4-2-4 Making New Year's calls

Another distinctive Spring Festival activity is the custom of making New Year's calls to friends and family in the first days of the New Year. If New Year's offerings to the ancestors represent remembrance of the departed, New Year's calls represent appreciation of the living. Making the rounds to offer New Year's greetings expresses affection and strengthens the bonds of friendship and family. In the past, if the head of a household had too many friends and relations to pay them each a personal visit, a servant was delegated to deliver name cards or lucky characters. This custom was widespread among the upper classes. The people receiving callers often gave their elder visitors red envelopes containing lucky New Year's money.

The New Year's customs of the common people were influenced somewhat by those of the upper classes. During the Ming-Qing period, members of the court often paid New Year's calls in groups. This custom is still popular among the common people today.

Today, there are a number of new ways of conveying New Year's greetings. In addition to paying New Year's calls, people send New Year's cards, make phone calls, send electronic greeting cards, or use cell phones to send short text messages.