Happy Chinese New Year to you! Spring Festival is the most important and traditional festival all along Chinese history. Today is the Chinese New Year’s Eve, that is, the evening before the 15-day celebration for Chinese Spring Festival. Chinese people gather for family reunion to celebrate the harmony and harvest of the last year and pray for the fortune and happiness of the new year.
This is my second Spring Festival here as an international student in United States. Although I can’t go back to China for family reunion, unlike last year, my little kitty Zhuzhu’s company makes me not alone any more. So in this post I want to share my happiness with you on the special holiday. Follow my tips to celebrate the biggest Chinese cultural event with your kitty cat and I bet it would be an amazing experience for both of you!
1. Dress in Red
The first thing to consider is to follow the proper dressing code for the special day. The red color, which is always associated with “happiness and good fortune”, is one of the symbols of Chinese culture. Therefore, wearing something red is always the right choice for a Chinese celebration. Your cats might not like wearing a red dress on their body, but a red collar or bell on their neck would be a perfect choice for them to attend the celebration.
2. Make and Eat Jiaozi
For the most attractive part of the day, the food, jiaozi is an indispensable traditional dish for the family dinner. Jiaozi is the Chinese dumpling which is made of minced meat and chopped vegetables wrapped by a thin dough skin. Family members would get together to make and eat jiaozi in the Chinese New Year’s Eve. My kitty cat Zhuzhu loves eating jiaozi so much. Don’t worry if your cats are not willing to help you knead the dough. You can always get a bag of fast-frozen jiaozi in the Chinese supermarkets.
3. Light Fireworks
Firecrackers and fireworks are widely used to celebrate Chinese New Year in hopes of good fortune. It’s a traditional custom to make some noise in the beginning of the New Year. But don’t forget the explosions may easily frighten your kitties. So pick up some small, quiet, and friendly fireworks other than scary firecrackers and enjoy the colorful sparks peacefully with your kitties.
4. Watch CCTV Spring Festival Gala
The CCTV New Year’s Gala is the premier Mainland Chinese television event of the year. It is a tradition for every Chinese family to watch the show together after dinner on New Year’s Eve. The evening gala is consists of traditional Chinese drama, dancing, and singing. It will be broadcasted on CCTV-9 and online with simultaneous interpreting and subtitles in English. It would be a relaxing time for you and your kitty to enjoy the show on the sofa after a feast of jiaozi.
5. Get/ Give lucky money
It is a tradition during the Chinese Spring Festival that the seniors in the family give young people lucky money inside of red envelopes. The lucky money is believed to bless the recipient with prosperity and good luck in the new year. So why not wrapping a red envelope for your beloved kitty with a little gift inside? Put it in the cat bed and wish our furry friends good luck in the new year.
6. Take Family Photos
Taking family photos is an important ceremony during the Spring Festival with all family members and relatives gathered. Take it at the hall or in front of your house to record the beautiful moments. Don’t forget to dress up your cats before shooting the photo!
7. Go Visiting/ Receive Guests
One of the most essential activities during the festival is to visit the seniors in your family and your friends to wish them good luck in the new year. Your friends will pay visits back as well. It would be a good idea to take your cats to visit your friends’ cats. Let them have a little crazy party in the holiday too!
8. Happy Family Reunion!
The most important thing of all to celebrate Chinese New Year is to have a family reunion time. So it doesn’t matter if you can’t complete all the 7 things listed above with your cats as long as you spare some time with them today. Always remember your cats may only take up a small part in your life but you are everything to them.
Tell me whether your kitties love the plan I made for you and them in the Spring Festival. Wish you and your kitties a wonderful new year!
CAUTION! CATTITUDE 
Interesting pics. Did you take your kitty to the beach? Does she like it??
Yes! An exciting tour to the beach for both of us. She seems kind of nervous as her first time seeing the sea.
My cat definitely would not want to go visiting. It would mean putting her in a cage and traveling in the car. Does your cat actually like to travel?
She didn’t enjoy her first travel in the car at the beginning. But she found several good places for her to hide and sleep. She’s actually quite enjoy the scenery out of the windows. Zhu zhu can also eat, drink and pull while traveling now. I guess she adapt herself quite well in the car.
I love the picture of you two on the beach! Cats on the beach aren’t something I’ve seen before. Cool!
This is our first time as well. She’s really adaptable and unflapped…:)