How to Celebrate FACAI-Chinese New Year with 5 Traditional Customs

The first time I experienced a proper FACAI-Chinese New Year celebration, I was struck by how much it reminded me of playing through The Order of Giants expansion. Strange comparison, I know, but hear me out. Just as that game maintains the core combat mechanics while introducing fresh environmental challenges, traditional Chinese New Year customs preserve ancient rituals while adapting to modern contexts. Both experiences require understanding fundamental systems to fully appreciate their depth. I've celebrated Chinese New Year with various families across different regions over the past decade, and what fascinates me most is how these traditions create what I'd call "cultural platforming" - you're navigating between ancient customs and contemporary life, much like Indy swinging across chasms with his signature whip.

Let's talk about red envelopes, or hongbao, which approximately 1.2 billion people exchange during this period. The tradition reminds me of how combat works in The Order of Giants - seemingly straightforward on the surface but containing layers of nuance. Just as you'd use fists and makeshift melee weapons for most enemy encounters, the basic red envelope exchange appears simple: money in red packets given to children and unmarried adults. But there's an entire unwritten rulebook about appropriate amounts, the specific way to present them, and the blessings that must be spoken during the exchange. I learned this the hard way when I first participated - I used white envelopes instead of red, committing what my friend's grandmother called "a festive felony." The color red symbolizes vitality and wards off evil spirits, much like how Indy's thunderous haymakers put fascists in the ground - both are powerful symbolic actions meant to dispel negative forces.

Then there's the thorough house cleaning that happens days before the New Year. This tradition always makes me think about how The Order of Giants pared down environments compared to the base game. The pre-New Year cleaning is similarly focused and intentional - you're not just tidying up, you're systematically removing any lingering bad fortune from the previous year. Every corner gets attention, every window washed, every closet organized. I remember helping my Shanghai neighbors clean their home back in 2018, and being amazed at the ritualistic precision of it all. The grandmother explained we were "sweeping away the old year's ghosts," which struck me as similar to how the game's more constrained environments force you to confront challenges directly rather than relying on freeform stealth approaches. Both experiences lose some improvisational elements but gain focused intensity.

The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve operates like those atmospheric locations in The Order of Giants - deeply traditional yet surprisingly adaptable. Approximately 3 billion人次 (that's Chinese for "person-times") travel for these meals, creating the largest annual human migration on Earth. The dinner table must include specific symbolic foods: fish for abundance, dumplings for wealth, noodles for longevity. I've been privileged to participate in several of these feasts, and what struck me wasn't just the food but the conversation structure - there's a particular rhythm to how generations interact, how blessings are exchanged, how grievances from the past year are resolved. It lacks the spectacle of the base game's major set pieces, true, but possesses a different kind of emotional weight that's equally compelling.

Firecrackers and dragon dances create what I'd call the "TNT sections" of Chinese New Year - explosive, dramatic, and unforgettable. The tradition began with the legend of Nian, a mythical beast afraid of loud noises and red colors. Today, despite increasing restrictions, communities still find ways to incorporate these explosive elements. I witnessed a dragon dance in Hong Kong that involved over 50 performers and stretched nearly 100 meters - the coordination reminded me of the most complex platforming sequences, where timing and teamwork become everything. The absence of major pyrotechnics in some modern celebrations, much like the pared-down spectacle in The Order of Giants, doesn't diminish the experience but rather focuses attention on the core mechanics of community participation and symbolic meaning.

What many outsiders miss is the nuanced gift-giving culture that extends beyond red envelopes. The selection of gifts follows unwritten rules as complex as any game mechanic - never clocks (sounds like "attending a funeral"), never sharp objects (symbolizing severed relationships), always even numbers (odd numbers associate with funerals). I estimate about 68% of first-time foreign participants make at least one major gift-giving faux pas. These customs create what I think of as social platforming - you're navigating invisible cultural platforms, and missing one can send you falling into awkward situations, much like missing a jump in those carefully constructed environmental challenges.

Having experienced both the digital world of The Order of Giants and multiple Chinese New Year celebrations, I've come to appreciate how traditions function as living systems. They're not museum pieces but evolving practices that maintain core mechanics while adapting to new contexts. The five customs I've described - red envelopes, house cleaning, reunion dinners, firecrackers, and gift-giving - create what gaming enthusiasts might recognize as a perfectly balanced gameplay loop: preparation, celebration, reflection, and connection. They may lack the bombastic set pieces of Western holiday spectacles, just as The Order of Giants lacks the base game's major cinematic moments, but they offer something potentially more meaningful - a system where every participant plays an active role in maintaining cultural continuity. That's the real magic, and it's kept me coming back year after year, both to virtual adventures and to this magnificent real-world celebration that continues to teach me new patterns with each iteration.