除夕 is the reunion evening before Lunar New Year's Day. Family meals, staying up late, and welcoming the new year are common themes.
Story & background
Lunar New Year's Eve is the emotional centre of the New Year period. For generations, the reunion dinner has represented a return home, while red decorations and late-night greetings mark the passage from the old year to the new. The evening can feel both ceremonial and wonderfully ordinary: cooking, talking, and waiting together.
Customs
- Share a reunion dinner (年夜饭, niányèfàn).
- Put up red couplets or paper decorations.
- Stay up late to welcome the new year when family tradition calls for it.
Festival food
Fish, dumplings, rice cakes, and other dishes carry regional meanings. A family menu may be symbolic, practical, or both.
Try this
Learn one reunion-dinner greeting and ask about the meaning behind one dish instead of assuming every family serves the same menu.
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