2021 is the year of the Ox: the second in the 12 year cycle, it is believed to be a time of honesty, positivity, stability and nourishment. People born this year are said to be diligent, dependent and steadfast.
Observing the start of the New Year according to the traditional calendar, Chinese New Year is a holiday that is celebrated around the world but predominantly originates in Asian countries. Also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, it is a celebration based on the phases of the moon. Discover more about this festival, including where and when it is observed and some of the most popular ways to celebrate it. We have also included Chinese new year messages, happy Chinese new year greetings and traditional messages.
Table of Contents:
• When (and where!) is Chinese New Year?
• 5 Ways to Celebrate Chinese New Year
• What to write on your Chinese New Year card?
• Traditional Chinese New Year messages
• Happy Chinese New Year Greetings in English
• When to send your Chinese New Year card?
Where and when is Chinese New Year?
One in five of the world’s population are Chinese, and this festival is one of the most widely celebrated on the planet. However, while Lunar New Year is often predominantly associated with China, many cities have similar spring festival celebrations. For example, the Losar of Tibet, the Korean New Year, and the Tết of Vietnam
Each year, the Chinese New Year celebration begins on the new moon that occurs between January 21 and February 20 (according to Western calendars). This means that this year, the 15 day festival starts on Friday February 12th.
Below you can find the dates and animals for New Year for the next three years:
Year
Date
2021: Year of the ox
February 12th
2022: Year of the tiger
February 1st
2023: Year of the rabbit
January 22nd
5 Ways to Celebrate Chinese New Year
There are many ways of celebrating the Lunar New Year, with some traditions being passed on for thousands of years. Some of our favourite ways to celebrate the holiday include:
Attend a Festival
In many places around the world, Chinese New Year is celebrated with parades, dances and festivals. This often includes the Chinese dragon, which is symbolic of good fortune. This year, festivals may not be quite the same, depending on your current county. However there are a range of virtual festivals available on line and there are still lots of opportunities to embrace the spirit of lunar new year via technology.
Gifting Red Packets
Red packets or red envelopes are a popular gift at this time of year. Known as hong bao in Mandarin or lai se in Cantonese, these red packets are believed to bestow blessings on the recipient. The giving of red packets is embedded in Chinese legend, and it is premised upon the belief that they can protect children from the demon, Sui. There are many traditions and superstitions associated with this symbolic gesture. For example, you should gift a rounded number or one that ends in 8 and you should not give an amount with a 4 in it or include any coins.
Feast with the Family
This holiday is about spending time with the family and most people go back to their hometown for New Year’s Eve dinner. This spring migration, or chunyun (春运), is actually the largest annual human migration in the world, with 2.9 billion passenger journeys being made at that time. When it comes to the feast, different countries and regions have different traditional foods for celebrating lunar New Year. For example, in the north of China, the holiday would not be complete without delicious dumplings. Alternately, in Korea, tteokguk is a rice cake soup that is a must-eat at this time of year.
Fireworks
It is said that more fireworks are set off in the entire world on Chinese New Year compared with any other night of the year. The celebration dates back to the Shang Dynasty in 14th Century BC, and is believed that the use of firecrackers kept the man-eating demon Nian from destroying the village. Fireworks are set off at different points during the festival; ending on the first full moon of the lunar year with the Lantern Festival.
What to write on your Chinese New Year card?
If you are struggling figuring out what Chinese New Year message to include in your card, we have lots of different options available. Messages in Lunar New Year cards do tend to be a little formal but feel free to add your own personal touches. However, it should be noted that it is not quite the same as sending cards for other holidays, and there are definitely some words or phrases that are considered not to be appropriate or are believed to be bad luck.
Traditional Chinese New Year messages
Some of the most popular traditional Chinese New Year greetings include:
#1 Happy Spring Festival
春节快乐
(chūnjié kuàilè)
#2 Happy Chinese New Year
新年快乐
(xīn nián kuài lè/ sun nin fai lok)
#3 Happy New Year and we wish your family happiness.
新年快乐，阖家幸福
(xīn nián kuài lè, hé jiā xìng fú)
#4 Wishing you wealth and prosperity!
恭喜发财
(gōng xǐ fā cái)
Happy Chinese New Year Greetings in English
If you prefer to write your Chinese New Year messages in English, you could include phrases such as:
When to send your Chinese New Year card?
When you send your postcard for Chinese New Year will depend on where you are and where your recipient is located. For example, if you are sending your post internationally, you will usually want to give plenty of time in advance. This is particularly important this year, as the COVID pandemic may have affected postal services in some countries.
Top Tip: Use MyPostcard to send Chinese New Year messages from anywhere to anywhere. We have several printing outlets, located in the UK, Australia, Germany and the USA. As a result, we can often offer a quick and speedy delivery to many locations around the world.
Happy Chinese New Year from us to you! May the Year of the Ox bring health, wealth and success to all.
June
Chinese New Year Wishes
Chinese New Year Wishes
Happy New Year! Always welcome the new morning with a new spirit, a smile on your face, love in your heart and good thoughts in your mind.
