On 28th February 2017, Thai people of Chinese descent will celebrate Chinese New Year or Troot-Jeen (ตรุษจีน) . The date for Chinese New Year is determined by the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The Chinese animal zodiac of 2017 is a rooster!
Nine things to do on Chinese New Year (in Thailand)
The following are nine things that Thai Chinese people do during New Year’s Day. The activities may differ from the Chinese tradition.
- Offer sacrifices to ancestors
- Eat vegetarian food as the first meal
- Wear new clothes
- Give oranges to guests
- Eat dumplings together
- Give red envelopes to kids and receive red envelopes from elders (Lucky Money)
- Do not clean the house
- Offer sacrifices to Chinese gods
- Write new year greetings
For number 9, we have some examples of Four Symbols (四象) that are used as Chinese New Year greetings:
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 恭贺新年 | gōnghèxīnnián | A Happy New Year to you |
| 生意兴隆 | shēngyìxīnglóng | May your business flourish |
| 恭喜发财 | gōngxǐfācái | Congratulations and Prosperity |
| 万事如意 | wànshìrúyì | May everything goes well |
| 财源广进 | cáiyuánguǎngjìn | May money and treasures are plentiful |
| 升官发财 | shēngguānfācái | May you be promoted to a higher position |
Watch this video to see how to say these phrases in Chinese! |
Food on the Chinese New Year’s day
In a Thai Chinese family, these are the must-have dishes: Fried leek with duck meat, Fried garlic chives, fried sprouts with tofu, nian gao, candle pudding or pastry, etc.
Is Chinese New Year a public holiday in Thailand?
Unfortunately, Chinese New Year is not a public holiday in Thailand. However, if you are a company employee, a company may decide to make this day a holiday (mostly Chinese companies).
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