Find out when Chinese New Year falls in 2025 and 2026, and how long the holiday lasts. Learn about the Chinese zodiac signs, the lunar calendar, and the UNESCO recognition of Spring Festival. The seventh day of the Lunar New Year (February 4, 2025) is said to be when the Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, created humanity. Thus, it’s called renri/jan jat (the people’s birthday). Why does Chinese New Year fall on different dates? Rather than following the western Gregorian Calendar with 365-day years, the Chinese New Year follows a lunar calendar based the moon's 12 phases It is the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese zodiac, which features a 12-year cycle with each year represented by a specific animal. People born in the Years of the Snake including 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, and 2025 will experience their Zodiac Year of Birth (Ben Ming Nian). 2026 Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 17th and it is Why Does Chinese New Year Date Change Every Year? The date is decided by the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon and sun and is generally 21–51 days behind the Gregorian (internationally-used) calendar. The date of Chinese New Year changes every year, but it always falls between January 21st and February 20th. Chinese New Year Calendar. The coming Chinese New Year is 2025-01-29, which is 2 days away. This year's animal sign is the Dragon from 2024-02-10 to 2025-01-28. Find out the dates and days off for Chinese New Year and other legal festivals in China. See the detailed schedule for 2024 / 2025 / 2026 and the questions and answers on holidays and coronavirus. Chinese New Year is not just one day but over 30 days of festivities and activities, which have their own calendar. The preparation begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and the celebration lasts until the 15th of the first month. In 2025, Chinese New Year begins on January 29th and ends on February 12th with the Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important festival in China and a major event in some other East Asian countries. Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year 2025 will fall on Wednesday, January 29th. These holidays include Chinese New Year and the yearly Lantern Festival, among many others. History of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. As is the case with many aspects of Chinese culture, the lunar calendar has gone through many iterations until it took its present form. By some counts, China has amended its calendar a total of 102 times. Each Chinese lunar year has a Chinese zodiac sign animal. The Chinese zodiac year's stsarting date is a little different from the Gregorian year. It starts from Chinese New Year. The Chinese zodiac years chart below is provided to help you find out the exact starting and ending dates of the Chinese zodiac years. (This is especially useful for Taiwanese Guonian differs from Chinese Spring Festival in several cultural practices, traditions, and customs, despite both celebrations being based on the traditional Chinese calendar. In Taiwan, Chinese New Year (農曆新年) emphasizes honoring ancestors through elaborate rituals, including offering food and incense at home altars. Your birth year determines your Chinese zodiac sign, but it can get tricky, as the lunar calendar varies from the solar, or Gregorian, calendar. Because the dates of Chinese New Year change every year, individuals born in January or February will need to pay special attention to their birth date in addition to their birth year. What are the animals of the zodiac? Each year honors an animal based on the Chinese zodiac. The circle of 12 animals — the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig — measure the cycles of time. Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, it marks the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar. The Lunar New Year usually starts sometime Chinese New Year 2025: Calendar, Dates and Festivals. 8 Days. Jan 21st–28th. Little Year. Preparations for the new year begin January 21st, 2025, and last until New In the lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year always falls on the first day of the first month, but its date in the solar calendar changes every year. To keep the Spring Festival's date in the solar calendar relatively stable, an extra month, called a leap month , is added to the lunar calendar every 2-3 years. Never break a bowl, plate, glass, vase, or mirror, because breaking may result in money loss and family split in the future. If shattering one unheedingly, the fragments should be collected and wrapped by a red paper or cloth, and then littered on the fifth day of the New Year. Updated January 22nd, 2025: Added Other Chinese Festive Dates. 2025 Auspicious Dates from Spring Cleaning, Altar Cleaning, Chinese New Year Break, when to Recommence work or start work dates, Heavenly Pardon day, or any significant auspicious days which can add additional boost into your personal or career decision. The Chinese zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang, features 12 animal signs in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. 2025 is the Year of the Snake according to Chinese zodiac, starting from the 2025 Chinese New Year on Jan. 29th and lasting to 2026 Lunar New Year's Eve on Feb. 16. 2026 is the Year of the Horse.
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