Chinese year has its own energy exactly like the Georgian New year and even more important - is the Astrological year, that starts with the spring Equinox on March 21st.

Celebrating the Beginnings is an alignment of our energy to the new fresh start that the Universe present to us. This is exactly like setting intensions on the New Moon to benefit the most from its cosmic encouraging energy.

Chinese New Year is celebrated for sixteen days (from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival). The preparations start half a month before Chinese New Year's Eve. (1st of February, 2022). Many celebration activities for this period are traditional customs, but some are quite new.

What we want to do, is to learn from the Chinese tradition what suits us and reflects the correct action for aligning the energy to start another 12 months in harmony and blessings.

Here is a daily guide to tell you how to celebrate Chinese New year like Chinese people do for New Year in 2022.

Pre-Chinese New Year Preparations (Jan. 10–30, 2022) Some Chinese start to celebrate and prepare for Chinese New Year as early as day 8 of the 12th month of the lunar calendar. This is a festival called Laba '12th lunar month' + '8'), in the traditional sense, which marks the beginning of the Spring Festival. In 2022, it corresponds to January 10th. However, the main activity on this day is to pray to Universe or God for fortune and a successful harvest. The main food include the Laba porridge Laba congee , which is very similar to "3ashoura|" in Islamic Fatimid culture. It's like rice pudding dish, it represents the way to enlightenment and has a nice legend behind it.

Jan. 25, 2022: Little Year

The Little Year marks the beginning to do preparation for Chinese New Year. From this day, people begin to prepare goods, clean house, pray to God for Food Blessings, etc.

It expresses people's good wishes to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the New Year. Due to different customs around the year, the dates of the Little Year are not the same. It is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month in northern China and the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month in most parts of southern China.

Little New Year, which falls about a week before the lunar New Year, is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity who oversees the moral character of each household.

We will celebrate this by giving food away, offering pardons for our incorrect dead, try to forgive and reach out for those we had any misunderstanding with and make things right.

Jan. 26, 2022: House-Cleaning

Beginning on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month Chinese people carry out a thorough ‘winter-cleaning’ of their houses. This is called "sweeping away the dust", and represents a wish to put away old things, bid farewell to the old year, and welcome in the New Year.

This has to be a deep cleaning for the House, we also should get rid of old things that we do not use and declutter the house, to create room for the new.

Jan. 25–30, 2022: New Year Shopping

Before Chinese New Year’s Eve, people buy New Year’s food and snacks, New Year's decorations, and New Year's clothes, fireworks, etc. The concept of spending is very important here as it reflects the Abundance and the state of mind that I manifest having money to be able to buy a lot of stuff. This is a tool of applying the law of attraction.

Chinese New Year's Eve (Jan. 31, 2022)

1. Putting Up New Year Decorations Houses are decorated with red lanterns, red spring couplets, paper cuttings, and New Year's paintings. Putting up those decorations is thought to keep evil away and pray for blessing, longevity, health, and peace. 2022 is a Year of the Water Tiger, so tiger images will appear on decorations.

- Chinese Red Lanterns — Drive Off Bad Luck

- Door Couplets — Best Wishes for the Coming Year

- Paper Cuttings — Luck and Happiness

- Upside-Down Fu Characters — Luck 'Poured Out'

- Kumquat Trees — a Wish for Wealth and Good Luck

- Blooming Flowers — Wishes for a Prosperous New Year

- Orchids - Fertility and Abundance

- Peach blossoms - Prosperity and Growth

- Plum blossoms - Endurance and Courage

- Peonies - Richness and Peace

- Pussy Willows - Growth and Prosperity

- Narcissus or Water Fairy Flowers - Good Fortune and Prosperity

- Fruits

- Oranges - Abundance and Happiness

- Pomelos - Good Luck and Family Unity

- Grapes, Plums, Jujube (a type of date) and Kumquats - Good Luck and Prosperity

2. Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors Offering sacrifices to ancestors shows respect and piety. In addition, ancestral spirits are believed to protect their descendants and help them become prosperous. Many worships on Chinese New Year's Eve, before the reunion dinner, to show that they are letting their ancestors "eat" first. Offerings of meat, wine, joss sticks, and joss paper are placed in front of the shrine/grave.

3. Enjoying a Reunion Dinner The New Year's Eve reunion dinner is a "must-do" dinner with all family members reuniting. Chinese try very hard to make this family event. Big families including several generations sit at round tables and enjoy the food and time together. Dishes with lucky meanings must be included in the dinner such as fish, dumplings (similar to Sambousak with meat) as it represents a bag full of money, Nian Gao (sticky rice cake), and spring rolls. Many New Year foods are symbolic.

