Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn with Your Partner
If you're dating a Chinese partner, the big festivals are a lovely chance to share something that matters to them, and often to meet the family. Customs vary from family to family, so treat this as a starting point and ask your partner what their family does.
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year)
It falls in late January or February and centres on family: a big reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, visits to relatives, and new beginnings. Greetings you'll hear: 新年快乐 (xīnnián kuàilè, Happy New Year) and 恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái in Mandarin, gung1 hei2 faat3 coi4 in Cantonese), wishing prosperity.
Red envelopes (红包 hóngbāo; 利是 lai6 si6 in Cantonese) hold money and are usually given by married adults and elders to children and younger unmarried relatives. If you're unsure whether you should give any, ask your partner; it's a family custom, not a test.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Usually in September or early October, under the full moon. Families get together, look at the moon and share mooncakes. A box of mooncakes from a good Chinese bakery is a thoughtful gift if you're visiting your partner's family around then.
Gifts some families avoid
Some older family members take a few traditions seriously: clocks as gifts (送钟 sounds like a phrase about death), the number 4 (it sounds like "death"), and white flowers, which are associated with funerals. Fruit, tea, pastries or something from your own hometown are safe, kind choices.
Being a good guest
Bring something, greet the elders first, try the dishes you're offered, and follow your partner's lead on everything else. Sincere interest matters far more than getting every custom right.
More for people who aren't Chinese → How to spot online dating scams →