Chinese New Year takes place on Tuesday 5 February, its precise date varying annually in accordance with the country’s lunisolar calendar.

Celebrated not just in China but overseas in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines as well as in Chinese communities across the world, custom sees every year characterised by one of the 12 spirit animals of the Chinese zodiac.

As indicated by Google’s latest Doodle, 2019 is the Year of the Pig.

The associated festivities typically run for two weeks, from New Year’s Eve to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month.

To wish someone a happy new year in Mandarin, the phrase is “Xin Nian Kuai Le”. In Cantonese, it is “San Nin Faai Lok”.

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How is the Chinese New Year celebrated?

The festivities begin with a thorough house cleaning, a symbolic ritual intended to sweep away the accumulated dust and detritus of the past year from the home. Doing so allows the occupant to begin the new calendar with a clean slate.

Red paper lanterns and banners bearing poetic inscriptions are hung as decorations, the colour believed to bring good luck and prosperity.

Children are likewise handed “luck money” in red envelopes during the season to encourage good fortune.

Special ceremonial foods eaten at the Nian Ye Fan family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve include poultry, pork and fish dishes, spring rolls, noodles and vegetable taro cakes. Precisely what is served varies from region to region: jiaozi dumplings are customary in the north and niangao, a glutinous rice cake, in the south.

Apples and mandarin oranges are offered as emblems of peace and wealth.

Prayers are said at temple and incense lit to remember lost ancestors, while many stay up late to watch China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala, a four-hour spectacular broadcast since 1982 that routinely attracts 800m viewers. It is thought to be the world’s most-watched programme.

Fireworks are ignited on New Year’s Day to banish old ghosts and evil spirits from the hearth while lion and dragon dance troupes take part in town centre parades, accompanied by dancers bearing gongs and traditional drums.

Other dates honoured during the two-week Spring Festival include Horse’s Day, on which the Ghost of Poverty is driven out, and the Jade Emperor’s Birthday, on which prayers are offered to the first god in the Daoist pantheon.

What does the Year of the Pig signify?

The pig is the last of the zodiac animals, having overslept and arrived late to the great meeting to which all of the creatures were summoned by the Jade Empreror, according to folklore.

A traditional paper lantern hung for Chinese New Year (Shutterstock)

The beast is associated with wealth, emotion and intuition, its accompanying natural element being water.

People born in one of the Years of the Pig – most recently 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 or 2007 – are said to be realistic and retiring in nature.

While frugal with money and motivated by aquisition, they enjoy life and are not afraid to treat themselves.

Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Show all 43 1 /43 Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Performers take part in a fire dragon dance under a shower of molten iron sparks on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Pig, in Zaozhuang REUTERS Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Filipino-Chinese children display piggy banks at the start of celebrations for Lunar New Year in Chinatown, Manila, Philippines AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A lion dance troupe performs among visitors jostling for freebies thrown to them during celebrations for the Lunar New Year of the Pig in Manila's Chinatown district AFP/Getty Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world People buy flowers at a New Year market in Hong Kong's Victoria Park AP/Vincent Yu Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Performers take part in a night parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Lion dancers dance around firecrackers as they explode in the street while ushering in Chinese New Year in San Francisco, California Getty Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world People look at festive New Year pig ornaments in the China Town area of London AFP/Getty Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Drummers perform in front of a mural reading "2019" at a temple fair at Longtan Park in Beijing AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Performers take part in a night parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The Lunar New Year this year marks the Year of the Pig in the Chinese calendar. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Vincent Yu AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A performer blows fire during Chinese New Year celebrations at Manila's Chinatown Reuters Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world HONG KONG, HONG KONG - FEBRUARY 05: Comparsa Tymbalia from Spain during the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade on February 5, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by Ivan Abreu/Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board) Ivan Abreu (Credit too long, see caption) Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A performer takes part in a night parade to celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The Lunar New Year this year marks the Year of the Pig in the Chinese calendar. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu) Vincent Yu AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Dancers perform a Dragon dance next to revelers in Manila EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world anterns are carried through the streets to be hung on Chinese New Year in Chinatown in London Getty Images Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Diners take part in the largest yum cha meal in Sydney, Australia EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Children celebrate the Lunar New Year in Chinatown in New York Getty Images Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A crowd jostles to grab items being thrown at them during celebrations AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Performers take part in a Chinese New Year parade in Tsim Sha Tsui EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world HONG KONG, HONG KONG - FEBRUARY 05: Korea National University of Arts performance during the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade on February 5, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by Ivan Abreu/Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board) Ivan Abreu (Credit too long, see caption) Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world HONG KONG, HONG KONG - FEBRUARY 05: Cape Town Carnival from South Africa during the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade on February 5, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by Ivan Abreu/Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board) Ivan Abreu (Credit too long, see caption) Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world HONG KONG, HONG KONG - FEBRUARY 05: Dancers from the Korean National University of the Arts perform at the Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade on February 5, 2019 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. (Photo by Theodore Kaye/Getty Images for Hong Kong Tourism Board) Theodore Kaye (Credit too long, see caption) Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Dancers in traditional ethnic clothing perform at a temple fair at Longtan Park in Beijing, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. Chinese people are celebrating the second day of the Lunar New Year on Tuesday, the Year of the Pig on the Chinese zodiac. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) Mark Schiefelbein AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Girls react to a squealing Teacup pig, a rare pet in the Philippines, at the start of celebrations leading to the Chinese New Year at Manila's Lucky Chinatown Plaza in Manila AP/Bullit Marquez Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A family poses in front of red lanterns on display at the Longtan Park for a temple fair ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing, China AP/Andy Wong Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Vendors carrying pig-shaped balloons for sale to mark the Lunar New Year in Hanoi, Vietnam AP/Hau Dinh Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A vendor packs sweets at the Dihua Street market in Taipei, Taiwan on 29 January. Taiwanese shoppers started hunting for delicacies, dried goods, and other bargains at the market ahead of the Lunar New Year AP/Chiang Ying-ying Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Women take a selfie near a tree decorated with red lanterns AP/Andy Wong Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world An ethnic Chinese-Thai man offers flowers after prayers at the Leng Nuei Yee Chinese temple AP/Sakchai Lalit Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Two divers perform an underwater Chinese Lion Dance ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations at Aquaria KLCC underwater park in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 30 January AP/Vincent Thian Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Travellers wait for their trains at a railway station in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang province on 28 January. The world's largest annual migration has begun in China with millions of Chinese travelling to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year Chinatopix via AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Dancers perform the dragon dance in during new year celebrations in the Chinatown disctrict of Manila, Philippines AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Lion dancers perform on the glass deck of the King Power Mahanakhon building, Thailand's tallest, in Bangkok AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Chinese performers dressed in traditional costumes attend a rehearsal of a reenactment of a Qing dynasty (1636-1912) imperial sacrifice ritual to worship the Earth, on the eve of the Chinese New Year, at Ditan Park in Beijing EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A woman takes a photo in a sculpture made of pigs as part of celebrations for the Year of the Pig in Sydney, Australia EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Year of the Pig merchandise for sale at a market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A diver wearing a traditional Chinese outfit feeds fish on the eve of Chinese New Year in Manila, Philippines EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Fireworks explode behind the Sydney Opera House as it glows red as part of celebrations for Chinese New Year of the pig, in Sydney, Australia EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Men perform a dragon dance called Liong ahead of Chinese New Year during the Grebeg Suro ceremony in Solo, Central Java province, Indonesia Reuters Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Performers rehearse a re-enactment of a Chinese New Year Qing Dynasty ceremony at the Temple of Earth in Ditan Park in Beijing Reuters Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Lion dancers pose on the glass deck of the King Power Mahanakhon building, Thailand's tallest, in Bangkok AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A Malaysian ethnic Chinese family take a selfie a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia AP Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world Indonesian ethnic Chinese people carry offerings during Chinese New Year celebrations at a temple in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia EPA Year of the Pig: Chinese new year celebrations around the world A tourist walks under decorative lanterns ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations at Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia EPA

Men born in the Year of the Pig are focused but gentle, trusting but calm. Women are exciteable and sociable.

They are said to be most compatible with partners born in the years of the tiger, rabbit or goat and least with those from snake and monkey years.

The colours yellow, brown and grey and the numbers two, five and eight are considered lucky for pigs; blue, green, one, seven and nine are unlucky.

How will Chinese New Year be marked in the UK?

London’s Chinatown in the West End plays host to the largest Spring Festival celebrations outside of Asia, with this year’s 50-float parade taking place between Shaftebury Avenue and Trafalgar Square on 10 February.

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The area’s restaurants are typically packed as diners join in the carnival atmosphere, while fireworks, speeches and acrobatic displays will take place in front of the National Gallery and in Leicester Square.