). Each animal is related to a particular element (water, wood, fire or metal) and specific characteristics are associated with each of them. 2017 is the Year of the Rooster and according to Chinese zodiac people born under the Rooster sign are honest, bright, communicative and ambitious.
4. Chinese New Year celebrations can last for two weeks. On New Year’s Eve families have a big dinner together that usually includes fish, dim sum, dumplings and several desserts.
5. Doors and windows are decorated with phrases relating to happiness, wealth and longevity written on red paper. Many older members of the family give the younger ones money in red envelopes as a present.
6. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from eating meat the first day of the year, a practice which is thought to ensure a long life.
7. Before the start of the New Year, houses are cleaned thoroughly to sweep away any bad luck. People also buy new clothes and get their hair cut to have a symbolic fresh start.
Chinese Language Courses
If you wish to learn more about the wondrous Chinese culture and language in the year of the rooster, Cactus Language offers Chinese language courses throughout the UK and China: Mandarin courses in the UK, Cantonese courses in the UK, Mandarin courses in China, Cantonese courses in Hong Kong.
For more information on any of our worldwide language holidays please call us on 01273 830 960 or email us. Our multilingual team will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Cactus language offers the following types of language courses:
Evening language courses: 19 different languages in 10 UK locations
Language holidays: worldwide immersion courses in the country of the language
Private tuition: tailor-made and corporate language training solutions throughout the world
TEFL: teacher training courses for both English and other languages all over the world
Online courses: for teacher training, English and French