Because it marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year and coincides with the return of spring and the revival of all things, people name it “Spring Festival”. The name “Spring Festival” literally means a festival celebrating the arrival of spring. As one of the most important and distinctive traditional Chinese folk festivals, Chinese New Year carries rich cultural connotations and profound national emotions. Although Vietnam replaces the Rabbit with the Cat in its zodiac sequence, the Year of the Horse remains consistent across these cultures, underscoring shared cosmological heritage. These practices reflect the enduring symbolic association between the horse and swift achievement. The horse, delayed by helping others along the way, finished seventh – reinforcing cultural values of loyalty and benevolence.
Year of the Snake: Fortune, Personality, Horoscope (
- The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal.
- Festivities include red decorations, elaborate meals, thorough cleaning of homes, and visiting family.
- It originated from the ritual activities of praying for good years at the beginning of each lunar year during the ancient Shang Dynasty period.
- Chinese New Year dates vary slightly between years, but it usually comes during the period from January 21st to February 20th in Gregorian calendar.
- Many traditional dishes served during this festival reflect wishes for prosperity, health, and longevity.
- 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”.
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.
- Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2026 will welcome plenty of baby Horses.
- They invited a variety of other groups from the city to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, carrying colourful flags, banners, lanterns, drums, and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits.
- While fireworks and firecrackers are traditionally very popular, some regions have banned them due to concerns over fire hazards.
- In more than 96 percent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring (lichun) according to the calendar.
- Each zodiac sign has a unique relationship with the Year of the Horse.
- Nowadays, the Spring Festival is seen more as a crucial moment for family reunion and cultural inheritance.
- For instance, in some northern areas people tend to serve dumplings and noodles, whereas the south can’t live without steamed rice.
Transport During Spring Festival
In the Classic of Poetry, a poem written during the Western Zhou period (1046 BC – 771 BC) by an anonymous farmer, described the traditions of celebrating the 10th month of the ancient solar calendar, which was in autumn. An older man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. In more than 96 percent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring (lichun) according to the calendar. However, “Chinese New Year” is still a commonly used translation for people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.
From ABC News (Australia), The Year of the Horse explained and how people across Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year The Horse, aligned with peak Yang energy at noon, embodies strength and outward expansion; yet even at this height of energy, balance remains essential. The black (Yin) and white (Yang) halves flow into one another, each containing a dot of its opposite, symbolizing the principle that within every extreme lies the seed of transformation.
How Long is Chinese New Year Celebration?
There is a tradition of eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year in north China, but dumplings are eaten on New Year’s Eve in some regions and on the first day of the lunar new year in other regions. Therefore, it is customary to welcome the God of Wealth into one’s home and bless the family with abundant financial resources on this day. Not only can it make you look more energetic and confident, but it can also bring good luck and a good mood to you and your family.
Preceding days
From RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland in 2021, everything you need to know about the Chinese New Year The zodiac system is deeply rooted in Chinese cosmology and reflects a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, philosophy, and the rhythms of nature. Discover the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, their personality traits, and compatibility. Each country has its own traditions, but the core values remain the same—family, food, and hopes for a prosperous year ahead.
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.
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 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.
It is one of the representatives of traditional Chinese snacks and is a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. Eating dumplings is a unique way to express people’s wishes for blessings and good fortune during the end of the old year and the beginning of new year. Lantern Festival is famous for its Yuan Xiao (sweet rice balls), whose round shape symbolizes family unity and togetherness. It is best to choose bright, colorful, and warm Chinese New Year clothes, especially red clothes, because red symbolizes auspiciousness and festivity. It embodies the affection and nostalgia of more than one billion Chinese people.
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 Ringospin Casino 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).
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.
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.
The well-known proverb “An old horse knows the way” reflects wisdom gained through experience. As a result, the horse became a powerful cultural symbol of loyalty, endurance, and dedication. Other folklore suggests that the order of the zodiac animals was determined by a great celestial race.
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).
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.
