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What is the Chinese New Year really about?

  • Writer: Sophia Li
    Sophia Li
  • Mar 1, 2022
  • 3 min read

DISCLAIMER: The following information does not apply to how all Chinese people celebrate the Chinese New Year. Different families celebrate in different ways. There are also many, many versions of the Great Race.


Chinese New Year is a time that decides what Chinese zodiac sign a person has. The story goes like this: There was a race between twelve animals; the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon snake, horse, goat monkey rooster, dog, and boar. The race was a way to measure time through the order in which the animals were placed. It was called “The Great Race.”


The ox could definitely run the quickest, however, it placed second only because it didn’t realize that the rat climbed on its back. At the finish line, the rat jumped off and crossed the finishing line before the ox could.


There was also a subplot in which a cat wanted to join the race, but the rat didn’t wake the cat up when it was time to race, even though the cat asked it to. This story explains why mice are enemies to cats.


A tiger and rabbit were very competitive during the race, however, the tiger was faster and placed third. The rabbit struggled at the river and placed fourth.


A dragon could’ve easily flown across the whole race and the obstacles it contained but went to help other animals along the way. It placed fifth. The horse came right after but was startled by a snake, which stole sixth place. The horse managed to get seventh.


A sheep, monkey, and rooster were trying to get across the river using a log raft, as they allied. Sheep placed eighth, followed by the monkey and rooster.


A dog, who also participated, was good at swimming, but spent too much time frolicking and playing in the water and got eleventh.


Last place was claimed by the boar, who succumbed to hunger and fatigue as it rested and ate.



Chinese New Year is celebrated in many different ways. For one example, some households don’t allow their kids to read books, because in Chinese, the word “book” (书) has the same pronunciation as the word “lose” (输 pronounced shū). People either sweep the house to rid of bad luck or proceed not to sweep the house thinking good luck might be swept out. Everyone wears red, due to an ancient story stating that a monster that eats humans, detests the color red. Families come together to have a special meal called the “Reunion Dinner.” Red packets, called 红包, (pronounced hóng bāo, meaning “red envelope”) containing money and/or traditional treats are given to other people like a present.


If the red envelope has money in it, traditionally, the number of money has even numbers such as eight (meaning “wealth”) or six (meaning “smooth”). However, the number four is detested, since the Chinese word for “four” (四 pronounced sì) has a similar pronunciation to the Chinese word “死” (pronounced sǐ) meaning “dead.”


This Chinese New Year is the year of the tiger. The tiger symbolizes bravery, loyalty, power, and courage. It is sometimes referred to as “king of all beast” which makes sense since the Chinese character “王” (pronounced wáng) is written on its head (“王” means “king”.) Ancient China commended tigers and tigers also originated in China.




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The Steffen Sentinel Newspaper
The student news site of Steffen Middle School in Mequon, Wisconsin.

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