Lunar New Year 2022 will fall on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022. The date of the Chinese New Year is determined by the Chinese lunar calendar. The date changes every year but is always somewhere in the period from January 21st to February 20th.

Though the occasion is meant to be spent with family and friends, the COVID-19 pandemic means that Lunar New Year celebrations in the Malagos Garden resort will look different this year for everyone who celebrates this occasion in the resort.

Chinese New Year Traditions   

1. Cleaning and Decorating Houses with Red Things

Cleaning before the Spring Festival, which symbolizes sweeping away the bad luck of the preceding year and making their homes ready to receive good luck is a practice Malagos Garden Resort follows every New Year. 

The resort will be covered in red! Red is the main color for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious color for the Lunar New Year, denoting prosperity and energy — which ward off evil spirits and negativity. Red lanterns hang in streets; red couplets and New Year pictures are pasted on doors. 

2. Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors

Chinese new year tradition: Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors

Honoring the dead is a Chinese New Year’s tradition that’s kept to the word. Many Chinese people visit ancestors' graves on the day before the Chinese New Year's day,  offer sacrifices to ancestors before the reunion dinner (to show that they are letting their ancestors "eat" first), and add an extra glass and place it at the dinner table on New Year’s eve. 

3. Exchanging Red Envelopes and other Gifts 

Giving Chinese New Year Red Envelopes to children

The most common gifts are red envelopes (or red packets, lìshì or lai see in Cantonese). Red envelopes have money in and are often given to children and (retired) seniors.

The red envelope (money) is called ya sui qian (压岁钱 /yaa sway chyen/) or most commonly knowned as “ampao” to Filipinos, which means 'suppressing Sui (the demon money)'. Those who receive a red envelope wish for another safe and peaceful year. 

The amount of money ranges from a couple of hundred to several hundred. Chinese superstitions favor amounts that begin with even numbers, such as 8 (a homophone for "wealth"), and 6 (a homophone for "smooth"), except for the number 4 as it rhymes with the word that means "death" in Mandarin.

4. Watching Lion and Dragon Dances

Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen in China and Chinatowns in many Western countries during the Lunar New Year period. They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event. Hopefully if restrictions are lifted in Davao City, we will have a Dragon Dance Performance to wish everyone a prosperous New Year.

There is enough room for everyone and different spaces available for your preference. The whole resort will be Chinese New Year themed! And surprising activities may be held considering city ordinances for Davao Resorts by February 1. Whenever social events are allowed we are ready to accommodate your needs right away. Call us for inquiries now! Reservations are always best so we can prepare for anything you may need.