With more than 10% of the population descendants of ethnic Chinese and the ever-present influence of the big country to the north, it’s no surprise that the Chinese lunar new year is a big deal in Thailand.

Chinese New Year Celebrations are so important to the Chinese people that they may take weeks of holiday from work just to make preparations for the Chinese New Year Celebrations. Chinese New Year Celebrations begin with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and comes to an end after 15 days on the full moon 15th day.

The 15th day of the New Year is popularly referred to as the Lantern Festival and it is celebrated with great pomp at full moon night with magnificent lantern displays and children carrying beautiful lanterns in an organized parade.

During the Chinese New Year Celebrations, people generally wear red clothes, write poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes as according to Chinese legend, red symbolizes fire which can drive away bad luck.

Chinese New Year Celebrations is the perfect time for family reunion and members of the family not only decorate their homes with blossoming plants and flowers but also gather at each others place to share meals and festivities. All traditional Chinese households are adorned with live blooming plants as they symbolize reincarnation and new growth and flowers symbolize wealth and prosperity in one’s career.

On the preceding days of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, the Chinese families adorn their living rooms with vases of attractive blossoms, tray of oranges and tangerines and a candy dish with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. Chinese New Year Celebrations comes to gracious end on the fifteenth day of the month with the lantern festival.

Ethnic Chinese celebrate by paying respects to their ancestors. In cities and towns all over the country, people put together traditional offering ceremonies, where elaborate feasts are prepared and laid out as a gift to the spirits. People also offer symbolic gifts to their ancestors. If you walk the streets in the run up to the New Year, you’ll see vendors selling paper telephones, paper money, and even paper whiskey bottles! People buy these paper items and burn them as offerings, too.

In addition to these ceremonies, there’s plenty of fun and celebration to be had during Chinese New Year in Thailand. Bangkok’s Chinatown has the country’s biggest celebration, but in the week surrounding the actual New Year, there are big celebrations in Ayyuthaya, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and other cities. These celebrations typically include parades, live music and dance performances, and fireworks at night. If you happen to be in Thailand during Chinese New Year, it’s a celebration not to be missed.
 

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