- Fish — an Increase in Prosperity

- How a Fish Is Eaten Matters a Lot

The fish should be the last dish left with some left over, as this has auspicious homophonics for there being surpluses every year.

• The head should be placed toward distinguished guests or elders, representing respect.

• Diners can enjoy the fish only after the one who faces the fish head eats first.

• The fish shouldn't be moved. The two people who face the head and tail of fish should drink together, as this is considered to have a lucky meaning.

- Chinese Dumplings — Wealth

- Spring Rolls — Wealth

- Glutinous Rice Cake — a Higher Income or Position

- Sweet Rice Balls — Family Togetherness

- Longevity Noodles — Happiness and Longevity

- Good Fortune Fruit — Fullness and Wealth

4. Giving Red Envelopes (Lucky Money) to Kids Parents usually give their children red envelopes after the reunion dinner, wishing them health, growth, and good studies in the coming year. Money in red envelopes is believed to bring good luck, as red is China's lucky color, so it's called lucky money.

5. Staying Up Late This custom is called shousui. In the past, Chinese people used to stay up all night, but now most stay up only until midnight firecrackers and fireworks die down.

Chinese New Year's Day (Feb. 1, 2022)

Chinese people believe that what they do on the first day of the lunar year will affect their luck during that year.

1. Setting Off Firecrackers and Fireworks The moment New Year arrives there is a cacophony of fireworks and firecrackers all around, even in rural China. Families stay up for this joyful moment. In many rural areas, it's customary to set off firecrackers before dinner, each day from New Year's Eve to day 3 of CNY. See Why Chinese New Year Must Have Firecrackers. It's believed that the louder the firecrackers, the better and luckier it will be for business and farming in the coming year. Kids, with (mini) firecrackers in one hand and a lighter in another, cheerfully celebrate by throwing the small explosives one-by-one on the street whilst plugging their ears. 2. Putting on New Clothes and Extending New Year Greetings On the first day of New Year, Chinese people put on new clothes, and say "gong-sshee/literally ‘respectful joy’, meaning 'greetings' or 'best wishes'), wishing each other good luck and happiness in the New Year. It is customary for the younger generation to visit their elders, and wish them health and longevity. In recent years, a new way to do New Year greetings has appeared, especially among the young. People who are too busy to visit their friends or relatives send a New Year's card, a WeChat red envelope, or a text message instead.

Lucky Sayings and Phrases

One of the most famous traditional greetings for Chinese New Year is the Cantonese kung hei fat choi, literally ‘greetings, become rich’. In Mandarin that’s gongxi facai /gong-sshee faa-tseye/.

Chinese people greet one another with lucky sayings and phrases to wish health, wealth and good fortune when they meet during the Chinese New Year.

Here are 30 most popular Chinese New Year greetings and wishes (with their Chinese characters, pinyin Romanization for Mandarin Chinese, and English translation).

These happy New Year messages, well wishes and quotes will enable you share the joy and love during the festive period.

Beginnings of Greetings and Sayings

Greeting an older (or respected) person is a little different in Chinese: nín for 'you', instead of the common nǐ. For example:

祝您……

Zhu nín... (/joo neen/)

Wish you (older/respected) ...

祝你……

Zhu nǐ ... (/joo nee/)

Wish you (younger/informal) ...

10 Popular Chinese New Year Greetings and Sayings

1. 新年好

Xīnnián hǎo

Happy New Year

2. 过年好

Guònián hǎo

Happy New Year

3. 新年快乐

Xīnnián kuàilè

Happy New Year

4. 新春快乐

Xīnchūn kuàilè

Happy 'New Spring'

5. 春节快乐

Chūnjié kuàilè

Happy Spring Festival

6. 吉祥如意

jíxiáng rúyì

Good fortune according to your wishes

7. 年年有余

Niánnián yǒuyú

Surplus year-after-year

8. 吉星高照

Jíxīng gāozhào

Fortune will smile on you ('lucky star high shines')

9. 心想事成

Xīnxiǎng shì chéng

May all your wishes come true.

