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
President's speech
drinking vodka

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

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

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

5. What are the lucky numbers in a year of the Ox?
two and three
four and one
nine
cat
Japanese lucky cat

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

7. 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

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

9. Which Chinese god is given an offering a week prior to Chinese New Year?
He-He - the Heavenly twins
Zao Jun - the Kitchen god
Kui Xing - god of literature
deity, eight immortals, Shandong, Penglai
Statue of the Eight Immortals at Penglai Pavilion, Shandong

10. Which day of the New Year festival should you give the family dog a treat?
4th
2nd
6th
Ming dynasty, Forbidden City, lion, Beijing
Gilded bronze, guardian xiezhi statue at Forbidden City, Beijing

11. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2036
2050
2042
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

12. Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually takes place in which month(s)?
February or March
March or April
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

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

14. 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

15. What is a 'guotie'?
fried dumpling (jiaozi)
kitchen demon
door guardian
food
Eating dimsum dumplings on the street in gongguan; pictures by tashenka. February 2007. Photo by brappy! from Gongguan Market in Zhongzheng available under a Creative Commons license .
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