Chinese New Year in France

The Chinese New Year customs of overseas Chinese in France have always retained their traditional Chinese essence while integrating French-style elements, serving as a warm testament to cross-cultural integration.

Pre-holiday preparations mark the start of the festive mood. As the twelfth lunar month begins, stores in Chinese communities like Paris’s 13th arrondissement and Lyon are adorned with red lanterns and Spring Festival couplets, and stocked with dumplings, rice cakes and other New Year goods, recreating the lively atmosphere of a Chinese market. Chinese families uphold the tradition of "cleaning away dust to welcome the new year": after tidying up their Western-style apartments, they decorate the spaces with Chinese knots and kumquat plants, creating a unique warmth through the fusion of Chinese and Western home styles. Community-organized couplet-writing events are extremely popular, with both Chinese families and their French neighbors eager to get their hands on the works. The character "Fu" (blessing) pasted upside down embodies the wish that "blessings have arrived at the door".

 The New Year’s Eve family reunion dinner is the centerpiece of the customs. Family members gather to enjoy a feast. Traditional dishes such as sea fish, dumplings and rice cakes preserve their symbolic meanings—sea fish for "surplus year after year" and rice cakes for "stepping up to greater heights"—while being adapted to the ingredients available in France. The dining table often features ingenious East-West combinations: Chinese dishes paired with French red wine and macarons, or beef stewed in red wine with Chinese spices like star anise and cinnamon. After the meal, the family sits together to watch the Spring Festival Gala, with the sound of familiar mother tongue mixing with French to form a heartwarming picture of reunion.

New Year celebrations extend the festive spirit beyond the home. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, vibrant dragon and lion dance parades take place in cities like Paris and Marseille. The dancing dragons and lions visit local shops to collect red envelopes, drawing cheers from both Chinese and French onlookers. Elders give red envelopes to the younger generation, and many families also prepare bilingual red envelopes for their French friends to convey good wishes. Community temple fairs host stalls for couplet-writing and lantern riddles. On the Lantern Festival, glutinous rice balls and lantern shows bring Chinese and French friends together, bringing the New Year celebrations to a perfect close under the glowing lanterns.

While preserving the core values of "reunion and blessing", these customs continue to evolve—from the way ingredients are sourced to the format of celebrations, and from being exclusive to the Chinese community to embracing diverse participation. They not only carry overseas Chinese’s longing for their hometown but also serve as a vivid vehicle for spreading Chinese culture abroad, making the New Year away from home a warm and heartening experience.