The Spring Festival is the largest and most important festival in China. It is the first day of the lunar calendar and usually occurs somewhere between January 30 and February 20, heralding the beginning of spring, thus it is known as Spring Festival. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

Spring Couplets

On the Chinese New Year, families in China decorate their front doors with poetic couplets of calligraphy written with fragrant India ink, expressing the feeling of life's renewal and the return of spring.

It is said that spring couplets originated from "peach wood charms", door gods painted on wood charms in earlier times. During the Five Dynasties (907-960), the Emperor Meng Chang inscribed an inspired couplet on a peach slat, beginning a custom that gradually evolved into today's popular custom of displaying spring couplets.

In addition to pasting couplets on both sides and above the main door, it is also common to hang calligraphic writing of the Chinese characters for "spring", "wealth", and "blessing". Some people will even invert the drawings of blessing since the Chinese for "inverted" is a homonym in Chinese for "arrive", thus signifying that spring, wealth, or blessing has arrived.

Red Packets

Giving Hongbao (red packets or red envelopes) during the Chinese New Year is another tradition. A red packet is simply a red envelope with gift money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth. Red packets are typically handed out to younger generations by their parents, grandparents, relatives, close neighbors, and friends, and usually the immediate family gives Hongbao to the children on New Year's Eve. Money given in this way may not be refused and the pretty envelopes add sincerity to the gift.

The money is also called Ya Sui Qian, meaning "suppressing age money", which is supposed to stop children from getting older. This comes from the belief that everyone becomes one year older on New Year's Day. Red is the lucky color and will bring good luck to the person receiving the present.