The pantheon · Seasonal
The wealth gods at New Year
The fifth day of the first lunar month is when Caishen is received — the single busiest moment in the Chinese religious calendar for anything to do with money.
01-20 – 02-25
Chinese New Year moves against the Gregorian calendar, falling somewhere between late January and late February. The dates below are approximate for that reason; the lunar reckoning is what governs.
The fifth day is traditionally when households and businesses receive the God of Wealth. Shops reopen, firecrackers are set off to greet him, and offerings are laid out before the day is fully light. The custom varies by region in almost every particular except the timing.
What the day is not is a transaction. The tradition frames it as welcome and hospitality — receiving a guest of rank — rather than as payment for an expected return.
Figures in this observance
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