When the first day of a new year comes, the first thing Chinese would do is Bainian, Chinese New Year greetings.
As Chinese would stay up on the New Year’s Eve till the early morning of the first day of the new year, when the very moment of the new year arrives people would say ‘Bainian, Bainian’to everyone around and some auspicious phrases, known as Chinese wishing, such as Gong Xi Fa Cai (wish you make plenty of money), Ji Xiang Ru Yi (wish you be lucky and everything goes as wished), He Jia Huan Le (wish your family is harmonious and every family member is happy), and Shen Ti Jian Kang (wish you healthy).
On the first day after getting up, kids should go Bainian to their grandparents and everyone to his/her parents. In the ancient times, the gesture that kids would make to their grandparents is Ketou, falling on kneels and placing palms and forehead downward onto the ground. And the wishes to the aged family members are always related health and longevity. When greeting people of the same age, Chinese would Zuoyi, making a bow with hands folded in front and also say something sounding auspicious.
If you are interested in learning more about this or related Chinese Greetings topics, take a FREE one-on-one live online lesson with a professional teacher in Beijing! (www.eChineseLearning.com)
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