Chinese New Year Quiz

Quiz all about Chinese New Year. You'll find many of the answers on our Spring Festival page
1. The New Year greeting 'Gong hei fat choy' is in which language?
Wu
Cantonese
Mongolian
lanterns, new year
Chinese New Year, Saigon, Vietnam. Image by falco available under a Creative Commons License

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

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

4. When is the next dragon astrological year?
2031
2036
2050
silk, dragon
Silk embroidery of Chinese dragon

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

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

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

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

9. What are the lucky numbers in a year of the Ox?
seven and three
eight
four and one
cat
Japanese lucky cat

10. Why are fish widely eaten at Chinese New Year?
Fish carry a wish for a long life
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

11. What is a 'guotie'?
lucky fish
door guardian
fried dumpling (jiaozi)
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 .

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

13. What heralds the start of New Year's day?
phoenix dances
firecrackers
military parade

14. 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

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