The Year of the Rabbit

Happy Chinese New Year! This year, the Chinese New Year falls on January 22nd and ends with the Lantern Festival, taking place on February 9th.

In 2023, we celebrate the year of the rabbit and in Chinese astrology, the rabbit is known to be clever, cultured and creative, fancy!  Here’s the good news, if you’re born in the year of the rabbit, you are described as vigilant, witty, quick minded and ingenious – lucky you! So before we get into the rest of the blog, let us give you a quick overview of how it all began. According to legend, many years ago the emperor wanted a new way of measuring time – a different sort of New Year. He proposed a swimming race, and the first 12 animals to cross the river will have a year named after them. The Rat crossed first, by travelling across on the Ox’s back, the Ox came second, followed by the Tiger, then the Rabbit. The Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig all followed to create the 12 Chinese calendar years.

So, what really is the Chinese New Year? Here’s 5 things you probably didn’t know about the celebration:

Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival

This holiday marks the end of the coldest winter days and people start to celebrate the arrival of Spring- this means new beginnings, new life and fresh starts.

Red Pockets are given out during the holiday

Red Pockets are red envelopes which contain money! The red is a symbol of good luck, and the money is to help transfer good fortune. Red pockets can be given between families, bosses and employees, co-workers and friends too! Colin wanted you to know he’s open to receiving Red Pockets, please send to PandaHQ.

You can eat dumplings all day long

It’s tradition that the food of choice during the Chinese New Year is dumplings! This is because the shape of a dumpling resembles ancient Chinese money therefore bringing you good luck and fortune. The traditional way to celebrate Chinese New Year is to eat dumplings at midnight – that’s worth staying up for! . You’ll get through a lot of dumplings though, so it’s a great time of year to get creative in the kitchen, here’s an easy vegan recipe to follow to get you started - https://www.easychineserecipes.com/vegan-dumplings/  

These are the things you should avoid during the Chinese New Year

There are several things you should avoid doing during the celebration if you want to ensure a lucky year ahead. These include no haircuts, sweeping, throwing out the rubbish, using sharp objects and avoid taking medicine! There’s lots to remember but it’s all in the name of good fortune.

The Chinese New Year is a global celebration

From London to Australia, you’ll find celebrations to get involved in all over the world. Parades, lion dances, lanterns and amazing food can be found globally during the festive period. It’s an incredible celebration of culture and history!

From all of us here at PandaHQ we wish you a very Happy New Year, or 新年快乐 and hope you enjoy this special time of year with loved ones.


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