Chinese New Year-Year of the Dog Celebration

By TravelKing, TravelKing 發佈日期Updated: 2018/2/5
The event has ended this year.
The Year of the Dog begins February 16th, 2018, with celebrations lasting for two weeks all the way to the Lantern Festival. Enjoy traditional celebrations of the most fascinating period of Taiwan.
Photo by Eva

Photo by Eva

February 16th, 2018 marks the Chinese New Year, the most important, and most celebrated, of Chinese holidays and this year according to Chinese zodiac is the Year of the Dog. The Chinese New Year Festival is a jubilant occasion for all people. Families and relatives would gather together to enjoy a warm and blissful holiday. People clean their homes to remove bad fortune to encourage good luck, dress in new clothing, buy presents for families and friends and attend lavish events. Children would enjoy great excitements and joys when receiving red envelopes (“hong bao” in Mandarin) with cash inside. There will be a grand family feast on the New Year’s Eve. It’s much like Christmas in every way.

It’s also the time when series of celebration will be held in each city of Taiwan. Throwing firecrackers at Master Han Dan is a special ceremony held annually in Taitung during the Chinese New Year period, which is recognized as one of the three most important Chinese New Year events of Taiwan. The other two well-known celebrations are the Sky Lanterns Festival at Pingxi Township in New Taipei City and the Yanshui Beehive Firecrackers in Tainan.

It’s the best time for visitors to experience and enjoy various festivities including lively shopping streets, fireworks, Dragon & Lion Dances, vivid scene at temples, and thousands of lanterns at the Lantern Festivals held at each Taiwan city, shooting the Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony, throwing firecrackers at Master Han Dan, and many others that you would not want to miss. This is the best time of the year to experience some authentic Chinese culture.
Photo by Eva

Photo by Eva

Besides traditional celebrations, there are some fun facts and amusing customs about the Chinese New Year. TravelKing has listed 10 of them for you to get to know more about the fascinating period of Taiwan.

10 Things to know about Chinese New Year:

1. Chinese call it Lunar New Year or Spring Festival rather than Chinese New Year.
2. It’s a family reunion occasion that people travel back to their hometown and spend the holiday with family.
3. There are 15 days of festivities. Starting February 16th, 2018 all the way to the Lantern Festival in March 2nd.
4. Puns are important. People turn the Chinese character for luck (“fu” in Mandarin) upside down to make “dao,” which sounds like “arrival.” The character is often attached to doors to bring in good fortune for the New Year.
5. Fireworks frighten monsters. Fireworks are a must for Chinese New Year. Legend says a monster named Nian is easily scared off by the loud noises of fireworks.
6. Quirky customs such as forbidding cleaning can be found in Chinese New Year. Since it’s believed to sweep away good luck.
7. People wear red underwear. It’s believed to ward off bad luck.
8. Sweet eats make for a sweet year. Traditional desserts such as babaofan (also known as eight treasure rice), nian gao (rice cake) and sweet soup are a must for Chinese New Year.
9. New clothes and new shoes for New Year.
10. Dumplings are a must eat. Since the shape of dumpling is like ancient Chinese currency, there’s a tradition that people put a coin in one of the dumplings, and the one who get the coin will be wealthy in the New Year.

If you are looking for an enriched cultural tour, Chinese New Year in Taiwan is something you don’t want to miss. Check out more information at our Chinese New Year Guide. TravelKing has selected the best hotel deals for your Chinese New Year travel.

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