How to Prepare for Chinese New Year 2025
Get ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2025 for prosperous life; whether it is preparing the Chinese New Year offerings, setting up Chinese New Year altar, auspicious colors for Chinese New Year, including prohibitions or practices that help make life prosperous. Let's prepare together, and let's check when the day to pay respect, the day for shopping and the day for visiting are.
- When is Chinese New Year 2025?
- What are the offerings for Chinese New Year 2025 to prepare?
- Chinese New Year tips: auspicious colors and Chinese New Year altar for prosperous life
- First aid in case of food stuck in throat
When is Chinese New Year 2025?
Chinese New Year 2025 is considered an important festival for both mainland Chinese people, Thai people of Chinese descent and Chinese people around the world. Today we gather all information on Chinese New Year to prepare for the day to pay respect, the day for shopping and the day for visiting.
The day for shopping is Thursday 8 February 2025.
Thai-Chinese people go buy foods, fruits and various offerings on this day.
The day to pay respect is Friday 9 February 2025.
Everyone pays respects to gods with foods, fruits and various offerings that have been prepared earlier on this day.
- In the early morning, we pay respect to gods with offerings: three types of meat which are pork, duck, chicken, or we can add liver and fish (five types of meat in total), liquor, tea, and gold and silver paper.
- In the late morning, we pay respect to our ancestors, including parents and relatives who have passed away which is an expression of gratitude based on the Chinese belief. This will be done no later than noon. The offerings consist of three types of meat, sweet and savory foods (the ancestors’ favorites), as well as the silver and gold paper and paper clothing to be burned to give to them. After that, everyone in the family will gather to eat the foods that has been offered for good fortune. This is considered the time when families gather together, and red envelopes will be exchanged after the meal.
- In the afternoon, we pay respect to stray. The offerings include Chinese New Year's cake, stuffed dough pyramid, and candied taro, silver and gold paper along with lighting firecrackers to ward off evil spirits and for good fortune.
The day for visiting is Saturday 10 February 2025.
Everyone goes outside to travel, dress in beautiful clothes and pay respects and ask for blessings from elder relatives. Also, there are things we should not do on this day, such as:
- Do not argue, cry or say harsh words;
- Do not clean the house;
- Do not do laundry;
- Do not break things. If something is broken in the house, it must be thrown away immediately;
- Do not use sharp objects, such as knife and scissors;
- Do not allow other people into your bedroom on Chinese New Year;
- Do not borrow or lend money to others.
Offerings for Chinese New Year 2025 to prepare
There is a variety of offerings to celebrate Chinese New Year 2025, such as items used to pay respect, food, desserts and fruits which are all meaningful, auspicious, and delicious. For anyone who likes Chinese New Year foods and desserts, if you don't eat carefully if you eat too much, they can affect your physical health. Let's see what the offerings are.
Items used to pay respect
- 1 pair of red candles with wooden legs to honor the gods and ancestors;
- 5 incense sticks for worshiping the gods, 3 sticks for long-dead ancestors, and 1 stick for recently deceased ancestors;
- Firecrackers to ward off evil and bad luck;
- Silver and gold paper which is yellow paper written with red Chinese characters, believed it is a ticket to heaven, so it must be burned first;
- Heaven banknote;
- Gold ingot used to pay respect to ancestors.
Food offerings
- 2 types: “3 types of meat” and “5 types of meat”
- 3 types of meat: pork, chicken and duck
- 5 types of meat: pork, chicken and duck, fish and liver
- Beverages: tea or liquor, 5 cups
Dessert offerings
- The amount must be equal to the number of meat types: 3 types of desserts or 5 types of desserts.
- Chinese New Year's cake and stuffed dough pyramid = to have smooth life
- Steamed buns = to wrap luck and fortune
- Thai egg cake = growth
- Thai sponge cake and Thai rice flour muffin = prosperity and wealth
- Chinese sweetmeat made of many ingredients: coated peanut, peanut bar, sesame bar, puffed rice and candied squash = increased sweetness, prosperity and happiness all year long
Fruit offerings
- Most people prepare 5 fruits with auspicious meaning.
