Hi guys! Welcome back to “On the go with EF”.
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about New Year’s all around the world.
Now we’ve all come together to talk about Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year.
I invited my friend Corrine from EF London and she’s going to tell us all about it.
Do you guys know when Chinese New Year is?
The first day of the Chinese lunar calendar falls on the first new moon after January 21st.
This year, it will be on this coming Saturday, January 28th.
Chinese New Year’s Eve is the evening before that, on January 27th. That’s tomorrow.
Oh wow!
We celebrate Chinese New Year over 1 – 2 weeks and, in our dictionary, it’s called Spring Festival.
It basically means that after the New Year, spring comes.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries with large Chinese populations like mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Singapore, Thailand and other Asian countries. And by Chinese people around the world.
Can you tell us a little bit more about Chinese New Year?
Yeah, sure!
On New Year’s Eve ̶ the evening before Chinese New Year
most people go back to their home towns to their families
to sit with their parents and relatives at a round table, usually, to have the reunion dinner together.
That’s the most important thing we have to do on that evening.
Before that, we try to clean our houses to sweep away dust, as well as bad luck, to prepare for the New Year.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, it’s more about being together with family and friends.
After that, we start going door to door to our relatives
to distribute our well-known red envelopes to the younger people in the family.
I would assume that no one here is married yet.
No! Not yet!
Then you’re lucky because if you’re not married, you’re the younger generation in your family
and you get to have the New Year red envelope!
I prepared something for you guys. Here’s yours.
Is it okay if I open mine? Sure, go ahead.
What currency is this? Is this Chinese? Chinese Yuan.
Oh my gosh. Is it enough for a ticket? Because I’m going to have to spend this soon.
This is awesome. Thank you.
It looks really new.
Yes. The money itself has to be new in these red envelopes.
Because of the New Year. Oh, really?
So, basically, everyone goes to the bank in China. Yes, we do go to the bank to get new money.
Are there any special treats or a special dish that’s typical for Chinese New Year?
Yes. For the cooked food, two things are really important.
One is the rice cake.
In Chinese, it’s called “nian gao” and it means “year” and “grow.”
It literally means “grow every year,” so it’s a very good thing in Chinese.
It is eaten all over China, for sure. Another one is the sweet dumpling.
It’s round, so the meaning of it is “a union of the family” and we also eat it on Chinese New Year.
And for snacks, here we can see some that we eat for Chinese New Year.
This is the mandarin we eat.
And when we watch the New Year TV program, we eat a lot of sunflower seeds. Have a try!
That’s a healthy snack. A great snack. It is!
Then we have some sweets with peanuts. Peanuts are also a very good symbol in China.
Is it an omen of bad luck or anything if you’re allergic to peanuts?
Rice crackers are also something we eat as snacks when we’re watching TV.
So, these are like your chips.
It’s our chips, yes. It’s a little bit salty, a little bit sweet.
Really good! Nice. Is it more salty or more sweet?
More sweet, I’d say or …it’s a combination. Yeah, it’s a combination.
You brought a bunch of really cool things. I really like this dragon over here.
Is this how you would usually decorate the house for the New Year?
For Chinese New Year, the main color should be red.
So it’s red everywhere, as you can see here. The decorations are mostly gold on red background.
And we always have lanterns either in the shopping malls or at home.
There is also the Chinese calligraphy on the red paper background which is usually stuck on the door.
And, of course, we have the red envelopes
and you would see orchids everywhere either in the shopping malls or at home.
We also have a little bamboo and cherry or plum blossom trees.
OK! What does it say?
It says to have a Happy New Year and also to have a wealthy life.
We do put a lot of importance on wealth.
Even on the Chinese calligraphy you would see a lot of things about happiness and a wealthy life.
Corrine, I was wondering about this rooster on the table. Does it have any significance?
Yes, the most important thing!
This year is actually the Year of the Rooster. Here it is.
A rooster usually means getting up early in the morning and being very punctual.
This is what we’re supposed to do in the New Year.
So, wake up early and be on time.
If you’re born in the year of the Rooster, you’ll get the Rooster sign.
I was born in the year of the Tiger, so here it is. It means “strong.”
I did a bit of a background check on every one of you.
Call me creepy, but …. Now I know what animal signs you have.
You’re first. Do you know what yours is?
I actually do. Oh, tell me.
I am the year of the Ox. Correct. Here you go.
Ox is a sign of determination and being strong as well.
You’re a very determined person.
I like that. Determined. That’s a much better term.
Elenor. She was born in the year of the Rat. Rats represent pretty, lovely, cute and smart.
Great! Those aren’t really the characteristics I think of when I think of a rat.
But it sounds good anyways. I’ll take it! Rat … I saw your face. They’re very smart!
Here we go for Filip. Call it a sheep or goat.
It’s cute. It’s a goat.
A goat would be gentle and has delicate thoughts. I hope you like it.
Oh yeah, I love it. Thank you very much. It’s really cute. And with a little bell! Nice.
Last, but not least, Maria. She was born in the year of the Horse.
A horse is lively, active, animated and energetic.
Okay! I like that. That’s a pretty one, too.
Corrine, thank you so much. It was so interesting to find out about the different zodiac signs
and I like to know that I’m a dedicated, energetic, active horse. It’s very good.
Down below, we’ve put all the different zodiac signs based on your year of birth.
Why don’t you guys check out what zodiac sign you are.
Comment below on what you think about it,
and the winner with the best comment is going to get this lucky charm.
Ooooh. It’s very Chinese.
It’s made with little coins. I know. It’s really cool.
Now we’ve learned so much about the Chinese New Year.
How do you actually say “Happy New Year” in Chinese?
“Happy New Year” in Mandarin is “xīnnián kuàilè”.
And if you want to wish someone wealth, then it is ”gōngxǐ fācái “.
That’s correct!
Thank you all for watching and we’ll see you next week.
Happy New Year of the Rooster!
Bye guys!