Chinese New Year
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59 free Chinese New Year trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
60 free Chinese New Year trivia questions with answers. Chinese New Year is the biggest celebration on the planet, with billions of people honoring traditions that stretch back thousands of years. From the terrifying legend of the Nian monster to the precise art of red envelope etiquette, this quiz covers zodiac lore, festival foods, family customs, and the holiday's reach across Asia. Think you know your dumplings from your tangyuan? Let's find out.
30 of 59 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many animals are in the Chinese zodiac cycle?
12
The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals in a repeating cycle. Each animal represents one year, so the full cycle takes 12 years to complete.
Q 02What color is considered the luckiest during Chinese New Year?
Red
Red is the most auspicious color in Chinese culture, symbolizing good fortune, joy, and prosperity. It is used extensively during Chinese New Year in decorations, clothing, and the famous red envelopes.
Q 03Which animal is first in the Chinese zodiac cycle?
Rat
Legend says the Jade Emperor set the order with a race, and the Rat's win is why the cycle starts with it.
Q 04The Chinese name for firecrackers, baozhu, literally means what?
Exploding bamboo
Baozhu literally means 'exploding bamboo': the earliest firecrackers were hollow bamboo stalks thrown on a fire until the air inside burst the segments; gunpowder versions kept the name.
Q 05In 1967, official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned during which political campaign?
Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution, the State Council cancelled the 1967 Spring Festival holiday and urged a 'revolutionized and fighting' festival; the public holiday only returned in 1980.
Q 06What are the red envelopes given during Chinese New Year called in Mandarin?
Hong bao
Hong bao literally means red packet or red envelope. They contain money and are given as gifts during Chinese New Year and other special occasions, symbolizing good wishes and luck.
Q 07What traditional Chinese New Year food symbolizes wealth because its shape resembles gold ingots?
Dumplings
Dumplings (jiaozi) are shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots (yuanbao), making them a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Families often make them together on New Year's Eve, and some hide a coin inside one for extra luck.
Q 08In which month does Chinese New Year typically fall on the Gregorian calendar?
January or February
Chinese New Year falls between the 21st of January and the 20th of February, usually on the second new moon after the winter solstice, so the Gregorian date shifts from year to year.
Q 09What Chinese New Year dance features a long puppet operated by many people?
Dragon dance
The dragon dance features a long, colorful dragon puppet held aloft on poles by a team of dancers. The dragon symbolizes power, strength, and good luck. Longer dragons are believed to bring more luck.
Q 10What is the family meal held on Chinese New Year's Eve called in English?
Reunion dinner
The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve gathers the extended family for the most important meal of the year, traditionally at the family home with a whole fish on the table.
Q 11Which mythical creature is said to have inspired the Chinese New Year celebration?
Nian
The Nian is a legendary beast said to come down at the end of each year to devour livestock and villagers; the festival phrase guo nian, 'passing the year', is folk-read as surviving the Nian.
Q 12Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year because it follows which kind of reckoning?
Lunisolar
Chinese New Year follows the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which is based on both the moon's phases and the sun's position. This is why the date shifts each year relative to the Gregorian calendar.
Q 13How long does the Chinese New Year festival traditionally last?
15 days
The festival runs from New Year's Eve to the 15th day of the first lunar month, which falls on the first full moon of the year.
Q 21In the zodiac race legend, which animal did the Rat push into the river, costing it a zodiac spot?
Cat
In the race legend the Cat was shoved into the river by its rodent rival and arrived too late for a zodiac place; the tale is offered as the origin of the feud between cat and rodent.
Q 22In the Chinese zodiac legend, how did the Rat beat the Ox to become the first animal?
It rode on the Ox and jumped off
According to the legend, the Jade Emperor held a great race. The Rat, being small but clever, asked the Ox for a ride. Just before reaching the finish line, the Rat leapt off the Ox's head to land first.
Q 23What is the traditional greeting 'Gong Xi Fa Cai' wishing someone?
