This is why fireworks and firecrackers are a huge part of the celebrations that take place across the globe. Another is wearing red in some form to ward off evil spirits. But the animals in the zodiac can slightly differ in other countries, like the Boar replacing the Pig in the zodiac in Japan and the dragon being substituted for a mythical creature, known as Naga, in Thailand. 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. According to the traditional legend of The Great Race, it was the Jade Emperor who organised a race which saw the 12 species take part.
Chinese New Year Calendar 2026: Key Dates and Customs
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.
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.
Due to the incomplete correspondence between the lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month) varies every year, ranging from January 21 to February 20. Taiwanese Guonian differs from the Chinese Spring Festival in several cultural practices, traditions, and customs, despite both celebrations being based on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is also called “Lunar New Year” in English, despite the traditional Chinese calendar being lunisolar and not lunar.
- During Spring Festival, elders should distribute pre-prepared lucky money to younger generations as a Lunar New Year gift.
- Beyond cosmological explanations, rich folk legends also recount the origin of the zodiac animals.
- On this day, people from all over China will immerse themselves in a strong festive atmosphere, with every household decorating red and full of joy.
- The origins of the Chinese zodiac can be traced to ancient astronomical observation and early forms of animal worship.
- However, in the folk traditional sense, Chinese New Year starts from the Kitchen God Worshiping on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month (or even the Laba Festival), until the 19th of the first lunar month.
- In June 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared that the Lunar New Year would be made a public school holiday, and in September 2023, New York State made Lunar New Year a mandatory public school holiday.
The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the colour red and loud noises. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. According to legend, Chinese New Year started with combating a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains that looks like a lion with horns) during the annual Spring Festival.
Before the Meiji period, the date of the Japanese New Year had been based on Japanese versions of lunisolar calendar (the last of which was the Tenpō calendar) and, before, Jōkyō calendar, the Chinese version. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on 1 January of each year, New Year’s Day (元日, Ganjitsu). The Japanese New Year (正月, Shōgatsu) is an annual festival that takes place in Japan.
A big family reunion dinner is usually held on Lunar New Year’s Eve, which falls on February 16 this year. On a related note, many say you shouldn’t wash or cut your hair on the first day of the new year either. The aim is to rid your home of any bad luck that’s accumulated over the past year.
- One year, the villagers discovered that Nian feared the color red and loud noises.
- Reunion dinners (particularly in the Southern regions) may prominently feature specialty meats (e.g. wax-cured meats such as duck and Chinese sausage) and seafood (e.g. lobster and abalone) that are usually reserved for special occasions.
- Called Yuan Xiao Jie in Mandarin Chinese, it’s considered the perfect ending to the weeks-long Lunar New Year preparations and celebrations.
- Every year, a different animal is honoured based on the Chinese zodiac.
- The common things to avoid are that do not speak bad words, break things or sweep the floor (in case you sweep out the good luck).
- On a related note, many say you shouldn’t wash or cut your hair on the first day of the new year either.
Fourth day
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.
For other countries and regions where the Chinese New Year is celebrated but not as an Ringospin Casino official holiday, see the table below. In certain countries, a statutory holiday is added on the following workday if the New Year (as a public holiday) falls on a weekend. Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories, outside of China, with a sizable Chinese population. The poem Yuan Ri (元日) also includes the word bao zhu (爆竹, “exploding bamboo”), which is believed to be a reference to firecrackers,citation needed instead of the previous tradition of firing bamboo, both of which are called the same in the Chinese language. Amid the sound of firecrackers, a year has come to an end,The spring wind has wafted warm breath to the Tusu wine.While the rising sun shines over each and every household,People get rid of the old couplets and put up the new ones.
Several foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune. These packets contain money in an amount that reflects good luck and honorability. Red envelopes may be distributed during the reunion dinner to the immediate family. Certain Chinese characters can represent luck as well, such as the Chinese word for tangerine (桔 jú), which contains the Chinese character for luck (吉 jí). The Chinese word for pomelos (柚 yòu) sounds similar to ‘to have’ (有 yǒu); disregarding its tone, however, it sounds exactly like ‘again’ (又 yòu). The pronunciations of these Chinese words are said to harbor luck and prosperity, such as the Chinese pronunciation for orange (橙 chéng), which sounds the same as the Chinese for ‘success’ (成).
Sixth day
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.
Reunion dinners (particularly in the Southern regions) may prominently feature specialty meats (e.g. wax-cured meats such as duck and Chinese sausage) and seafood (e.g. lobster and abalone) that are usually reserved for special occasions. The New Year’s Eve dinner is very large and sumptuous and traditionally includes dishes of meat (namely, pork and chicken) and fish. The venue will usually be in or near the home of the most senior member of the family. A reunion dinner is held on New Year’s Eve, during which family members gather for a celebration. In China and Malaysia, this day is celebrated by individuals seeking a romantic partner, akin to Valentine’s Day. In some overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia and Singapore, it is also the day when tossed raw fish salad, yusheng, is eaten for continued wealth and prosperity.
Chinese New Year Cake (Nian Gao)
Suddenly, the doors and windows were blown open by a strange wind, and even the candlelight was extinguished. The fever would eventually cause the child to have intellectual disabilities. In the mid-2010s, Chinese messaging apps such as WeChat popularized the distribution of red envelopes in a virtual format via mobile payments, usually within group chats.
Visitors will be showered with gifts after catching up over Lunar New Year treats. Bags are stocked with presents and fruits to give out at people’s homes. For instance, in some northern areas people tend to serve dumplings and noodles, whereas the south can’t live without steamed rice.
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.
One of the most well-known practices of the current day is receiving money from their elders after performing a formal bow, a tradition likely adopted from Confucian customs.citation needed Nianhua can be a form of Chinese coloured woodblock printing, for decoration during the Chinese New Year. However, this only helps you get even more control over your life as you learn to stay ahead of everything by being cautious. According to Chinese tradition, the year of the pig is a generally unlucky year for the public, which is why you need to reevaluate most of your decisions before you come to a conclusion. On the Chinese opera stage, a painted red face usually denotes a sacred or loyal personage and sometimes a great emperor.
Day 7: The people’s birthday
This practice reflects the common desire among the Chinese people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new year, to rid themselves of past poverty and hardships, and to usher in a prosperous and auspicious life in the new year. As a substitute, large-scale fireworks displays have been sponsored by governments in Hong Kong and Singapore. While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards. Business managers may also give bonuses in the form of red packets to employees.
How Long is Chinese New Year Celebration?
Since Chinese New Year falls on different days of the week each year, the governments of some of these countries choose to adjust working days to create a longer public holiday. New Year’s celebrations continued under the Yuan dynasty, when people also gave nian gao (年糕, “year cakes”) to relatives. It is believed that placing the couplets on the door to the home in the days preceding the new year was widespread during the Song dynasty. The Chunlian (Spring Couplets) was written by Meng Chang, an emperor of the Later Shu (935–965 AD), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period：”新年納餘慶，嘉節號長春” (“Enjoying past legacies in the new year, the holiday foreseeing the long-lasting spring”). Eventually, men zhuang became a symbol of good luck, and people started sending them to friends on New Year’s Day, calling them by a new name, bai nian tie. During the Jin dynasty (266–420), people started the New Year’s Eve tradition of all-night revelry called shousui (守歲).
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.