- Orange = good fortune
- Banana = bringing in good fortune, having a house full of children and grandchildren
- Grapes = prosperity
- Pineapple = to bring good fortune
- Asian pear = smoothness and good things arriving
- Apple = peace and tranquility
Chinese New Year tips: auspicious colors and Chinese New Year altar for prosperous life
Once already preparing the offerings, savory food and desserts, Chinese New Year altar and auspicious colors are also important matters that should not be overlooked to ensure good luck during the Chinese New Year festival.
Chinese New Year altar
Setting Chinese New Year altar is considered an auspicious thing to celebrate the Chinese New Year based on the tradition. There are 9 positions on the altar to keep in mind; it is believed that, if you prepare offerings and set the altar correctly, good fortune would be brought to you.
- Place the altar in front of the statue of a god/deity or of the worship table;
- Place the incense burner in front of statue of a god/deity or of the worship table’
- Decorate both sides of the incense burner with candle holders or flower vase which is a symbol of prosperity;
- In the next row, place 3 or 5 cups full of rice as they means abundance;
- The next row is from the rice row. Place cups of tea or liquor;
- For the next row after the cups of tea or liquor, place drinking cups as many as the number of the cups of tea or liquor.
- Next, place savory dishes or 3 or 5 types of meat, such as chicken, duck, fish, pork, squid, liver, dried squid, steamed buns (if you also pay respect to your ancestors, you should add a savory dish with soup as an ingredient).
- Next is desserts or fruits. For desserts, there are Chinese New Year's cake, Thai rice flour muffin, Thai sponge cake, Thai egg cake, stuffed dough pyramid, for examples. The number of desserts is usually equal to the number of savory offerings.
- What was placed last was silver and gold paper.
Auspicious colors for Chinese New Year 2025
Wearing brightly colored shirts is another way to help bring luck and prosperity during the Chinese New Year. What colors should be worn for Chinese New Year? Auspicious colors that should be worn? Let's check them out.
- Red is the color of the fire element. It represents glory and richness in money and happiness.
- Pink conveys good meanings, such as gentleness, joy, warmth and beauty.
- Yellow is the color of the earth element. It symbolizes abundance, stability, prosperity and hope.
- Purple represents auspiciousness as purple represents power, prestige, stability and firmness.
- Blue-green is the color of the wood element. It represents freshness, progressive growth and changes to something new and better.
- Gold is a color that symbolizes perfection, hope and wealth.
Forbidden colors that should be avoided on Chinese New Year are black and white as they are colors that symbolize death, bad omens and mourning.
First aid in case of food stuck in throat
Chinese New Year Festival is another good time when families have the opportunity to meet each other, so children, grandchildren and the elderly can enjoy a meal together. However, if you don't eat carefully, you may choke on the food until it blocks your windpipe, resulting in suffocation. If first aid is not performed in a timely manner, it could be life threatening. Let's take a look how to perform the first aid.
How to Notice Symptoms
If anyone appears to have food stuck in the throat, please check if they can still cough or speak.
- Mild symptoms: The patient can breathe, cough, or speak. Food may partially block the airway.
- Severe symptoms: Suffocation, speech or crying without any voice, face and skin on fingertips appear greenish; first aid must be performed immediately.
How to perform first aid for food stuck
- Older children and adults: abdominal thrusts
- Children under 1 year old: Pat the back 5 times and press the chest 5 times. (Warning! It is strictly forbidden to thrust the baby's abdomen.)
In case the patient is unconscious:
- Have the patient lie supine, press the chest, massage the heart, help with breathing and open the mouth to remove foreign objects.
If you are unsure of how to perform first aid, please notify the nearest hospital or call Tel. 1669.
Chinese New Year 2025 is an important festival that many people are waiting for as it is an opportunity everyone in the family will gather and pay respect to the ancestors together for auspiciousness of life in 2025. May you happy, blessed, wealthy and healthy all year long. Nevertheless, don't forget to boost your confidence in living life with comprehensive health insurance from Muang Thai Life Assurance.
Source: Data retrieved on 26/01/2025
🔖 thairath (data as of 24/01/2025)
🔖 tnnthailand (data as of 14/01/2025)
🔖 prachachat (data as of 22/01/2025)