May wealth always come your way. May it be auspicious and as you wish. A Charm to Bring Satisfaction and Happiness Year by Year.
Let’s go off the demons and move on with the dreams, it’s time to start another year and another set of opportunities. Happy Chinese New Year 2022!
Hope the days ahead are filled with immense joy and prosperity. Happy Chinese New Year.
This New Year, may you find peace from within and may you be capable to spread such contentment around you. Happy Chinese New Year!
May the new year bring in your life joys that never fade, hopes that never die, and strength that never weakens. Wishing you a very happy Chinese New Year.
As you step into the Chinese New Year, may God’s blessings guide you through your limitations and help you rise higher above your weaknesses.
Just as you usher in lights, lanterns and other forms of illuminations to welcome the new year, may the new year usher in for you new hopes, dreams and aspirations. Happy Chinese New Year!
May the New Year bless you with goodness to abandon all vices and embrace all that are virtuous. Happy Chinese New Year!
This new year, do not get impatient if things seem to be going slow for you; remember as long as things are moving, you are lucky. Happy Chinese New Year!
Open your windows to allow good luck to come inside, light up the lanterns with new hopes and aspirations. Happy Chinese New Year!
Wish you wealth and prosperity in life, May good luck follow you in every step and your house be filled with happiness. Xin Nian Kuai Le!
With each passing moment, let us embrace the New Year with a brighter, more colorful, and more joyous future. Happy New Year!
Wishing you joy, gladness and achievement on this starting of a lunar year. May the light of the moon illuminate your paths and guide you always!
Please be ware I will be celebrating Chinese New Year by recklessly shooting firecrackers in public locations for the next two weeks.
Funny Chinese New Year Wishes
Wishing you joy, gladness and achievement on this starting of a lunar year. May the light of the moon illuminate your paths and guide you always!
Cheers to you welcoming the new year and let’s raise a toast to the year of the pig. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Let’s get wild this Chinese new year by not asking the restaurant to leave out the MSG.
Let’s usher in the new year by scaring off a mythological, noise-sensitive, child-eating beast who lives under the sea.
May your Chinese New Year dinning be filled with nothing but the finest yak penis.
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year using the easy to comprehended Western alphabet.
I’m wearing red on Chinese New Year to ward off evil spirits make random white guys slightly homier than usual.
It’s a chance to start anew. Settle your old debts, forgive grudges and give your neighbor back that tool you borrowed months before. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
May your fireworks help ward off evil spirit and not cause my dog to unleash his bowels all over my apartment.
May you receive lots of red envelopes filled with money and a great family gathering except facing the annoying question “Why Are You Still Single?” Good luck in the year ahead!
Happy Chinese new year to someone I’m pretty sure is chinses.
Chinese New Year Card Messages
Happy New Year, I wish you good health and lasting prosperity.
Hope the rising sun will bring with it bundles of joy, happiness and luck. Happy Chinese New Year!
May you find the way to turn all your dreams into reality! May every step of the new year take you higher. May you have the best and happiest new year!
This New Year, realize the fact that Lady Luck blesses only those who are cheerful and optimistic. Happy Chinese New Year!
Best wishes for a festive holiday season filled with joy, luck, health and prosperity. Hope it will be nicer than the last. Enjoy yourself!
Each day of the new year is like a page of a book – potent with lessons and adventures thereby creating memories to last you a lifetime. Happy Chinese New Year!
Here is wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in this New Year. Happy Chinese New Year!
May your heart be filled with happiness, love and contentment as you celebrate the new beginning. Gong Xi Fa cai!
Sending you lots of good wishes for the year ahead. But do remember to appreciate some wonderful moments that you celebrated in the year gone by.
May all your wishes be fulfilled and your happiness be without limit! Happy Chinese New Year!
Let us appreciate the time you have spent working with us! Thank you for taking the time to cooperate and interact with us, we’re very thankful! Enjoy the year with a good laugh and peace!
Lets welcome Chinese New Year year which is fresh and new ,and celebrate this blissful New Year of sheep.
May the New Year give you the courage to adjust the sail and strength to face the challenges of life. Happy Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year Greetings
给你特别的祝福，愿新年带给你无边的幸福、如意。
Gěi nǐ tèbié de zhùfú, yuàn xīnnián dài gěi nǐ wúbiān de xìngfú, rúyì.
A cheery New Year hold lots of happiness for you!
恭贺新禧，万事如意。
Gōnghèxīnxǐ, wànshìrúyì.
Best wishes for the holidays and happiness throughout the New Year.
恭祝健康、幸运，新年快乐。
Gōngzhù jiànkāng, xìngyùn, xīnnián kuàilè.
Good health, good luck and much happiness throughout the year.
另一个美好的一年即将结束，我想花一点时间向您问好2019年农历新年快乐！愿幸福填满你的心，宝藏填满整个家
As another wonderful year comes to an end, I want to take a moment to greet you a Happy Chinese New Year 2022! May happiness fill your heart and treasures fill the home!
