Celebrated by Chinese and other Asian communities around the world, Lunar New Year is the most important festival of the year, marked by festive meals that welcome prosperity and good fortune.
For restaurants, Lunar New Year (AKA Chinese New Year) is a prime opportunity to cater to customers seeking traditional favorites and celebratory dishes. We've put together this Lunar New Year 2025 Restaurant Guide to help make the Year of the Snake sssssensational!
2025 celebrates the Year of the Snake, the sixth animal in the Chinese zodiac, often associated with wisdom, mystery, and transformation. This significant event presents an opportunity for restaurants to adapt and evolve their offerings, ensuring they meet consumer demands while honoring the holiday’s rich traditions.
Also known as the Spring Festival, more than 20% of the world’s population participates in the annual Chinese New Year festivities. And though it’s still very cold, the 16-day celebration marks the end of brisk winter days and the beginning of the fresh starts that spring brings.
Why Celebrate the Lunar New Year at Your Restaurant
A holiday steeped in rich cultural traditions, two billion people worldwide observe the holiday. If it makes sense for your restaurant’s brand, incorporating a Lunar New Year campaign into your marketing can be a golden opportunity to engage with your community and drive business during a time of year that often sees a post-holiday slump.
That said, however, it’s important to meet this moment with care and respect. Before you launch any Lunar New Year restaurant promotions or Chinese New Year marketing, take the time to understand the holiday’s symbolism and customs.
What is the Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is a holiday that marks the start of a new year on the lunisolar calendar, a calendar regulated by both the moon and sun. It’s a season for family reunions, time-honored customs, and new beginnings. The festivities last for 16 days, ending with the Lantern Festival, a dazzling display of colorful decor and lights that represents peace and hope.
Unlike New Year’s Day on the Gregorian calendar, which always falls on January 1st, the date of the Lunar New Year changes annually to align with the first new moon of the year.
Ready to take the leap but don’t know where to start? We’ve put together this list of promotional ideas and menu inclusions to help you take advantage of this annual celebration.
Ssssentational Year of the Snake Restaurant Promotions
Serve Lucky Food Items
During the Lunar New Year, people enjoy a variety of foods that bring luck for a prosperous year ahead.
Chinese New Year Dumplings
Dumplings are a must-have Chinese New Year food. Symbolizing wealth, the dumpling is a traditional lucky food in China. With an 1,800 year history, it is not only a staple food of people in Northern China but also an essential dish in Chinese New Year celebrations.
Fish
Pronounced ‘Yu,’ fish symbolizes surplus and fortune. Popular dishes include carp, fried prawns, and steamed perch.
Glutinous Rice Balls (Tangyuan or Yuanxiao)
Symbolizing family, tangyuan (sweet dumplings) are a lucky food during the Lantern Festival. Unlike dumplings, the dough of Tangyuan is made by glutinous rice powder with stuffing such as bean paste, brown sugar, and all kinds of fruits and nuts.
Longevity Noodles
A symbol for a long, healthy life, longevity noodles, often eaten at elders’ birthdays, arean important Chinese New Year food.
Spring Rolls
Symbolizing wealth and a fresh start, Spring Rolls are ubiquitous during the Spring Festival. Fresh vegetables are wrapped inside, this is a popular menu item to welcome a new spring.
Host a Cooking Class
Encourage guests to learn hands-on about the holiday by attending a cooking class or demonstration at your restaurant. This not only makes for an engaging activity where customers can watch your chef in action, but also deepens their understanding of Lunar New Year.
Embrace the community spirit even further by partnering with local restaurants that serve different types of Asian cuisines to reach a larger audience and enhance the guest experience.
Create Meal Bundles
Offering takeout meal bundles like a Bento box is a perfect way to cater to customers who want to celebrate the Lunar New Year, but prefer the comfort of enjoying a meal at home.
Create a Lucky Family Set for four people, including appetizers like spring rolls, a main course featuring pork or tofu, a side dish like pickled vegetables, and dessert. For a special touch, add a red envelope filled with a small gift to wish your customers prosperity in the coming year.
Organize a Charity Drive
Give back to your community by setting up a charity drive and donating a portion of your sales during Lunar New Year to a cause that resonates with your restaurant’s values.
Partner with a local food bank, a charity supporting underprivileged individuals, or a not-for-profit organization that preserves Asian culture and heritage. Promote the initiative on social media and through your email marketing to encourage your customers to get involved.
Embrace the Chinese Zodiac
Take inspiration from the zodiac calendar to inform your Lunar New Year menu, decor, and promotional designs. Add a noodle dish to your menu, for example, to celebrate the snake’s sleek, coiled form, featuring long noodles that symbolize longevity. Or mix up spicy cocktails with a bite.
