In Mandarin, the most common way to wish your family and close friends a happy Chinese New Year is "Xīnnián hǎo" (新年好), literally meaning 'New Year Goodness' or 'Good New Year'. Another way to say "Happy Chinese New Year" is "Xīnnián kuàilè" (新年快乐), literally meaning 'New Year happiness'. It is a formal greeting typically The Chinese New Year of 2025 falls on January 29th (Wednesday), and will last to February 2nd. It is the Year of Snake. As an official public holiday, Chinese people can get eight days' off from work, from January 28th to February 4th. The Chinese New Year of 2026 falls on February 17th (Tuesday), and will last to February 21th. It is the Year 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 Chinese New Year's Eve and the first 3 days of Chinese New Year; will be made up on subsequent working days if any of the 4 days fall on Saturday or Sunday. The day before Chinese New Year's Eve is also designated as holiday, but as a bridge holiday, and will be made up on an earlier or later Saturday. Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year or Spring Festival 2025 falls on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025. Snake is the new year animal. Learn more about Chinese Lunar New Year traditions, taboos, food, zodiac signs, and greetings. The Chinese New Year is also a time when the annual zodiac sign changes, meaning that each year is assigned to a specific zodiac animal. Zodiac signs play an integral role in Chinese culture. It is said that your luck regarding financial situations, health and relationships for each year can be calculated based on your zodiac sign. Pre-Chinese New Year Preparations and Activities (Jan. 7–Feb. 12, 2025) Jan. 7, 2025: Laba Festival. Some Chinese start to celebrate and prepare for Chinese New Year as early as day 8 of the 12 th month of the lunar calendar. This is a festival called Laba ( 腊八 Làbā /laa-baa/ '12th lunar month' + '8'), in the traditional sense, which The reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve is a big feast to commemorate the past year. This is the most important time to be with families. After the reunion dinner, families sit together to watch the CCTV New Year's Gala while chatting. As the most watched TV program, the gala collects various well-selected performances, targeting audiences You may have heard of the Chinese New Year being referred to as Lunar New Year. “Lunar” means the start of a new year as marked by the lunar calendar. The Chinese used the lunar calendar for thousands of years until they adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 20th century. Did you know: the Chinese zodiac is based on the lunar calendar. Tourists wait to board a train at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to return home for Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in Shanghai on Jan 25, 2025. Photo by CFOTO/ Future Publishing via Getty Images. 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. The date of Chinese New Year changes every year, so to answer “when is Chinese New Year celebrated?” is a bit tricky. Every year, there is a window between January 21st and February 20th into which the Chinese New Year celebrations fall. 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 The Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) usually falls during 21 January and February 20, if your birthday is during this period in Gregorian date, you may belong to the zodiac sign of the last year. In the following table, the years’ starting and ending dates are clearly shown which help you determine your animal sign correctly. 8 Things You Might Not Know About Chinese New Year; All about Chinese New Year: taboos, wishes and magic words; Useful Phrases for Spring Festival Celebrations; Bring Yourself Good Luck on本命年 (Běnmìngnián) 8 Common Homophonic Puns in Chinese New Year Festival ; Phrases. 1. 恭贺新年。 Gōnghè xīnnián. A Happy New Year to you. 2 Since the mid-1990s people in China have been given seven consecutive days off work during the Chinese New Year. This week of relaxation has been designated Spring Festival, a term that is sometimes used to refer to the Chinese New Year in general. The origins of the Chinese New Year are steeped in legend. One legend is that thousands of years It can be used for the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, and the Solar New Year on January 1st. So whether you are celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit or ringing on January 1st, 2025, “Xin Nian Kuai Le” is the perfect all-purpose New Year greeting in Mandarin Chinese. Traditionally, Chinese people believe that each zodiac sign has fated personality traits and each different zodiac year has a lot to do with personal horoscopes. Below is our Chinese zodiac calculator . Chinese New Year Customs in the Year of the Snake. Chinese New Year (春节, chūn jié) will begin on January 29, 2025, and celebrations will last until the Lantern Festival (元宵节, yuán xiāo jié) on February 13. Here are some customs to look forward to: 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. Chinese Zodiac Calculator. If you don’t know your Chinese zodiac use our calculator below to quickly find your animal sign by entering your birthday, and be
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