愿你所有的新年梦想都成真！
Yuàn nǐ suǒyǒu de xīnnián xiǎng dōu chéng zhēn!
Hope all your New Year dreams come true!
谨祝新年快乐幸福，大吉大利。
Jǐn zhù xīnnián kuàilè xìngfú, dàjídàlì.
I hope you have a most happy and prosperous New Year.
愿新春美景与欢乐常伴随你！
Yuàn xīnchūn měijǐng yǔ huānlè cháng bànsuí nǐ!
May the beauty and joy of New Year remain with you throughout the New Year!
我们是驶向未知未来的同一艘船的乘客。愿新年的希望引导我们朝正确的方向前进！
We’re the passenger of the same boat that’s heading towards an unknown future. May the hopes of the new year guide us in the right direction!
愿新年为你带来快乐，友爱和宁静。
Yuàn xīnnián wèi nǐ dàilái kuàilè, yǒu’ài hé níngjìng.
May the coming New Year bring you joy, love and peace.
Chinese New Year Wishes to Colleagues
It is time to set new goals and work hard to achieve them….. Best wishes on Chinese New Year to my dearest colleague.
I wish that you are blessed with the best Chinese New Year of your life… I wish you all the success and happiness this year.
As we celebrate Chinese New Year, I wish you beautiful celebrations with your loved ones and a successful year at work.
I wish that Chinese New Year bring along many new opportunities for you to grow in life…. I wish a wonderful and Happy Chinese New Year full of success to you.
You are not just my colleague but also my inspiration and my guide and on Chinese New Year, I wish you an amazing and blessed year ahead.
Hope you know how to wish or messages to you dear one in this happy Chinese new year (春节祝福). Send them Chinese new year (中国新年) traditional warmest wishes and greetings on this special occasion.
Raed More:
• Wish you wealth and prosperity in life, May good luck follow you in every step and your house be filled with happiness. Xin Nian Kuai Le!
• May Longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a natural death- the five blessings come to you. Wishing a Happy Chinese New Year of the OX 2021 from my family to yours.
• On this new year, I hope that God's blessings will guide you through all your limitations and help you get over your weaknesses.
• I sincerely wish you happiness, cheerfulness, and success in the upcoming year. I wish you luck in the Year of the Rat. Happy New Year.
• Welcome the New Year with a cute smile on your face and keep smiling through all year round. Have a happy and prosperous new year!
• Wish you success, peace and happiness in the New Year.
• Wishing you joy, gladness and achievement on this starting of a lunar year. May the light of the moon illuminate your paths and guide you always!
• May the joy and happiness surround you today and always. Have a safe and fun Chinese New Year. May Lord bless you.
• Gong Xi Fa Chai! Wishing You a Prosperous Chinese New Year 2022.
• Celebrate and rejoice for making into another year. May the coming New Year bring you joy, love, and peace. Happy Chinese New Year of the OX 2022.
Flower Markets
Flower MarketWhile back home we have our Christmas markets in the run up to the festive period, in Hong Kong it is the flower markets which kick off the celebrations. Whole families attend the bustling markets looking to buy flowers and fruit trees to decorate their homes and bring good luck, wealth and prosperity for the coming year. Each plant comes with a different symbolic meaning and locals will scour through the hundreds of stalls in search of the perfect plants. But these markets have evolved past just flowers and you can find traditional food stalls and gifts too.
2. The Wishing Tree
Visiting the Lam Tsuen wishing tree in Tai Po is a popular custom for the people of Hong Kong. But what’s it all about? Again, it’s about bringing luck for the coming year. Essentially, you write your wishes for the year on a card and attach it to a mandarin. You then throw the mandarin at the wishing tree, with the hope it will land high and not fall down. It’s thought that if the mandarin stays in the tree that your wish will come true! There are also market stalls selling foods and gifts and cultural performances included singing and lion dances. It’s a little out of the way but an easy enough journey by the MTR and a great way to soak up some New Year culture!
Stocking up...on dried sea food!
Hong Kong’s dried seafood market’s get particularly busy in the run up to Chinese New Year, with people stocking up not only for the upcoming feast, but for the year beyond. Fish “yú” (pronounced yoo) sounds very similar to the Chinese word for abundance, and is therefore thought to bring good luck for the year….seeing a theme here?
Spring Cleaning
Yes, spring cleaning is a thing in Hong Kong too! It’s believed to be very important to do a deep clean of your house before Chinese New Year. This is to clean away all the bad luck from the previous year. After that, there’s no cleaning allowed for the first 3 days of the celebrations, you wouldn’t want to sweep away that New Year good luck!
No Arguing Allowed!
So, 恭喜發財 ( gōngxǐ fācái ), 新年快乐 ( xīn nián kuài lè ) or Happy New Year from us here at Teach Beyond Recruitment. Wishing you all the best for the coming year! If that includes starting a new adventure teaching in Hong Kong, then APPLY NOW!