When it comes to decor and design, think winding floral arrangements and serpent-shaped patterns. Try pairing gold and red, traditional Lunar New Year colors, with flowing designs with a nod to the image of the snake. Create zodiac-themed visuals for your website, social media posts, flyers, and signage.
Get Littlest Guests Involved
Lunar New Year is a time to appreciate family, so designing a special kids’ menu for pint-sized customers can help bring more guests in the door. Try offering kid-friendly versions of popular holiday foods, like mini dumplings or bite-sized spring rolls.
For more marketing strategies to help elevate your restaurant throughout the year, download our Free Marketing Ebook!
Chinese New Year Fun Facts
Oranges Are Exchanged
Visits to homes during Chinese New Year are usually accompanied by the exchange of Mandarin oranges. The Chinese words for orange sound like “luck” and “wealth”, and it is considered rude to visit anyone's home during Chinese New Year empty handed.
Every year has a zodiac animal
The 12 Chinese zodiac signs are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The sign you are associated with depends on the year you were born, unlike Western zodiac signs which are based on the day you were born.
Also separating the western horoscopes, which one zodiac for each month, there are 12 Chinese zodiacs, with one animal for the entire year. The zodiacs play a major role in Chinese culture, with one's zodiac animal playing a role in deciding the trojectory of a person's career, education, and personal relationships.
You grow one year older on the Spring Festival
In China, you have a real age and a nominal age. The real age is the one we all know about, aging one year on every birthday. In Chinese culture, one's nominal age increases each year at the time of the Spring Festival.
Chinese New Year ends with the Lantern Festival
The first full moon of the lunar year is the Yuanxiao Festival or Lantern Festival. In ancient times, girls weren’t allowed to venture outside by themselves. But on this night, they were able to walk around and look at the beautiful lanterns.
There are taboos during the Chinese New Year
There are many taboos during the Chinese New Year. Showering isn’t allowed on New Year’s Day, while sweeping and throwing out garbage not allowed before the fifth day of the festival to make sure you don’t wash away the good luck.
Other taboos during Chinese New Year
Hair cutting
Using scissors, knives and other sharp things
Arguing, swearing
Saying unlucky words (such as death or sick)
Breaking things
Family Reunions Ignite Migration
The most important part of Chinese New Year is the family reunion, with families across the world traveling back home for the New Year’s Eve dinner. In 2025, most elderly parents live in rural villages while their children work in the cities, making this trip back home, called chunyun, one of the largest migrations on earth.
NYC Lunar New Year Celebrations Not to Be Missed
The Chinese New Year Parade and Festival is Sunday, February 16, 2025. The parade, which kicks off at 1pm, runs along Mott Street from Chatham Square to East Broadway toward the Manhattan Bridge, ending on Forsyth Street near Grand Street and Sara D. Roosevelt Park. For more information, visit betterchinatown.com.
For a free way to celebrate the Year of the Snake with sweeping views of the city, UNLISTED Rooftop at 3 Freeman Alley, located at the top of UNTITLED, a hotel hidden behind a graffiti-lined alleyway in the Lower East Side, will be an event to remember. From 9pm till 1am on January 31, enjoy sets by resident DJ Ezzek, handcrafted cocktails, vibrant Polaroid moments, and performances by local Lion Dancers. Guests who show up early will also have a chance to get a new tattoo on site.
Bubble_T, the iconic Asian-led queer collective, entering its eighth year, is throwing a massive rager at Elsewhere to ring in the year of the snake on January 25.
ACE Hotel Mahjong Tournament
All the cool kids play mahjong now, and the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn is throwing a party involving the Chinese tile game. Design studio A+A+A and NEW INC are hosting a mahjong tournament with prizes that include a coveted New Museum membership.
Red Lantern District, the all-Asian drag queen trio that consists of Felicia Oh, Kekoa and Kanika Peach, is having their much-anticipated Lunar New Year show on January 31 from 10pm till late. Expect their signature drag performances as well as audience games, special guests and a set by DJ Manila Ice at the iconic Red Pavilion in Bushwick.
Spotlight on Asian Cuisine
Take Away
The Chinese New Year is celebrated each year at the height of the winter season. An excellent opportunity to drive traffic and re-engage with customers during the slower post-Chritmas period, the Spring Festival helps to reignite excitement and boost sales.
When done thoughtfully, celebrating the Lunar New Year can not only increase visibility for your restaurant and create meaningful connections with customers; it presents a unique opportunity to stan out from the competitio.
By Eileen Strauss
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