Chinese New Year Eve

Chuxi (New Year’s Eve) is the last evening of a year. In Chinese, Chu literally means remove or change, and Xi means night. Thus Chuxi implies that the New Year will replace the old year and come that night.

Before New Year's Eve, each family also sticks on their doors spring couplets. Besides, family reunion dinner, sacrificing to the ancestors, watching China Spring Festival Party on CCTV, and staying up till 12 o'clock, are the major celebrating activities in New Year’s Eve.

During or after the dinner, the whole families sit together, chatting and watching TV, and stay up late till the morning of the next day, this is called Shou Sui (keep the passed year). The houses are lit up brightly with lamps both outside and inside of the house.

People usually set off firecrackers when the first day of the new year comes, that is after 12:00 am on the New Year’s Eve. Early in the morning of the 1st of the first lunar month they go to their relatives and friends' to send their regards and congratulations, and the happy atmosphere can last to the Lantern’s Day, that is the fifteenth day of the new year.