Do you or your whole family celebrate Chinese New Year? Then you may now be in search of the most engaging Chinese New Year activities for adults and kids to make this annual celebration more unforgettable.
You should prepare yourself, though, as Chinese New Year is definitely one of the busiest times of the year for everyone involved. You will have to think of a lot of things like the rituals to do and prepare at home and how to deal with your guests and the crowd if you are inviting some people.
It is crucial to know how to entertain not just the kids but also adults during this special time of the year. Fortunately, you can now get incredible ideas through this article.
What To Do Before and During New Year’s Day?
Start your Chinese New Year right by committing to doing a massive clean-up of your entire home. Based on Chinese beliefs, top-down clean-up can help in sweeping out the negativity and bad luck that you may have gotten from the past year.
It is also crucial to do the cleanup before New Year as you will not have a chance to do it once the event is over. Also, ensure that you keep your brushes and brooms locked away firmly and securely as the event is still up. Do not sweep the floors during the actual event as it may only lead to you sweeping away positivity and good fortune.
On New Year’s Eve, it is important to do the following:
- Open every window and door of your house once midnight comes – This should help in releasing the past year freely.
- Greet each person you meet with well-wishes – You need to say “Gung Hey Fat Choy” to anyone you meet as it means “Wishing you prosperity and wealth”. As much as possible see several family members and friends, so you can be of help in spreading positive vibes and good wishes for the coming years.
- Include red, which means happiness, orange, which means happiness and wealth, and gold in your choices of colors when planning to decorate your home. Use tangerines and oranges as covers for the tabletops.
- Never use white – Avoid using white in any of your decorations or the foods you are serving. The reason behind this is that white signifies death, so never serve foods in white or any other food that contains cream. In addition, you also have to avoid white-colored tablecloths, table napkins, or anything that looks white.
- Never wash hair during New Year’s Day – Also, take extra care when using chopsticks during mealtimes, so you can prevent them from dropping. The reason is that if you drop the chopsticks at mealtime during this day, it will only invite bad luck.
By doing these tips, your Chinese New Year’s Day celebration will definitely coincide with your beliefs and culture.
Fun and Interesting Chinese New Year Activities for Adults
If you want yourself and the adults in your family to make your Chinese New Year celebration more memorable and meaningful, then here are the fascinating activities you can do:
Make Chinese New Year decorations
Your Chinese New Year celebration will turn out to be too plain if you do not pair it up with the appropriate decorations. Ensure that the atmosphere is as festive as possible by creating paper lanterns on your own and hanging them around your house as decorations.
It is even possible for you to make a paper dragon, so you can give your decorations brighter colors. Do you want to make fun, crafty, and useful items? Then make a dragon fortune teller. After creating one, you will surely have unlimited fun as you play with what you created.
Commit to exchanging red envelopes
You can also commit to exchanging red envelopes as this is considered a historic and famous tradition during the yearly celebration of Chinese New Year. What happens is you give your friends and family red envelopes as you also get the same in return. These red envelopes contain money, which symbolizes best wishes and good luck for the upcoming year.
An important rule when doing this tradition is to open the red envelopes you received only after you have parted ways with the givers. It is also crucial to put new bills in the envelope. Do not put coins.
This famous tradition can also be replicated by giving money to the people close to you if you can afford it. Make it a point to write notes for the recipients of your red envelopes, too.
Let’s say, for example, you wish to exchange the envelopes with your workmates and colleagues. Here, you can also write a note, which indicates how thankful you are for all the help you received from them the past year.
Do spring cleaning
During your celebration of the Chinese New Year, it helps to take part in a spring clean, which is part of Chinese’ traditions. It is also a productive activity for both adults and kids. The reason is that it is something that can be done whether at school, home, or work.
One way to do this is to collaborate with your workmates, so you can schedule a cleanup time in your office. Encourage the members of your family to gather a few things that you can donate to others.
Aside from decluttering your space, making this a habit every Chinese New Year can provide you with a clean environment and a fresh mindset for the coming year. Cleaning away dirt is also the key to eliminating any misfortune or bad luck from the past year.
Do a dragon dance
In China, dragons symbolize power, strength, and boldness. As a matter of fact, the Chinese believe that their dragons possess more power and strength compared to the weather, like floods and hurricanes. They also believe that these dragons can supply them with blessings and good fortune.
You should, therefore, make it a habit to do a dragon dance during your New Year celebration, so you can get rid of bad and evil spirits. Driving out all these negativities will let you embrace prosperity and positivity.
Play ping pong or mahjong
As part of the most commonly played Chinese games, ping pong and mahjong will also be fascinating enough for adults, especially when played during Chinese New Year. Basically, mahjong comprises of tiles and you can play with them using a physical board. Nowadays, though, there are already online platforms for playing mahjong.
Meanwhile, ping pong is also nice to try during Chinese New Year since it is China’s national sport. It is a famous sport in China, which is why they were able to bag so many Olympic medals that signify their many wins during the Olympics (ping pong category).
Prepare and light up some fireworks
Many of those who celebrate Chinese New Year say that this event is incomplete without fireworks displays. This is the reason why you can see fireworks being widespread throughout the entire country during this annual event.
Participate in this tradition by lighting your own fireworks during the event or just looking at the marvelous displays. If possible, use indoor fireworks that serve as fantastic substitutes for actual light shows that have colors.
It is also possible to do this activity outdoors. Regardless if you do this indoors or outdoors, though, your goal is to ensure that the ones you are using for your fireworks displays are proven non-toxic and safe.
Take time to visit a temple
A visit to the temple is one of the most commonly done activities of those who make it a point to celebrate Chinese New Year. If you are interested to visit a temple, you will be pleased to know that there are several cities that host temple fairs during this annual event. A visit here will let you enjoy traditional music and carnival games.
You can even enjoy your favorite foods and your preferred dances at these sites. It is also a good idea to visit a temple during this festive time of the year to pray for your heart’s desires. It could be for good health, fortune, and wealth. You are even allowed to offer something to the gods then burn some incense afterwards.
Conclusion
In most cases, Chinese New Year activities for adults are meant to help participants start anew every year. Doing any of these activities will let you embrace the festive event. It is also a good way to set yourself up for success, positivity, and good fortune/luck the next year.