Here is a daily guide to tell you how Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year in 2021.

Pre-Chinese New Year Preparations (Jan. 20–Feb. 10, 2021)
Jan. 20, 2021: Laba Festival
Some Chinese start to celebrate and prepare for New Year as early as day 8 of the 12th month of the lunar calendar. This is a festival called Laba ( 腊八 Làbā /laa-baa/ ’12th lunar month’ + ‘8’). In 2021, it corresponds to January 20.

Feb. 4, 2021: House-Cleaning

Beginning on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month Chinese people carry out a thorough ‘winter-cleaning’ of their houses.

This is called “sweeping away the dust”, and represents a wish to put away old things, bid farewell to the old year, and welcome in the New Year.

Feb. 4–10, 2021: New Year Shopping
Before Chinese New Year’s Eve, people buy New Year’s food and snacks, New Year’s decorations, and New Year’s clothes. Chinese New Year in China, like Christmas, is a boom time for shopping.

Chinese New Year market
Chinese people may be thrifty most of the time, but they seem to spend generously during their traditional festivals.

For example, they buy everyone new clothes for the festival, whether they need them or not. On the days leading up to the festival, there are many New Year’s street markets.

Chinese New Year’s Eve (Feb. 11, 2021): 7 Activities and Celebrations
1. Putting Up New Year Decorations

Putting up spring couplets
Although some people decorate their houses several days before the festival, most people do it on New Year’s Eve. Houses are decorated with red lanterns, red couplets, paper Cutouts, and New Year’s paintings.

Putting up those decorations are thought to keep evil away and pray for blessing, longevity, health, and peace. 2021 is the Year of the Ox, so ox images will appear on decorations.

Read more about the Top 7 Chinese New Year Decorations.

2. Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors
Offering sacrifices to ancestors shows respect and piety. In addition, ancestral spirits are believed to protect their descendants and help them become prosperous.

Many worships on New Year’s Eve, before the reunion dinner, to show that they are letting their ancestors “eat” first. Offerings of meat, wine, joss sticks, and joss paper are placed in front of the shrine/grave.

3. Enjoying a Reunion Dinner

The New Year’s Eve Feast is a “must-do” dinner with all family members reuniting. Chinese try very hard to make this family event, often traveling long distances. This is the main reason for the huge travel stress throughout China.

Big families including several generations sit at round tables and enjoy the food and time together.

Dishes with lucky meanings must be included in the dinner such as fish, dumplings, niangao (sticky rice cake), and spring rolls. Many New Year foods are symbolic.

4. Watching CCTV’s New Year Gala
It’s become customary for many families to watch the CCTV New Year Gala while having their dinner. The Gala starts at 8 pm and ends when the Chinese New Year arrives at midnight.

It features traditional, folk, and pop performances from China’s best singers, dancers, and acrobats.

5. Giving Red Envelopes (Lucky Money) to Kids

Parents usually give their children red envelopes after the reunion dinner, wishing them health, growth, and good studies in the coming year.

Money in red envelopes is believed to bring good luck, as red is China’s lucky color, so it’s called lucky money.

6. Staying Up Late
This custom is called shousui (守岁/show-sway/‘to keep watch over the year’). In the past, Chinese people used to stay up all night, but now most stay up only until the midnight firecrackers and fireworks die down.

7. Listening to a New Year Bell
A bell is a traditional symbol of Chinese New Year, and Chinese people believe that ringing a large bell can drive away bad luck and bring good fortune.

At midnight on New Year’s Eve some people like to go to large squares or temples where huge bells are rung. In recent years people have begun to go to mountain temples to wait for the first ringing of a bell in the New Year.

Chinese New Year’s Day (Feb. 12, 2021)
Chinese people believe that what they do on the first day of the lunar year will affect their luck during that year.

1. Setting Off Firecrackers and Fireworks

The moment New Year arrives there is a cacophony of fireworks and firecrackers all around, even in rural China. Families stay up for this joyful moment.

In many rural areas, it’s customary to set off firecrackers before dinner, each day from New Year’s Eve to day 3 of CNY. See Why Chinese New Year Must Have Firecrackers.

It’s believed that the louder the firecrackers, the better and luckier it will be for business and farming in the coming year.

Kids, with (mini) firecrackers in one hand and a lighter in another, cheerfully celebrate by throwing the small explosives one-by-one on the street whilst plugging their ears.

