This year, China is ushering in the Year of the Horse, the 4,711th New Year of the Chinese calendar, for all you number crunchers.
Firstly, if you turn 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 or, erm, 108 years old between February 2014 and January 2015, it’s your year! You are a Horse! The good news is you are energetic, bright, warm-hearted, intelligent and able. The bad news is you can expect bad luck this year. But don’t worry, there’s a way around it – wear red underwear! Seriously. Also, be generous. By spending (thereby effectively ‘losing’) your money on friends and family, your luck won’t run out, since you’ve fooled it into thinking it already has. So there you go.
Here’s a breakdown of the best things to do for Chinese New Year in Beijing (also called Spring Festival) and when to do them:
Lunar New Year’s Eve
(January 30, 2014)
This will be familiar to folks used to Christmas: eat too much (in this case, dumplings, shaped auspiciously like gold ingots) and watch TV. In China they replace the catastrophe-strewn soap opera with the CCTV New Year’s Gala, a 5-hour state sponsored variety performance of song, dance and comedy to ring in the New Year. But the main event is to go outside and blow stuff up. Fireworks and firecrackers, the louder the better, reach a terrifying crescendo around midnight. In Beijing it’s a free-for-all on every street corner, so take cover and enjoy the view.
First day of the Year of the Horse
(January 31 2014)
A day of feasting with the family and giving out red envelopes stuffed with cash. Apart from that, this day is more about what not to do:
- Clean anything or throw out trash = ‘sweeps away’ good fortune
- Washing hair / body = bad luck
- Break dishes = bad luck
- Scolding children = bad luck
- Crying = bad luck
Temple of Heaven Cultural Week
( January 31 to February 4 2014)
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Spring Festival was when the Emperor traditionally welcomed the gods from heaven and earth with a grand ceremony at the Temple of Heaven. Recently, Beijing has been reenacting this event with hundreds of actors in period costume – it’s a must for anyone interested in Chinese culture. The fun starts in the morning and goes on all day.
Beijing Temple Fairs
(January 30 – February 6 2014)
Dating back centuries, Beijing’s Temple Fairs trace their origins to the stalls set up by vendors to cater for the thousands of people visiting the city’s Taoist temples over the Lunar New Year period. The tradition evolved into the Fairs that endure to this day, with events that combine fun, commerce, food (of course) and traditional arts and folk customs. Here are two Bespoke favourites:
Dongyue Temple Fair
By far the most traditional, festive and authentic of all of Beijing’s miao hui (temple fairs), this event takes place at a Taoist temple that dates back 700 years to the Yuan Dynasty.
At Dongyue Temple Fair you can experience traditional Punch & Judy-style puppet shows (except the Chinese version stars a pesky tiger rather than a crocodile), an old man rounding up punters to watch an elaborate, real life Mouse Trap™ (don’t worry, it’s not as cruel as it sounds), people playing hoopla and a very colourful costume parade. The parade is a real highlight, as the city’s elderly folk gather outside the temple gates with their painted faces, flashing mischievous grins as they gallop about on pantomime horses.
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And be sure to spend some time walking between the temple halls, to see monks lighting incense, and view dioramas of the various spiritual ministries (like the ‘Department for Implementing 15 kinds of Violent Death’) – it’ s a zany and memorable lesson in Taoism!
Ditan Park Temple Fair
Raucous crowds, inflatable novelties, sideshow attractions and snack food are the draws at Ditan Park Temple Fair, a favourite with kids for the umpteen ways to throw, bash, shoot or kick things and win stuffed toys. Popular eats include candied hawberries on sticks, spicy squids on sticks, giant cumin lamb kebabs (on sticks), in fact, lots and lots of things on sticks. And stinky tofu (which is actually nice).
There are some traditional goings-on if you dig deep, including acrobats, dancers and opera performances, but this event is all about the crowds and the commerce. The big questions is: what will be the novelty item of choice for the Year of the Horse? A few years ago, the must-have souvenir was an inflatable poo on a stick. Non-edible.
For a more complete list of Beijing Temple Fairs including dates and locations, go here.
Second Day of Lunar New Year
(February 1 2014)
The second day of the Lunar New Year is apparently the birthday of all dogs, so be extra kind to your canine friends.
Fifth Day of Lunar New Year
(February 4 2014)
The fifth day of the Lunar New Year means MORE FIREWORKS! Also, it’s considered bad luck to visit anyone today. So stay at home, folks.
Sixth Day of Lunar New Year
(February 6 2014)
Stuff your face with noodles on the sixth day to ensure long life. Noodles = long = longevity. Simple!
Lantern Festival
(February 13 2014)
The 15th and final day of the festivities (although by this time lots of folks are already long since back at work) is known as Lantern Festival. Celebrated on the night of the first full moon, the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, people light lanterns, eat sticky sweet orbs of rice flour called tangyuan, and detonate any remaining munitions.
And then it’s all over. But that doesn’t mean you Horses can remove your red underwear. Better to be safe and keep it on (multiple pairs on rotation are permitted). 春节快乐！
About the author: Tom O’Malley is Propaganda Secretary at Bespoke Beijing. A lifestyle journalist, guidebook author, glutton and bon vivant, Tom is a tireless crusader for fine food, hospitality and tourist experiences in China’s capital.