10. 大吉大利

Dàjí dàlì

Lots of luck and profits

Greetings and Wishes for Health

1. 龙马精神

Lóng mǎ jīngshén

The spirit of the dragon and horse

2. 身体健康

Shēntǐ jiànkāng

Enjoy good health

3. 机灵活泼

Jīlíng huópō

A bright and lively spirit (especially used for children under the age of 10, wishing them to be active and smart)

Greetings and Sayings at Work and for Business

1. 恭喜发财

Gōngxǐ fācái

Happiness and prosperity (use this when receiving gifts or lucky money)

2. 财源广进

Cáiyuán guǎngjìn

'Enter broadly wealth's source'

3. 工作顺利

Gōngzuò shùnlì

May your work go smoothly

4. 事业有成

Shìyè yǒuchéng

Success in your career

5. 平步青云

Píngbù qīngyún

Have a meteoric rise (usually to wish for promotions)

6. 马到成功

Mǎ dào chénggōng

Instant success

7. 步步高升

Bùbù gāoshēng

Promotions at every step

8. 一帆风顺

Yīfān fēngshùn

May your life go smoothly.

9. 升官发财

Shēngguān fācái

Win promotion and get rich

10. 生意兴隆

Shēngyì xīnglóng

Prosperous business

Greetings and Wishes for Students

1. 学业有成

Xuéyè yǒuchéng

Prosperous business

2. 学习进步

Xuéxí jìnbù

Progress in studies

3. 金榜题名

Jīnbǎng tímíng

Success in the examination (for those taking an important examination, including students.

Greetings and Wishes for the Family

1. 阖家欢乐

Héjiā huānlè

Felicity of the whole family

2. 阖家幸福

Héjiā xìngfú

Happiness for the whole family

Funny New Year Greeting

恭喜发财，红包拿来

Gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo ná lái

Wishing you happiness and prosperity; give me a red envelope.

Use this to greet someone if you're expecting lucky money. Only say this to close friends and relations. Don't say it to strangers or in a formal setting, to avoid looking presumptuous or ridiculous.

New Year: Day 2 (Feb. 2, 2022)

Traditionally married daughters visit their parents’ home on the second day of Chinese New Year. They bring gifts and red envelopes to families and relatives. On this day, people offer sacrifices to the God of Wealth, wishing for a luckier and more prosperous year.

New Year: Days 3–7 (Feb. 3–7, 2022)

From the third to the seventh day of New Year, Chinese people visit relatives and friends. On the third day, some people go to visit the tombs of their relatives, but others think being outside there on the third day is inauspicious because evil spirits roam around.

The first house-sweep of the New Year: Chinese people don't clean their homes during the first two days of New Year, as sweeping then is believed to sweep away the good luck accrued by the litter of firecrackers, red paper, wrappers, and other evidence of celebration on the floor.

New Year: Day 8 (Feb. 8, 2022)

People normally return to work on the eighth day. As eight is the luckiest number in China, most businesses like to reopen on day 8 of the New Year. New Year: Day 15 (Feb. 15, 2022), the Lantern Festival The fifteenth day of the New Year is the Lantern Festival. It is the traditional end of Spring Festival celebrations. Some people send glowing lanterns into the sky, while others release floating lanterns onto the sea, onto rivers, or adrift in lakes.

As it is important to know what to do for New Chinese year it is even more important to know what you should not do.

Taboos

New Years eve Jan 31st & the first day of the lunar year Feb 1st.

1. Avoid taking medicine.

2. Don't sweep or take out garbage.

3. Don't eat porridge and meat for breakfast.

4. Don't wash clothes and hair.

5. Needlework should not be done.

6. A married daughter is not allowed to visit the house of her parents.

7. Keep children from crying.

8. Avoid breaking tools or other equipment

9. No visiting hospital.

10. Avoid being stolen.

11. Avoid borrowing money.

12. The rice jar should not be empty.

13. Don't wear damaged clothes.

14. No killing, even insects.

15. Do not wear white or black.

16. Don't give certain gifts.

Don't give certain gifts, like clocks, scissors, and pears, as they have a bad meaning in Chinese culture.

1. Sharp Objects - Cut Off Relationship

2. The Number 4 - Sounds Like Death

That is why there is no floor four in some buildings and hotels, for example. Often a number 8 is added in front of the 4 for hotel rooms on the fourth floor.

3. Shoes - Evil

4. Handkerchiefs - Saying Goodbye Forever

5. Clocks - Bad Luck

6. Pears - Parting

7. Cut Flowers - Presents for Funerals

8. Umbrellas - Break Up

9. Black or White Objects - Often Used in Funerals

10. Mirrors - Attract Ghosts

"Gong-sshee' To All

& kung hei fat choi, and become rich during this year of Blessings