2. Putting on New Clothes and Extending New Year Greetings

On the first day of New Year, Chinese people put on new clothes, and say “gongxi” (恭喜/gong-sshee/literally ‘respectful joy’, meaning ‘greetings’ or ‘best wishes’), wishing each other good luck and happiness in the New Year.

It is customary for the younger generation to visit their elders, and wish them health and longevity. See Top 10 Popular Chinese New Year Greetings and Sayings.

In recent years, a new way to do New Year greetings has appeared, especially among the young. People who are too busy to visit their friends or relatives send a New Year’s card, a WeChat red envelope, or a text message instead.

3. Watching Lion and Dragon Dances

Chinese New Year dragon dances
Lion dances and dragon dances are also seen on New Year’s Day. Once very popular in China, they are reappearing in many places. They are more popular in Hong Kong and Macau.

4. Public Celebrations at Parks and Temple Fairs
Beijing’s temple fairs are the places to go for traditional activities in Beijing. Such activities are held in parks from the first day of the lunar year to the last (when celebrating the Lantern Festival).

Generally, parks and temples are the best places to go for festive celebrations at Chinese New Year.

New Year: Day 2 (Feb. 13, 2021)
Traditionally married daughters visit their parents’ home on the second day of Chinese New Year. They bring gifts and red envelopes to families and relatives.

On this day, people offer sacrifices to the God of Wealth, wishing for a luckier and more prosperous year.

New Year: Days 3–7 (Feb. 14–18, 2021)

Chinese people visit relatives and friends from the 3rd day to the 7th day.
From the third to the seventh day of New Year, Chinese people visit relatives and friends.

On the third day, some people go to visit the tombs of their relatives, but others think being outside there on the third day is inauspicious, because evil spirits roam around.

The first house-sweep of the New Year: Chinese people don’t clean their homes during the first two days of New Year, as sweeping then is believed to sweep away the good luck accrued by the litter of firecrackers, red paper, wrappers, and other evidence of celebration on the floor.

New Year: Day 8 (Feb. 19, 2021)
People normally return to work on the eighth day. As eight is the luckiest number in China, most businesses like to reopen on day 8 of the New Year.

New Year: Day 15 (Feb. 26, 2021), the Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival
The fifteenth day of the New Year is the Lantern Festival (元宵节 Yuánxiāo Jié /ywen-sshyaou jyeah/). It is the traditional end of Spring Festival celebrations.

Some people send glowing lanterns into the sky, while others release floating lanterns onto the sea, onto rivers, or adrift in lakes.

Regional Variations in New Year Celebrations in China
Traditions and celebrations vary greatly across China. In the north, Chinese dumplings are the must-eat food on Chinese New Year’s Eve, but south of the Yangtze River most people eat spring rolls or sticky rice cake. For more on this, read How Chinese New Year Is Celebrated in Northern and Southern China.

Chinese New Year Celebrations around the World
Chinese New Year is not only celebrated in China, but also in several other East Asian countries (among non-Chinese Asians it’s known ‘Spring Festival’) as well as Chinatowns in Western countries.

For the numbers of people celebrating around the world see Chinese New Year Facts.

You can experience Chinese New Year celebrations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, etc. You can walk through their Chinatowns and see the restaurants and shopfronts adorned in red and gold, and experience firecrackers, colorful parades, and dragon dances.
for more info, go to https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-celebration.htm#:~:text=Chinese%20New%20Year%20is%20celebrated,some%20are%20quite%20new

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Watch “Filipino Happy Birthday Song by Nina” on YouTube
https://youtu.be/p635tOMBpow

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This July 4th, America’s national Independence Day celebration kicks off our country’s 238th birthday with an all-star salute led by our country’s favorite host, two-time Emmy Award- personality Tom Bergeron. Hot off another winning season as host of the hit series Dancing with the Stars, Bergeron will lead an all-star cast in a patriotic evening of unrivaled musical performances—topped off by the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation.

Broadcast live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, the event will feature performances by: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Frankie Valli; Grammy Award-winning music legend Patti LaBelle; multi-platinum recording artist and actress Jordin Sparks; five-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Michael McDonald; country music superstar Sara Evans; singer-songwriter Kendall Schmidt from BIG TIME RUSH and HEFFRON DRIVE; and five-time Tony Award nominee and Broadway star Kelli O’Hara; with the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of our national anthem, five-time Academy Award-winning composer John Williams will conduct a special new arrangement for orchestra and chorus of the “Star Spangled Banner” with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Joint Armed Forces Chorus, the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets.

