Chinese New Year Quiz

Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
1. What heralds the start of New Year's day?
firecrackers
phoenix dances
drinking vodka

2. What are the lucky numbers in a year of the Ox?
four and one
nine
five
cat
Japanese lucky cat

3. Which character for good fortune is widely seen at Chinese New Year?
fēi
festival, temple, lion dance
Traditional lion dance near a temple

4. Which day of the New Year festival should you give the family dog a treat?
2nd
5th
8th
Ming dynasty, Forbidden City, lion, Beijing
Gilded bronze, guardian xiezhi statue at Forbidden City, Beijing

5. Which astrological year follows the year of the snake?
horse
tiger
sheep
Hong Kong, zodiac, sculpture
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong

6. Why are oranges, tangerines and similar fruits are often seen at Chinese New Year?
Lucky color
Wishes good luck
Adds Vitamin C to diet
orange
Dish of oranges, Hong Kong. Image by Fung Kimmia available under a Creative Commons License

7. The New Year greeting 'Gong hei fat choy' is in which language?
Mongolian
Wu
Cantonese
lanterns, new year
Chinese New Year, Saigon, Vietnam. Image by falco available under a Creative Commons License

8. Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually takes place in which month(s)?
January
April or May
January or February
red lantern, lantern, chinese new year, spring festival
Red lanterns are hung from the trees during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Ditan Park (Temple of Earth) in Beijing. Image by Paul Louis available under a Creative Commons License

9. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2031
2036
2042
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

10. Which color envelope is traditionally used for gifts of money?
blue
gold
red
God of Money, poster
Chinese Lunar New Year money god poster in Hong Kong. Image by Mk2010 available under a Creative Commons license

11. Why are fish widely eaten at Chinese New Year?
The god of fish was born on Chinese New Year
Fish in Chinese sounds like abundance
Fish were the first creatures created
taiwan, yin yang, fish
Window detail of Zushih Temple, Sansia, Taipei County, Taiwan. Aug. 2008. Image by Benjiho available under a Creative Commons License

13. Which Chinese god is given an offering a week prior to Chinese New Year?
Sun Wukong - the Monkey King
Kui Xing - god of literature
Zao Jun - the Kitchen god
deity, eight immortals, Shandong, Penglai
Statue of the Eight Immortals at Penglai Pavilion, Shandong

14. What is the phase of the moon at Chinese New Year?
first quarter
new
half
garden, Foshan, Guangdong, architecture
Moon gate in Qinghui garden, Foshan city, Guangdong

15. Which event marks the traditional end of the Chinese New Year (Spring) festival?
Lantern Festival
Dragon Boat Festival
Confucius' Birthday
festival, temple, lion dance
Traditional lion dance near a temple
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