Be prosperous
Q 14Which event marks the final day of Chinese New Year celebrations?
Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month closes the celebrations; families hang lanterns under the year's first full moon and solve the riddles written on them.
Q 15What is the Chinese character commonly displayed upside-down on doors during Chinese New Year?
Fu (blessing)
The character fu, meaning fortune or blessing, is often hung upside-down because the word for upside-down (dao) sounds like the word for arrive (dao). So an inverted fu symbolizes that fortune has arrived.
Q 16Which long, sticky rice cake eaten during Chinese New Year symbolizes achieving new heights each year?
Nian gao
Nian gao, a sticky glutinous-rice cake, sounds like 'higher year' (nian gao), so eating it is meant to bring promotions and better fortune year after year.
Q 17What fruit is commonly displayed during Chinese New Year because its name sounds like 'gold' in Chinese?
Oranges
Oranges and tangerines are popular during Chinese New Year. In Cantonese, the word for orange sounds like 'gold,' and in Mandarin, tangerine (ju) sounds like 'luck.' They symbolize wealth and good fortune.
Q 18What is the Mandarin name for the lion dance performed at Chinese New Year?
Wu shi
Wu shi, literally 'dance lion', is the Mandarin name of the lion dance; performers inside the costume mimic a lion's movements to drums, gongs and cymbals, chasing off evil and inviting luck.
Q 19Why is it considered bad luck to sweep the floor during the first few days of Chinese New Year?
It sweeps away good fortune
Sweeping during the first days of Chinese New Year is taboo because it is believed to sweep away good luck and wealth. Many families do a thorough cleaning before New Year's Day to avoid this.
Q 20In 1928 China's Kuomintang decreed Chinese New Year be celebrated on which date instead?
1 January
In 1928 the Nationalist government decreed New Year festivities be held on 1 January, the Gregorian date, and banned the lunar celebration; overwhelming opposition forced it to abandon the policy within a few years.
Gong xi fa cai wishes someone 'be prosperous': gong xi means congratulations and fa cai means to make a fortune; the Cantonese form is gong hei fat choi.
Q 24Families honor which deity by smearing honey on a paper image's lips before burning it at New Year?
The Kitchen God
The Kitchen God (Zao Jun) is believed to report each family's behavior to the Jade Emperor. Before New Year, families smear honey on his paper image's lips so he will only say sweet things, then burn the image to send him to heaven.
Q 25Whole fish is a New Year's Eve must. What does the Chinese word for fish (yu) also sound like?
Surplus
The fish is deliberately not finished at the New Year's Eve dinner, so that the wish "may there be surpluses every year" is acted out on the table.
Q 26What are the paired lines of verse on red paper pasted beside doorways at Chinese New Year called?
Spring couplets
Spring couplets (chunlian) are paired lines of verse on vermilion paper flanking the door; the earliest recorded pair is credited to Meng Chang, a tenth-century ruler of Later Shu.
Q 27Which country calls its Lunar New Year celebration 'Tet'?
Vietnam
Vietnam's Lunar New Year is called Tet (short for Tet Nguyen Dan, meaning 'Feast of the First Morning'). It is the most important holiday in Vietnamese culture, celebrated with similar traditions to Chinese New Year but with distinct Vietnamese customs.
Q 28What is the Korean name for the Lunar New Year celebration?
Seollal
Seollal is the Korean Lunar New Year. Koreans celebrate with sebae (bowing to elders), wearing hanbok (traditional clothing), and eating tteokguk (rice cake soup), which symbolizes gaining a year of age.
Q 29What food is traditionally eaten on the 15th and final day of the Chinese New Year period?
Tangyuan
Tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls served in broth, are eaten on the fifteenth night that closes the period; the name echoes tuanyuan, 'reunion', so they also appear at weddings and the winter solstice.
Q 30What is the significance of wearing new clothes on Chinese New Year's Day?
To mark a new beginning
Wearing new clothes on New Year's Day symbolizes a fresh start and new beginnings. It represents leaving behind the old year and welcoming the new one with a clean slate.