Ready to celebrate Chinese New Year with your teammates?
Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year is kicking off on February 1st, 2022.
People all across the world – from Singapore to Malaysia to Hong Kong to China – begin decorating their houses weeks in advance of the Lunar New Year, and some even take vacation time to spend with friends and family. However, this does not mean it cannot be enjoyed in the office as well.
In countries that follow the lunisolar calendar, Chinese New Year is an important celebration. The first new moon of the year marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, which is why the Chinese New Year is celebrated on this date every year.
Why does Workplace need to Celebrate the Chinese New Year?
As a result of the large East Asian and Southeast Asian diaspora and their cultural influences, the Lunar New Year is widely celebrated across the globe.
You may recognize Lunar New Year as Chinese New Year, Tết (Vietnamese New Year), Seollal (Korean New Year), and other names depending on where you live and the Asian communities in your area.
Taking the time to learn about your coworkers’ cultural backgrounds is a great way to build a sense of inclusiveness. Recognizing and celebrating employees’ racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds can help foster psychological safety and engagement.
Additionally, it’s a lot of fun and a wonderful way to bond with your teammates!
Easy & Fun Ideas to Celebrate Chinese New Year
Many traditions and customs are observed on Lunar New Year to bring in a bright and prosperous year, and these activities can be carried out in the workplace in a variety of ways!
Bai Nian: Greet & Wish Each Other Good Luck
Suitable for: Hybrid & Remote teams
During the Chinese New Year, the first thing people do is ‘Bai Nian,’ or greet one another and wish each other luck. A pair of mandarin oranges and red envelopes, with an even amount of money, is a traditional Chinese New Year gift. Adults and children who are not married get these red envelopes (hong bao) as a token of good health and wealth from married family members and acquaintances.
Explore the World of Chinese New Year
Suitable for: Hybrid or remote teams
Travel virtually with your team and get deeper insights about Beijing’s history, culture, and traditions with a friendly local guide. You’ll be amazed by how the Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year and go on the hunt for traditional CNY foods in the streets during this live and interactive tour.
Explore the mysterious location of your trip and decide together where the guide should take you, either to find hidden adventures or to crack some challenges.
Get a Chinese New Year Virtual Background
Suitable for: Hybrid or remote teams
Virtual backgrounds are the perfect way to embody the festive spirit during work hours.
Grab a free virtual background by completing the form below, we will even customise it with your company logo.
The Lo Hei: Tossing Up Good Fortunes
Suitable for: Hybrid teams
The ‘Lo Hei’ is a joyous and occasionally messy ritual that draws people together to toss and combine the ingredients for the yu sheng dish – a vibrant raw fish salad made with green radish, fish, shredded carrot, plum sauce, peanuts, and seasonings.
Each ingredient symbolizes a blessing such as money, health, and happiness, and when each component is added, good luck and prosperity wishes are chanted. These ingredients are then tossed into the air and stirred — Lo Hei literally translates as ‘tossing up good fortune — and the higher they are tossed and raised, the more prosperity is believed given.
Office Spring Cleaning & Decorating
Suitable for: Hybrid & remote teams
This is the ideal time to decorate the office and get everyone in the holiday spirit! You can start with Chinese red lanterns if you’re not sure what else to put up. Hanging one on the front door of your office is said to ward off evil luck. Among the more typical things you’ll see are:
- A happy new year from the door couplets!
- Good fortune and joy in the form of paper cuts
- Luck and prosperity come from the kumquat tree.
- Flowers blooming in the new year are a great blessing.
It is said that there are some superstitions associated with cleaning on the day of CNY (you don’t want to sweep away all your good fortune! ), you can still spend some time organizing for the year ahead.
Evaluate your workspace’s flow: is it practical? Is it conducive to collaborating and focused work? If you’re part of a remote team, do your colleagues have the necessary equipment to succeed? If not, this is a good moment to assess what is and is not working.
Serve/Send Chinese New Year Snacks
Suitable for: Hybrid & remote teams
Chinese New Year would be incomplete without the delectable foods that accompany it. One of everyone’s favorite is bakkwa or rougan, a roasted meat snack typically made of pork, similar to jerky. There are other Chinese New Year delicacies to enjoy as well, such as:
- Sunflower seeds
- Dried longans
- Assorted sweets
- niángo – new year’s steamed cake
For remote teams, it’s would be nice to send these Lunar New Year delicacies sent to your team’s doorsteps as virtual CNY gifts.
Lanterns and Firecrackers
Suitable for: Hybrid or remote teams
While the majority of fireworks and firecrackers are fired on Lunar New Year’s Eve, it is customary to light a firecracker on Lunar New Year’s Day in order to ward off bad luck.
For a more modest celebration, you can choose to only celebrate with red paper lanterns. It symbolizes hope for a more prosperous future and gives a festive touch to your office!
Playing Games
Suitable for: Hybrid or remote teams
Playing games and spending time with family and friends is what makes the CNY celebration becomes more heartwarming. We encourage you and your team to have a good time on this special day!
Play card games with your teammates or learn to play Chinese games like Mahjong.
Final Thoughts
Investing time in learning about your colleagues’ cultural origins is an excellent way to foster a sense of inclusiveness and employee engagement.
Lunar New Year is a special moment for millions of people worldwide, and you might have employees who observe it. Regardless of their cultural background, everyone should be able to bring their whole self to work.
Next, check our post for more Virtual Chinese New Year Party Ideas and CNY events that are designed to encourage teamwork and boost engagement.