Chinese New Year is the most important holiday to Chinese people all over the world, including in Fiji. The holiday is celebrated by more than 20% of the world’s population! 

Tuesday 09th February, 2022

Fiji’s modern, proudly multicultural society has been enriched over the generations as people from countries all over the world have moved to our shores.

Chinese Fijians have long been a part of our cultural make up, with communities of Chinese expats settling in cities and towns all over the country.

Ethnic Chinese make up around 1% of Fiji’s population, on top of a large portion of the population with mixed Fijian and Chinese ancestry.

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday to Chinese people all over the world, including in Fiji. This holiday is celebrated by more than 20% of the entire world’s population!

The Chinese New Year holiday is also known as the Spring Festival - or chinjie to Chinese speakers. In the northern hemisphere, the festival marks the end of the coldest days of winter, bringing the warmer weather of springtime and said to represent new beginnings.

The reason there’s no set date for the start of Chinese New Year is because it’s calculated according to the Lunar Calendar, as opposed the Solar or Gregorian calendar, which is the standard in western culture.

Lunar New Year is celebrated in other Asian countries including South Korea, North Korea and Vietnam, as well as within expatriate Chinese communities all around the world.

A popular Chinese myth holds that at some point in the distant past, a monster called Nian would come about and terrorise the population each New Year’s Eve, causing people to hide away in their homes

At some point, either a young boy or perhaps a travelling beggar fought off the monster using firecrackers.

According to the legend, people celebrated again the next day by setting off more firecrackers, and they’ve since become an integral aspect of celebrating the new year.

In fact, the largest number of firecrackers in the world are set off each year on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

In Chinese culture, the most important aspect of the new year holiday is spending time with family. Families spend time at home together are only supposed to go out after the fifth day of the holiday.

Another fun aspect of Chinese New Year’s celebrations is the tradition of giving ‘lucky money’ in red envelopes to children. 

These are called red packets or pockets, and are supposed to transfer good luck from older relatives to children in the family. These gifts can also be exchanges between bosses and employees, friends and colleagues. 

Wearing red and decorating everything with the colour red is another part of the Chinese tradition. Homes will be decked out with red decorations, which are often strewn about in public places too. Red lanterns and strings of chillies are popular decorations.

Talking of lanterns, the extended Chinese New Year celebrations culminate with the Lantern Festival, held on the first full moon of the lunar year.

The Chinese New Year’s tradition is several thousand years old and rooted in many ancient myths.

The red decorations that are so popular at this time of year are said to deter monsters and evil spirits from hurting people.

Another popular decoration is the Chinese character fú, which means happiness or fortune. It’s often depicted in traditional Chinese calligraphy style, on red paper, and is hung inside down on the doors of homes in order to bring good fortune.

The drinking of a traditional Chinese wine known as ‘Tusu wine’ has become an important part of Spring Festival celebrations. According to legend, this style of wine initially become popular as a means of saving people from sickness or plague.

The ‘red pockets’ mentioned earlier are popular with Chinese people everywhere at this time of year as a way of passing along good luck for the coming year.

Another ancient tradition is the leaving out of a type of malt candy, as a means of appeasing the ‘Stove God’ who’s supposed to visit families at this time of year

As you can see, Chinese New Year’s traditions are rich and varied. Chinese immigrants have lived in Fiji for many decades at this point, and have contributed much to the culture and cuisine.

Let’s join our Chinese neighbours in celebrating the Lunar New Year, and welcoming in a new year of wealth, prosperity, good luck and happiness!