Lesson Transcript

Hi, everybody! Do you know how Chinese people celebrate New Year's Day? In this lesson, you'll learn some important phrases about the Chinese New Year and some valuable cultural tips.
In Chinese, New Year's day is called...
元旦
[slowly] 元旦
On 元旦, Chinese people greet each other by saying 新年好!
(slow) 新年好!
This means "Happy New Year."
When you meet someone for the first time in the new year, be sure to greet them with this phrase.
Chinese people also celebrate the holiday with special events and customs. At most events you'll find...
烟花
(slow) 烟花
This means "fireworks."
In the cities, you will see many kinds of celebratory events. The big screens in financial districts will display the numbers as they count down, and when they hit zero, fireworks are set off to celebrate.
Just before the New Year's Day, Chinese people also have a special event called 黑色星期五
(slow) 黑色星期五
This means "Chinese Black Friday."
In recent years, the end of the year has become the time when most people go shopping. This is because malls offer big discounts known as Chinese Black Friday or 黑色星期五, hēisè Xīngqīwǔ. Malls will usually extend their shopping hours and sales shifts until late at night. By the end of the night, every store's product racks will look as though a robbery has taken place because the racks will be almost empty!
Let's wrap up this lesson by recapping what you've learned. Listen to the expression and repeat after me.
"New Year's Day"
元旦
* beep
元旦
"Happy New Year!"
新年好!
* beep
新年好!
"fireworks"
烟花
* beep
烟花
"Chinese Black Friday"
黑色星期五
* beep
黑色星期五
Well done! [pause] Here's a fun fact!
Do you know the lyrics to the Chinese version of the song “Happy New Year,” or 新年好, (Xīn Nián Hǎo)?
The song says 新年好呀,新年好呀,祝福 大家新年好;我们唱歌,我们跳舞,祝福大家新年好, (xīnniánhǎo yā , xīnniánhǎo yā , zhùfú dàjiā xīnniánhǎo ;wǒmen chànggē , wǒmen tiàowǔ , zhùfú dàjiā xīnniánhǎo) It means “Happy new year, happy new year, wishing everyone a happy new year; we sing, we dance, wishing everyone a happy new year!” Almost everyone in China can sing it!
You just learned how Chinese people celebrate "New Year's Day" and some important facts about the holiday.
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I'll see you next time. Zàijiàn!

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