Chinese New Year is a huge event in Chinese culture. Also known as Spring Festival, it’s celebrated in January or February to mark the end of winter, and each year is associated with one of twelve Zodiac characters. This year on 12th February we’ll be bidding farewell to the Year of the Rat, and welcoming the Year of the Ox.

It’s traditional for brands in China, particularly within cosmetics and spirits, to manufacture limited edition items and packs for the New Year. But increasingly, companies from other parts of the world are also joining in with the festivities.

If you’re a brand looking to celebrate Chinese New Year, read on for some useful information about this festive season and how it’s celebrated. You’ll also find some exclusive GPA Luxury tips on how to develop your own limited edition pack.

How is Chinese New Year celebrated?

Like most other big holidays, Chinese New Year is all about food, family, and gift-giving. Many of the traditional customs are designed to usher in the new year with happiness and positivity, to ensure the coming months are full of good fortune.

The main festivities take place on New Years’ Eve, the last day before the new moon. Traditionally, the entire family gathers to eat dinner and stay up late to welcome in the new year. All kinds of delicious foods are served at this dinner including a whole fish, which is seen as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. At midnight, fireworks and firecrackers are set off, and messages are sent to family and friends. 

On the first day of the new year, new clothes are worn, with red being a popular colour for this day. Younger people visit their older relatives to give them gifts and wishes for the new year. Red envelopes containing money are also handed out, and while the cash inside is important, it’s the red paper of the envelope that symbolises good health and prosperity.

The festivities continue for many more days, and usually include a trip to the temple of the God of Fortune to give thanks and wish for wealth, health and happiness.

What does a Chinese New Year pack look like?

Usually a limited edition Chinese New Year pack will be red and gold, and feature the Chinese Zodiac character for the new year. Other popular imagery includes:

• Lanterns
• Dragons
• Red envelopes
• Chinese knots
• Blossoms

Here at GPA Luxury we’ve recently manufactured limited edition Chinese New Year packs for some high-end whiskies.

Our pack for Royal Salute Blended Scotch Whisky is wrapped in striking red paper, and features a colourful design created by Brett Ryder. There’s plenty of imagery to discover here, including hanging lanterns and flower blossoms, but the central illustration is of a coiled dragon. Inside, the pack is decorated with red paper printed with a repeating gold pattern of hanging lanterns and traditional knotwork.

Our pack for John Walker & Sons King George V whisky takes a slightly more minimalist approach. The clamshell box is wrapped in navy blue paper and features red ink and gold foil illustrations on the front face. Again, the design incorporates a Chinese dragon – marked out in gold foil – but here the noticeable motif is the lucky knotwork. For this pack, we included an additional feature: a booklet of five red envelopes to be passed out to friends and family.

Celebrate Chinese New Year with GPA Luxury

If you’ve been keeping up with GPA over the past few years, you’ll know that our family is truly global. In addition to having clients all around the world, we also have offices and manufacturing spaces in China, Hong Kong, the US, France, Ireland and the UK. 

If you’re a brand interested in creating a limited edition Chinese New Year pack, the GPA Luxury team has all the experience and expertise you COULD need. Get in touch today to find out more about what we can offer.