Culture Insider: traditional Spring Festival customs

[Photo/Xinhua]

The first day of Chinese New Year, also known as the "day of chicken", officially begins at midnight.

It is traditional to light firecrackers and make as much of a din as possible to chase off the evil monster nian.

Most importantly the oldest and most senior members are visited with the visits strengthening family kinship.

Senior members of the family hand out red envelopes containing cash (Chinese: ya sui qian), a form of blessing and to suppress aging and the challenges of the coming year, to junior members of the family, mostly children and teenagers.