Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)
春节
The most important festival in Chinese culture, celebrating the turning of the lunar year.
Origin Story
The Legend of Nian
According to Chinese mythology, the Spring Festival originated from the battle against Nian, a fearsome beast that lived beneath the sea or in the mountains. Once a year, on the eve of the lunar new year, Nian would emerge to devour livestock, crops, and even children.
The people discovered that Nian feared three things: the color red, loud noises, and bright lights. So they began pasting red paper couplets on their doors, lighting lanterns through the night, and setting off firecrackers to drive the beast away. When Nian was defeated, the people celebrated with feasts and greetings of 'Guo Nian' — which literally means 'passing the Nian.'
This ancient myth lives on in every modern Spring Festival tradition: the red decorations, the midnight firecrackers, the lion and dragon dances, and the staying up late on New Year's Eve (shousui) all trace back to the vigilance kept against Nian.
The Spring Festival, known in China as Chunjie and globally as Lunar New Year, is the grandest and most significant festival in Chinese culture. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar and is a time for family reunion, ancestor veneration, and driving away evil spirits to welcome good fortune.
Powers & Symbols
Attributes & Artefacts
Click each card to reveal the details behind Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)'s divine attributes.
Historical & Cultural Meaning
Beyond the Myth
The Reunion Dinner
The centerpiece of the Spring Festival is the New Year's Eve reunion dinner (nian ye fan). No matter how far away family members have traveled for work or study, they make every effort to return home for this single meal. It is the most important gathering of the year.
Every dish carries symbolic meaning. Fish (yu) is served whole because the word sounds like 'surplus' — may you have abundance year after year. Dumplings (jiaozi) are shaped like ancient gold ingots and symbolize wealth. Glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) represent family unity and completeness. Long noodles are eaten unbroken for longevity.
In northern China, families gather to make dumplings together on New Year's Eve, hiding a coin inside one for good luck. In the south, sticky rice cake (nian gao) is essential, as 'nian gao' sounds like 'higher each year' — a wish for continuous improvement.
Red Envelopes and Spring Couplets
Red envelopes (hongbao) filled with money are given to children and elders during the Spring Festival. The tradition stems from the belief that the red color and the money (ya sui qian, 'money to suppress evil') would protect the recipient from harm. Today, digital red envelopes sent through WeChat have become a modern twist on this ancient custom.
Spring couplets (chunlian) are pairs of poetic lines written on red paper and pasted on either side of doorways. They express wishes for the coming year — prosperity, health, harmony, and success. The tradition of pasting red couplets also echoes the ancient defense against Nian.
Other essential decorations include the character 'Fu' (fortune) pasted upside down on doors — because 'upside down' (dao) sounds like 'arrive,' meaning fortune has arrived. Paper cuttings of zodiac animals and the character 'Xi' (double happiness) adorn windows and walls.
The Fifteen Days
The Spring Festival spans fifteen days, each with its own customs. Day 1 is for visiting elders and exchanging New Year greetings. Day 2 is for married daughters visiting their parents. Day 5 is 'Po Wu,' when people welcome the God of Wealth by setting off firecrackers. Day 7 is 'Renri,' the birthday of all human beings.
The festival culminates on Day 15 with the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Jie), when families light and display colorful lanterns, eat glutinous rice balls, and solve lantern riddles. This night of celebration marks the official end of the Spring Festival season.
Throughout the fifteen days, taboos are observed: no sweeping (lest you sweep away good fortune), no crying or arguing, no breaking dishes, and no hair-cutting during the first month — all practices rooted in centuries of folk belief.
Mythology Relationship
ConnectedEntities
The myths of Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) weave through a larger web of gods, creatures, and legends.
Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)
Nian
Kitchen God
Chinese Dragon
Fenghuang
Lantern Symbolism
Yuanbao (Gold Ingot) Symbolism
Nian
The beast that gave birth to Chinese New Year.
Kitchen God
The hearth deity who watches over every household and reports to heaven.
Chinese Dragon
The most powerful and beloved symbol in Chinese culture.
Fenghuang
The Chinese phoenix — a symbol of virtue, grace, and imperial harmony.
Lantern Symbolism
The red lantern that lights the way home — a symbol of reunion, joy, and the triumph of light over darkness.
Yuanbao (Gold Ingot) Symbolism
The boat-shaped gold ingot of imperial China — the very shape of wealth and prosperity.