The 34th annual broadcast of A CAPITOL FOURTH airs on PBS Friday, July 4, 2014 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network. The program can also be heard live in stereo over NPR member stations nationwide. With twenty cameras positioned around the city, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House and the Washington Monument, viewers are front and center for the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation during this top-rated extravaganza. Capping off the show will be a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” complete with live cannon fire provided by the United States Army Presidential Salute Battery, an audience favorite and A CAPITOL FOURTH tradition.

To talk about this year’s A Capitol Fourth, North American Network is offering five- to seven-minute telephone interviews with singer-songwriter Kendall Schmidt. Interviews are being scheduled for Thursday, July 3, from 11:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. Eastern Time. To book an interview window, please call.

BIOGRAPHY

Kendall Schmidt:

What began in 2008 as a passion project in a bedroom studio in Burbank, California has now become a whirlwind endeavor, with energetic and dedicated fans across the globe. Kendall Schmidt (23) is founder of the passionately-adored electro-pop band, Heffron Drive. Kendall’s passion for music began when he was just a child. As a youngster, Kendall would often recite whole songs after hearing them just once on the radio. Ever the singer, Kendall soon wanted to broaden his musical horizons. Initially, he tried playing the violin and drums, but neither instrument seemed to fit. One day, however, he borrowed his brother’s guitar and from that point forward, he was hooked. Kendall taught himself how to play guitar and eventually released a number of covers on YouTube, which garnered him his first fans. The initial encounter between Kendall and Dustin, a future Heffron Drive member, occurred at a screening for Kendall’s brother’s movie in Los Angeles, California. The two became instant friends; learning that each was a musician, had been born in the same hospital in Wichita, Kansas, and currently lived on the same street in Burbank, California. That street? You guessed it, was Heffron Drive. With money he earned from an acting gig, Kendall purchased some recording gear and the two friends embarked on a musical journey, knowing only to trust their ears and passion for music. When the question of what to name the newly formed band arose, Heffron
Drive was the perfect fit. The band started uploading songs, to the then-popular Myspace, and soon thereafter began receiving an overwhelming amount of interest. The Internet was buzzing about the new band’s unique music and it wasn’t uncommon to find the play counter hovering around 20,000 plays on any given day. Around mid-2009, however, and soon after the release of Heffron Drive music, Kendall was asked to become the lead singer of the band, Big Time Rush. He accepted, and BTR rapidly became a global phenomenon, with tens of millions of fans across the globe, millions of records and tickets sold, and performances across three continents. Not wanting Heffron Drive to fall apart during his BTR success, Kendall helped secure Dustin a position as a tour guitarist for the group. Although extremely busy, the two still found time to create music for Heffron Drive. With constant forward momentum, Heffron Drive is now preparing a full-scale launch into the world of irresistible electro-pop music. Infusing infectious melodies, unforgettable hooks, and beamingly beautiful lyrics, Heffron Drive promises to bring that lovable, relatable, missing-piece-of-the-puzzle to today’s music scene.

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The Annual Emerald Nuts Midnight Run is ready to kick off again this year at Midnight New Year’s Eve. It should be another memorable party!

Emerald Nuts Midnight Run – Saturday, December 31 / DJ Music and Dancing • 10:00 p.m. / Costume Parade and Contest • 11:00 p.m. / Fireworks and 4M Race • Midnight / Central Park, New York / C, $ [Key]

Kick off the New Year with a spectacular fireworks and laser light show at the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run! Join the fun and celebrate with a costume parade, dancing. Also, don’t forget to enter our Emerald Nuts contest, the Nuttiest Exercising Experience, for the chance to win a $200 gift basket of Emerald Nuts snack and gear. Scroll down for more details.

Please direct any questions to reghelp@nyrr.org
Party Location

Dancing and the costume contest will be held at the Central Park Bandshell, just south of the 72nd Street Transverse in Central Park, New York. The closest entrance is at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street.
Course

All courses are subject to change. Check back here the day before the race for final confirmation.

Start on the 72nd Street Transverse heading east. Turn left (north) on East Drive. Continue north to the 102nd Street Transverse. Turn left (west) onto the 102nd St Transverse and turn left (south) onto West Drive. Continue south on West Drive to the 72nd Street Transverse. Turn left (east) onto the 72nd Street Transverse to the finish line near the entrance to Cherry Hill.

