Many Chinese social media users in China saw red when bubble tea brand Chagee used the term "Lunar New Year". Read more at straitstimes.com. This year, the Chinese New Year 2023, will fall on Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 and end on February 5th, 2023. The Chinese New Year is celebrated for 16 days. Wait, can I still say Chinese New Year, or should I say Lunar New Year, Spring Festival, or something else? With the intention of being inclusive, what should this Holiday be called? Quite the opposite. The UN appears to use each term - "Chinese New Year", "Spring Festival" and "Lunar New Year" - in context where appropriate. As such, "Chinese New Year" or "Spring Festival" has been used when it was important to recognise the specific cultural aspects of celebrations in China or by Chinese diaspora. There’s a great debate about how to refer to “Chinese New Year” or “Lunar New Year,” because neither are quite right. The truth is, families across Asia celebrate this holiday, and each country has its own cool traditions. From dumplings in China to rice cakes in Korea and kumquat trees in Vietnam, there’s something special for everyone.And technically speaking, it's a lunisolar Celebrating the Chinese New Year. In Chinese-speaking countries, the Spring Festival (春节 chūn jié) is a general term used to refer to the festival season.This term is likely to replace the English phrase ‘Chinese New Year’ soon, given UNESCO’s recent decision to include chūn jié in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. State-run news agency Xinhua, for instance, hailed the celebration of “Chinese Lunar New Year” in Myanmar, Malaysia and Japan, emphasizing the use of “Chinese red” in decorations. In contexts outside of China, referring to Lunar New Year as "Chinese New Year" and vice versa can come off as insensitive and offensive because it ignores other cultures, all of which have their own unique traditions, beliefs, and celebrations. 2. How each Asian country celebrates and names their New Year festival is different. Say “Happy New Year!” In Mandarin, they’ll say gong xi fa cai (恭喜发财), wishing you a prosperous New Year.In Cantonese, it’s gong hey fat choi.Still, if you wish someone xin nian Saying ‘Lunar New Year’ may be more inclusive to other parts of Asia that celebrate the occasion, but is unnecessary when the context and the people addressed are clearly Chinese. But the bigger issue is that almost every year, the Chinese New Year coincides with the Korean New Year (Seollal), the Vietnamese New Year (Tết) and the Tibetan New Year (Losar). Not to mention that some form of ‘Chinese’ New Year is celebrated in lots of other countries around the world by the Chinese diaspora (an estimated 50 million English speakers are lucky to have one New Year greeting, suitable for all and sundry. That's not the case with Chinese New Year wishes in Mandarin. How you greet depends on who you greet, and some greetings could be disrespectful. Note this chart, which shows New Year wishes in Chinese, and who to say them to. It marks the start of the lunar calendar and is a time for family reunions, festive Chinese New Year celebrations, and expressing well wishes for the upcoming year. The holiday is deeply tied to themes of renewal, good fortune, and a flourishing year ahead. Chinese New Year greetings hold great cultural significance. The best Chinese New Year greeting in Cantonese is “sun neen fai lok” (新年快樂), which means Happy New Year. You can also say kung hei fat choi (恭喜發財) which wishes wealth, and “sun tai geen hong” (身體健康) for good health. How People Celebrate Lunar New Year While Lunar New Year is celebrated in many different countries, Chinese New Year celebrations specifically incorporate lots of Chinese cultural elements. It’s increasingly common for Chinese New Year to simply be referred to as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. Not using proper titles is a huge red flag for Chinese media and consumers. Messaging: If you want to celebrate CNY, customize a video or a poster with your best wishes. If you are not sure whether every detail is appropriate, keep it simple and just say “Happy Chinese New Year” on your social account. Sending digital red envelopes has become a new way to greet friends or relatives that cannot physically be reached during the Chinese New Year period. It has allowed more red envelopes to be exchanged than ever before. Other Occasions for Red Envelopes. Chinese New Year is a red envelope season. But red envelopes are not limited to Chinese New Formal Ways to Say “Chinese Happy New Year” 1. 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) – This is the most common and standard way to wish someone a Happy New Year in Mandarin Chinese. On this page, we've got the top ways to say "Happy Chinese New Year" in Chinese and Cantonese which you will use during the Chinese New Year period, which is from Chinese New Year's day (Jan. 29, 2025) up to the 15th day of the Chinese New Year (Feb 12, 2025). 5 of the Most Popular Chinese New Year Greeting and Wishes Sentences. In a formal way, such as proposing a toast or writing a Chinese New Year card, you can add some beginning words before your Chinese New Year greetings, and combine one or two or more Chinese New Year wishes in a sentence. This is the most common and standard way to say “Happy New Year” in Mandarin Chinese, which is widely spoken in Singapore. It translates directly to “Happy New Year.” This greeting is appropriate when addressing colleagues, superiors, or strangers in formal settings.
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