As Chinese New Year (CNY) approaches, it’s time to prepare for a season of joy, celebration, and togetherness. It also means coming up with fun celebration ideas and putting up festive decorations at homes and offices to get ready for the arrival of the new year.
Here at First Page Digital, we value the importance of cultural celebrations and can’t wait to share the joy of the festive season with our team and followers. Keep reading to learn more about the history, traditional customs, and activities to get the most out of this special time of year.
Bouncing Into Chinese New Year 2023: Year Of The Rabbit
Did you know that Chinese New Year lasts for two weeks between a New Moon and the next full Moon? It’s actually the longest Chinese holiday of the year, though Singapore only has two public holidays for the festival.
In 2023, the Lunar New Year begins on 22 January 2023 and ends on 5 February 2023, which is when the full moon rises.
Individuals usually start preparing for this most awaited day as early as the start of January until Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Legend Of The Rabbit In The Zodiac
Chinese New Year 2023 is the year of the Water Rabbit, which also happened 60 years ago. The bunny is the fourth animal in the Chinese Zodiac.
Each animal sign in the Chinese Zodiac corresponds to a year, which is based on the Moon and has a 12 year cycle. Adding on, there is also a cycle of five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal and water—which creates a 60 year cycle.
What is the personality of a Water Rabbit?
Individuals born with the Rabbit zodiac sign are known for their gentle nature. They have a unique ability to adjust to different surroundings and have a talent for self-expression.
Water Rabbits are also are smart and discerning, making them dependable friends who keep secrets well. They value manners and diplomacy, avoiding conflicts and confrontations even with their adversaries.
How did the Rabbit achieve fourth place in the Chinese Zodiac?
According to Chinese legend, the Jade Emperor decided that there should be a way to accurately mark the passing of time. He announced that the first twelve animals to finish in the race would be rewarded by having a year named after them. The animals had to cross a river to get to the finish line.
Even though the Rabbit couldn’t swim, it avoided falling into the water by hopping on floating logs and managed to secure fourth place, after the Rat, Ox, and Tiger.
Benefits of Celebrating Chinese New Year In The Workplace
At First Page, we understand the importance of building relationships between colleagues and creating shared bonds through cultural experiences. That’s why we make it a point of celebrating different festivities, including Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, and Deepavali every year.
Not only is it a fun and enjoyable experience, but it also provide our team with a better understanding of different traditions, beliefs, and values which bridges existing gaps between different people from diverse cultures.
We believe that by recognising and valuing the traditions of our employees, we can create a happier, more engaged workforce and promote a positive company culture.
Different Ways Companies Can Celebrate Chinese New Year
If you’re doing some last-minute planning for Chinese New Year, here’s a list of Chinese New Year Party activities to get everyone in the festive spirit.
1. Decorating the office for Chinese New Year
Decorating the office is a great way to get into the spirit of Chinese New Year. You can involve the whole team in brainstorming decoration ideas or you can make use of the following suggestions:
- Hanging Chinese red lanterns to drive away bad luck
- Displaying door couplets for a happy new year
- Gifting flowers and Kumquat trees for prosperity, good luck, and wealth
2. Get into office spring cleaning
This is also an opportunity to do office spring cleaning. A good deep clean will help increase the staff’s focus and productivity, eliminate distractions, and inspire a healthier workspace. Begin by doing the basics-surface wiping down tables and computers, dusting furniture, and vacuuming floors-then move on to more specific tasks like rearranging furniture or taking care of messy cords.
Are there any distractions or disruptions that might be affecting the team’s workflow? If it’s time for everyone to huddle, is it easy to gather around one spot? It’s a good idea to make any necessary changes before New Year starts so you can keep up momentum throughout 2023.
3. Shou Gong (getting off work) celebrations
Last but not least, employees are typically treated to a half-day off and must Shou Gong, which translates to stopping work for the day. Once the Chinese New Year celebrations are over, Hui Gong (returning to work) marks the official recommencing of work and business.
What You Can Do As A Team During Chinese New Year
Get ready to enjoy Chinese New Year as a team! This is a great opportunity for employers to show appreciation for their employees’ hard work throughout the past year. Here are some ideas on what you can do as a company during the Lunar New Year celebrations.
1. Gift these important Chinese New Year items
One of the most important customs of Chinese New Year celebrations is to greet others and wish them good luck. Along with greetings, it’s traditional to give mandarin oranges and red packets as gifts.
Mandarin oranges symbolise wealth and prosperity because of their golden colour.
Meanwhile, red packets represent a blessing to the receiver. It’s a tradition in Singapore for the elders and married couples to give red packets to the younger generation and unmarried individuals
At First Page, our CEO handed out red packets as a traditional Chinese New Year gift to every staff to thank them for their hard work for the previous year as well as bless them with good fortune and luck for the year ahead.
2. Plan a traditional Chinese New Year meal
A company-wide lunch is another great opportunity to come together and celebrate the Chinese New Year. At First Page, we hosted a company-wide lunch buffet at Asian Market Cafe, giving us an opportunity to indulge in delicious food and build stronger relationships within the company.
If you don’t mind trying something loud but fun, you can gather everyone in the team to participate in a Lo Hei (prosperity toss). Lo Hei, which literally means “tossing up good fortune” is a ritual that is common in Singapore. A group gathers around a huge plate of Yu Sheng, a vibrant, iconic CNY dish consisting of various ingredients, and toss the ingredients in it into the air while chanting positive phrases. The popular belief is that the higher the toss, the better will be your fortune and prosperity in the coming year ahead.
Each key ingredient of Yu Sheng also has its own symbolism and significance. Yu Sheng consists of carrots which means good luck; green and white radish symbolising eternal youth and good job opportunities; raw fish that signifies abundance and prosperity; pomelo which means luck; crushed peanuts that signifies homes to be filled with a lot of treasured possessions; sesame seeds that symbolises hope for a business to grow, and golden crackers which means wealth.
To hold the salad together, plum sauce is another key ingredient and it signifies stronger ties with family and friends. The salad also has pepper and cinnamon powder which represent wealth, as well as oil that’s usually sprinkled in a circular way instead of pouring it over, signifying money coming from every direction.
3. Organise a lion dance performance
Lastly, you can include a lion dance in your company’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
In Chinese culture, the lion is seen as a symbol of power, wisdom, and superiority. The lion dance is a traditional Chinese dance performed during the Spring Festival and is believed to attract good fortune and drive away evil spirits.
It typically consists of two performers, with one wearing the head of the lion, and another wearing its colourful body. The dancers wear this costume in order to mimic the movements of a real lion during their lively performance, which can include acrobatics and fights with mock opponents. The lion dance is accompanied by the sounds of beating drums, cymbals, and gongs.
If you decide to include a lion dance as one of the activities for your Chinese New Year party, it will surely become one of the highlights that will bring smiles to everyone in the team.
Hop Into The New Year With First Page
The First Page team believes that Chinese New Year is an opportunity to come together as a company and celebrate our diverse culture. We believe in planning celebrations and activities that allow everyone to participate and share in the joy of the holiday, which further brings your team together, builds camaraderie, and creates a positive and inspiring work culture.
