At Balmer, we wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year), but we struggled to fit both holidays in our busy February calendar! Then we thought – what better way than to celebrate both holidays at once? As a team, we identified our unique Chinese Zodiac and sussed out our Zodiac compatibility to discover our “perfect” office match!
Chinese New Year: The Year of the Ox 2021
Chinese New Year or 春节 (Chūn Jié) in Mandarin, marks the beginning on the new year on the lunar calendar. Because the cycle varies, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year. This year, celebrations commence with Chinese New Year Eve (February 11) and end with the Lantern Festival (February 26).
There are twelve birth signs in the Chinese Zodiac (Běn Mìng Nián, 本命年), a system that dates back to the Qin dynasty (over 2,000 years ago). 2021 is the year of the Ox, a significant animal in Chinese mythology due to its role in agriculture and its honest and conscientious traits.
A year to celebrate: traditions, food, gifts and gatherings
Chinese New Year is celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and many more countries. The holiday is traditionally a time for families to gather and exchange best wishes for the year ahead. Together, they partake in activities such as spring cleaning and the eating of ‘auspicious’ food, with the belief that it will bring happiness, success, and good health in the coming year.
Chinese New Year is celebrated with a Reunion Dinner, where extended families enjoy a large feast (dumplings, rice cakes, lollies, fish, spring rolls and more). These foods represent good fortune, business growth, unity and long life. Fireworks and firecrackers symbolise new beginnings and people enjoy the gala shows and lion dances in the street.
Chinese New Year is also a time for gift giving. Red Envelope or 红包 (Hóngbāo), is one of the oldest traditions, symbolising good luck and prosperity. Similar to the tradition of Christian gift-giving on Christmas day, envelopes contain cash and are exchanged between family and friends. Products such as tea, liquor, food, clothing, and more luxe items like jewellery, make popular gifts during the holiday.
Many Chinese Australians who live away from extended family tend to celebrate the holiday with immediate family or friends. Purchasing property and gifts throughout this period symbolises good luck and virtue so it is a clever idea for businesses to capitalise on consumer spending during this period.
Chinese New Year is a business opportunity
Chinese social media is largely untapped when it comes to Australians wanting to break into the Chinese social media market both in Australia and overseas. A good way to cut through the market is to leverage off the rich cultural tradition of Chinese New Year with a strong social media strategy. At Balmer, we offer Chinese Digital services across Weibo, WeChat, Baidu and more.
Our Account Coordinator, Almee and our newest recruit, Sophia, our Lead of Chinese Digital, are fluent in Chinese. They have extensive knowledge about the Chinese market, its consumers and digital platforms. Get in touch with us today to explore the right options in Chinese Social Media for your business. Happy Year of the Ox!