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Liberty Mutual Insurance Renews Sponsorship of Boston’s 4th of July Tradition, The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. Good News is proud to bring Keth Lockhart and the Boston Pops interview as part of our July 4th 14 Anniversary Special. We applaud Liberty Mutual and The Boston Pops for all the GOOD that they do. Thanks.

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance, a leading global property and casualty insurer, today announced that it would renew its sponsorship of Boston’s nationally-acclaimed 4th of July tradition, The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, through 2015. The three-year sponsorship agreement with Boston 4 Celebrations, the organization that produces the event, totals approximately $8 million. Liberty Mutual Insurance, headquartered in Boston since 1912, and with more than 4,500 employees in 30 offices across Massachusetts, first began its sponsorship of The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular in 2005.

This year’s concert will feature Conductor Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops Esplanade , joined by Academy Award and GRAMMY(r) Award-winning superstar Jennifer Hudson. Emceed by Emmy Award-winning actor and Lowell, Mass. native Michael Chiklis, the event will air locally on WBZ-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., followed by a national CBS broadcast from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The entire concert will be broadcast in HD (high definition), courtesy of Liberty Mutual Insurance. In addition, the final 20 minutes of the broadcast, featuring the spectacular fireworks display, will be presented commercial free by Liberty Mutual Insurance.

“In Liberty Mutual Insurance’s 100th anniversary year, we could not imagine a better time to reaffirm our support for Boston’s Fourth of July tradition,” said David Long, Chief Executive Officer and President, Liberty Mutual Insurance. “For 39 years, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular has brought together family and friends from across the country to our hometown, where they enjoy a free concert, watch an outstanding fireworks display, and salute the brave men and women who make it possible for us to celebrate. It is an honor to sponsor a tradition that so vibrantly captures the spirit of Independence Day, and we’re proud to share it with the millions of television viewers across the country.”

Liberty Mutual Insurance’s continued sponsorship will preserve a 39-year tradition that offers a free concert to an estimated 500,000 people who visit Boston’s Charles River Esplanade on July 4th. Worth noting, approximately one-third of the concert’s attendees are tourists from outside New England, who come to celebrate and enjoy Boston as a summer destination.

“We’re thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance, which allows us to continue to bring the Boston Pops, fireworks and this patriotic event to all free of charge for a fourth decade,” said Event Founder and Executive Producer David G. Mugar. “We look forward to producing this Boston tradition for many years to come for the families of Boston and New England.”

Added Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart: “It takes a great deal of support to present this country’s greatest Fourth of July concert, so we are thrilled that Liberty Mutual Insurance has generously renewed its sponsorship of one of this city’s signature events — the July 4 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. We hope every Boston neighborhood and visitors near and far will join us, with host Michael Chiklis and singing sensation Jennifer Hudson, along the banks of the Charles River for this spectacular day celebrating our country’s birth.”

For more information about The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, please visit the event website at www.july4th.org .

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

“Helping people live safer, more secure lives” since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2011 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2011 revenue. As of December 31, 2011, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $117.1 billion in consolidated assets, $99.3 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $34.7 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance (www.libertymutualinsurance.com) employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

About Boston 4 Productions

Boston 4 Productions’ Fourth of July event was founded in 1973 by then Boston Pops Conductor Arthur Fiedler and Boston businessman David G. Mugar. While Fiedler had been conducting Esplanade concerts since 1929, the idea of adding fireworks, cannons and bells sparked new life into the well-known musical event. Now marking its 39th year, the event is once again produced and coordinated by Boston 4 Productions, the production arm of the non-profit organization Boston 4 Celebrations Inc.

About the Boston Pops

The Boston Pops, in its 127th year, has a rich and storied history that began with its founding in 1885. The Boston Pops Orchestra has distinguished itself as the founder of and leader in its genre, presenting the best of a wide variety of music from jazz to pop, indie rock to big band, film music to the great American songbook, and Broadway to classical. Though Arthur Fiedler’s nearly 50-year tenure as Pops conductor (1930-1979) established the Boston Pops as a national icon, Conductor Laureate John Williams (1980-1993) and present-day conductor Keith Lockhart (1995-present) have shepherded the orchestra through three decades of tumultuous change in the world of music. The Boston Pops, “America’s Orchestra,” performs for an audience of nearly 900,000 people annually in Boston, across the country and around the world, and reaches millions more through its recordings and television broadcasts. For more information, visit www.bostonpops.org .

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