In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year occurs on the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines celebrate it as an official festival. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes. Windows and doors may be decorated with red paper-cuts and couplets representing themes such as good fortune, happiness, wealth, and longevity.
As mentioned, the Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival in China and marks the beginning of the spring season. “China Xian Tour put together 9 days Beijing, Zhangjiajie, Guilin and Xian Tour bespoke to us. Start planning your China holiday with one of our local specialists. Besides Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival are also representative traditional festivals in China.
Festivities outside China
Therefore, on New Year’s Eve, people fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the Nian monster. In ancient China, there was a monster called “Nian”, which had long antennae on its head and was extremely fierce. The Spring Festival of 2026 will arrive on February 17th of the Gregorian calendar. The Spring Festival falls on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, marking the beginning of a new year. It originated from the ritual activities of praying for good years at the beginning of each lunar year during the ancient Shang Dynasty period.
Live Your China Story
On New Year’s Eve, all family members gather together to enjoy a sumptuous dinner. The process of purchasing all Chinese New Year’s goods, including food, wearing, using, pasting (New Year’s red), gifts, etc., is collectively referred to as Spring Festival shopping. It is the year-end household cleaning, symbolizing the elimination of bad luck of the past year. Later one New Year’s Eve, an elderly beggar came from outside the village and told people the methods to drive away the Nian monster.
There is a new zodiac animal every year
- In Budapest, celebrations have been held since 2017 in the Kőbánya district with many parades and performances.
- It is customary and polite for children to wish elders a happy new year and a year of happiness, health, and good fortune before accepting the red envelope.
- Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered.
- All animals were invited, but as a reward, the 12 who arrived and took part had a year named after them in the zodiac, with the race determining in which order the animals would be placed.
- On the first day of the New Year, sweeping or cleaning is avoided as it is believed to brush away good fortune.
However, in 1873, five years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, and the first day of January became the official and cultural New Year’s Day in Japan. During the New Year holidays, stage bosses gather the most popular actors from various troupes and let them perform repertories from the Qing dynasty. In 2017, it was estimated that over 100 billion of these virtual red envelopes would be sent over the New Year holiday. Many families in China still follow the tradition of eating only vegetarian food on the first day of the new year, as it is believed that doing so will bring good luck into their lives for the whole year. Legends hold that the Hokkien were spared from a massacre by Japanese pirates by hiding in a sugarcane plantation, between the eighth and ninth days of the Chinese New Year, coinciding with the Jade Emperor’s birthday. The seventh day, traditionally known as Renri (the common person’s birthday), is the day when everyone grows one year older.
Chinese New Year 2026/ 2027: Dates & Calendar
- Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival or Lunar New Year) is the most popular holiday in China and Chinese communities around the world.
- On Chinese New Year day, it is customary for Sino-Mauritians to share niangao with their relatives and friends and to light firecrackers to ward off evil spirits.
- The parade is attended by some 500,000 people, along with another 3 million TV viewers.
- As a substitute, large-scale fireworks displays have been sponsored by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore.
- The New Year’s Eve dinner is very large and sumptuous and traditionally includes dishes of meat (namely, pork and chicken) and fish.
- In China and Malaysia, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking a romantic partner, akin to Valentine’s Day.
But if you have ever heard of the Lantern Festival, it’s important to note that there is a distinction between the events. But you may have noticed that it doesn’t occur on this exact date every year. The term Ringospin Casino Chinese New Year is commonly used; however, Lunar New Year has become more widely used as an inclusive term to represent the various nations that also celebrate at the same time of year. Centred around removing the old and bad and welcoming the good and new for the year ahead, many communities and cultures have both similar and different traditions. Celebrated across Asia and beyond, the Lunar New Year sees numerous events and festivities taking place worldwide. We looked around and settled in China Xian Tour due to their incredible efficiency.
During this period, red packets are also known as yasuiqian (壓歲錢; 压岁钱; yāsuìqián), which evolved from a homophonous phrase yasuiqian (壓祟錢; 压祟钱; yāsuìqián), literally meaning “money to suppress evil spirits”. Like many other New Year dishes, certain ingredients that have names that relate to long life, prosperity, or wealth also take precedence over others. Several of the Chinese food names are homophones for words that also mean good things.
Transportation during Chinese New Year, abbreviated as “Spring Festival travel rush”, is divided by the Spring Festival, with 15 days before the festival and 25 days after, for a total of 40 days. The fifth day of the first lunar month, according to Chinese folk customs, is the birthday of the five Gods of Wealth. Ancestral worshiping usually takes place on the last day of the 12th lunar month, and varies in different regions due to different traditions. On the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, there is a custom of sweeping dust (aka sweeping houses).
Another family dinner is held to celebrate the eve of the birth of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. For many Chinese Buddhists, this is another day to avoid meat, as the seventh day commemorates the birth of Sakra, lord of the Devas in Buddhist cosmology, who is analogous to the Jade Emperor. In China, it is also common that on the 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu’s attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year.
The elders usually hope their kids will be healthy, happy and make progress in the coming year, so they will give red envelopes to them to pass blessings and good luck. Because in Chinese culture, red is the symbol of auspiciousness, joy and prosperity and it can drive out evil spirits and bring good lucks. There are too many people on the way, so the transportation department needs to make every effort to ensure that passengers can go home and come back safely. The reason is that China has a large population, and Chinese New Year is a traditional reunion festival. The festival food in south China is called Yuan Xiao or rice sweet dumpling. Eating rice cake during the Spring Festival symbolizes good luck, sweet life, and high prosperity every year.
Chinese New Year Calendar (1930 –
Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year’s Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. As an official public holiday, Chinese people can get nine days’ off from work, from February 4th to February 12. As an official public holiday, Chinese people can get nine days’ off from work, February 15th to February 23th.The Chinese New Year of 2027 falls on February 6th (Tuesday), and will last to February 10th. The horse stands as a revered symbol of freedom, vitality, and unbridled ambition. As the calendar follows the moon’s phases, the holiday falls on different dates each year, usually between late January and mid-February. But long before modern calendars standardised dates, societies measured passing months by the moon, tracking its phases to mark time.
Although the Spring Festival is scheduled on the first day of the first lunar month, the activities during Chinese New Year are not limited to just that day. Nowadays, the Spring Festival is seen more as a crucial moment for family reunion and cultural inheritance. Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival or Lunar New Year) is the most popular holiday in China and Chinese communities around the world. According to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, years were historically designated through a combination of the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches.