MUZI MUZIChinese Matrix

New Year's Eve

Around the hearth till dawn, firecrackers to see the old year out

Introduction

The last night of the lunar year: reunion, the year-end vigil, and farewell to the old year

New Year's Eve is the last day of the lunar year, usually the thirtieth of the twelfth month or the twenty-ninth in a short month, the night when the old year is seen out and the new one welcomed. Pre-Qin year-end rites already drove out pestilence with drums in the 'expulsion' and the great nuo exorcism; Zhou Chu's Fengtu ji of the Western Jin records whole families staying awake all night, 'keeping the year', and the Liang Jingchu suishi ji tells of every household laying out food at the year's end to greet the new year. In Northern Song Kaifeng the palace staged the great exorcism amid firecrackers and cheers, while ordinary families sat round the hearth until dawn. Its customs are the reunion dinner, the vigil, couplets and New Year prints, firecrackers and ancestor offerings, and reunion is its heart.

Timeline

Western Jin to present
290 · OriginThe Fengtu ji traditionally attributed to Zhou Chu (late 3rd century) is said to record families staying awake all night at the year's end, 'keeping the year', with gift-giving and farewell feasts; the wording largely follows Su Shi's preface to his 'Three Poems at Year's End', so the attribution is uncertain, but it is among the early records of the custom.550 · EvolutionThe Jingchu suishi ji records that at the year's end every household laid out dishes at the year-vigil place to welcome the new year and gathered to feast and drink together.1147 · EvolutionBook 10 of the Dongjing menghua lu records that on New Year's Eve the Song palace staged the great exorcism with firecrackers and cheers heard outside, while ordinary families sat round the hearth awake until dawn, 'keeping the year'.2024 · ImpactIn 2024 UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival social practices, whose description includes the New Year's Eve family dinner and vigil.
  1. 290OriginThe Fengtu ji traditionally attributed to Zhou Chu (late 3rd century) is said to record families staying awake all night at the year's end, 'keeping the year', with gift-giving and farewell feasts; the wording largely follows Su Shi's preface to his 'Three Poems at Year's End', so the attribution is uncertain, but it is among the early records of the custom.Literature › Records of Local Customs
  2. 550EvolutionThe Jingchu suishi ji records that at the year's end every household laid out dishes at the year-vigil place to welcome the new year and gathered to feast and drink together.Literature › Annual Customs of Jing-Chu
  3. 1147EvolutionBook 10 of the Dongjing menghua lu records that on New Year's Eve the Song palace staged the great exorcism with firecrackers and cheers heard outside, while ordinary families sat round the hearth awake until dawn, 'keeping the year'.Literature › Record of a Dream of Splendour in the Eastern Capital: Juan 10
  4. 2024ImpactIn 2024 UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival social practices, whose description includes the New Year's Eve family dinner and vigil.

Heritage Listings

  1. 2006National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage1st batch · X-1 Spring Festival · no. 449 · New Year's Eve is part of the festival period · collective item
  2. 2024UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity19.COM · Spring festival · social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year · the description includes the New Year's Eve dinner and vigil · collective inscription