Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year this year is on the 25thJanuary and this year is going to be the year of the rat. With the New Year falling on Saturday 25th January, the festival will last to February 8th, for about 15 days. The legal holiday is seven days long, from the lunar New Year’s Eve to the sixth day of the first Lunar month.
Chinese New Year Traditions
There are many traditions associated with the Chinese New Year but there are several which are more important.
- New Year’s Eve Dinner- the most important dinner for the Chinese. Normally this will be the family reunion dinner for those living away from home.
- Fireworks- are used to drive evil away in China, as right after 1pm on New Year’s Eve, fireworks will be launched to celebrate the coming of the New Year as well as to drive away the evil.
- Shou Sui – means ‘after the New Year’s Eve Dinner’ as family members will normally stay awake during the night.
- Red Packets - The Red Packet is an envelope with money in it, which ranges from one to a few thousand Chinese Yuan.
- New Year Markets- in the course of the new year days, a temporary market will be setup to mainly selling New Year goods, such as clothing, fireworks, decoration and food.
- Small Year- is the 23th or 24th of the last month of the year. Said that this is the day the food god will leave the family in order to go to heaven and report the activity of the family to the Emperor of the heaven.
The Zodiac Signs
There are 12 Zodiac signs and there has been a relationship between human and the 12 zodiacal animals. It is believed that the years represented by the animals affect the characters of people in the same was western astrology signs. The Zodiac sign for Chinese New Year 2020 is the rat!
There are lucky things associated with each Zodiac sign, the lucky things for people born in the year of the rat are; numbers 2 & 3, 4th & 13th of every Chinese lunar month, colours blue, gold and green. Unlucky things include yellow, brown, 5 & 9, directions south and southeast.
Cakes for Chinese New Year
If you know someone celebrating the Chinese New Year make sure they have yummy cake to celebrate with. We have a whole selection of cakes and flavours to choose from, perfect for anyone celebrating in the UK. Flavours include, Victoria, lemon, coffee, chocolate, carrot, rocky road and many more. There are also gluten free and vegan options as well! You can also add personalisation items to make it extra special as well, with drinks, balloons, candles, greetings cards, and much more.
Our cakes can be delivered directly to someone’s doorstep anywhere in the UK, with next day delivery on orders before 2pm. Perfect for sending friends and family cakes when they do not live near you. Great to let them know you are thinking of them!