Also known as the Spring Festival (春節), or simply Chinese New Year, before the Lunar New Year celebrations, in Beijing on Jan. 24, 2025. Photo by Florence Lo/ Reuters. Lunar New Year celebrations can last up to 15 days, starting on the new moon between late January and mid-February. The exact date varies each year based on the lunar calendar. The new year begins 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). Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is celebrated for sixteen days (from Chinese New Year's Eve to Chinese Lantern Festival). The preparations start half a month before Chinese New Year's Eve. Many celebration activities for this period are traditional customs, but some are quite new Chinese New Year — also widely called Lunar New Year — celebrates the arrival of spring. This year it begins on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, and ends on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. In 2025, Chinese Little New Year will be celebrated on January 22nd in northern China, and January 23rd in southern China. Why Is Little New Year Celebrated? The Little Year is a festival to pray to the Kitchen God for blessings for the New Year as well as a farewell ritual to the Kitchen God. When is Chinese New Year 2025/2026? - January 29 for 2025, February 17 for 2026. 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. In 2025, Chinese New Year begins on January 29th and ends on February 12th with the Lantern Festival. Traditionally, the start of the Chinese New Year calendar is 'The Laba Festival' (腊八节 Làbājié), which occurs about three weeks before Chinese New Year's Day and is celebrated separately. Chinese New Year is celebrated by most Chinese in Singapore. The first day of the lunar new year usually falls between the winter solstice (dongzhi) and spring’s beginning (lichun). This typically falls between 21 January and 20 February each year.1. The Lunar New Year marks the transition from one animal to another. The Year of the Dragon, which began on Feb. 10, 2024, ends on Tuesday. Wednesday begins the Year of the Snake. Here are 8 things you should avoid during Chinese New Year: 1. Washing or cutting your hair The Luckiest Months Of The Lunar Year Of The Snake it’s acceptable to do these things before Chinese New Year, the grandest festival for Chinese people, is celebrated for more than half a month.According to the oldest traditions, people follow a day-by-day schedule of Chinese New Year festivities from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, with specific things to do on certain days. Chinese New Year doesn’t fall on the same day every year, because it follows the lunar calendar. According to this calendar, the new year begins on the new moon between January 21 st and February 20 th , so the exact date of the Spring Festival changes every year. During Chinese New Year, people have a long list of things to do. From one week preceding the festival to the 15th day after, many Chinese New Year customs are widely observed for thousands of years. The family reunion dinner, eating dumplings, and setting off firework are the must-dos that you might know. What else interesting do the Chinese do? 1 month before Chinese New Year. Getting into the festive spirit; Spring cleaning and new clothing; Chinese New Year Eve: Chu xi 除夕. Reunion dinner; Lohei and Yusheng; Closures and travel trends; Chinese New Year Days 1-2: Chu yi 初一 and Chu er 初二. Public transport and Opening Hours; Visiting traditions during Chinese New Year Pre-Chinese New Year Celebrations (Jan. 7, 2025, to Jan. 28, 2025) Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival in China. People usually prepare for it early before New Year’s Eve. Little New Year (January 22nd-January 23rd, 2025) - 小年夜. The Little New Year of 2025 is January 22nd in the north and January 23rd in the south. For example, if you're born after January 27 in 1998, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Tiger as 1998 was a year of the Tiger (beginning at Chinese New Year). Use the Chinese zodiac calculator below to quickly and accurately know what your zodiac sign is, what is lucky for that sign, and a brief horoscope prediction for this year. From the day of 'Little Year' (小年 xiǎo nián, one week before Lunar New Year), people begin to prepare New Year commodities, clean house, decorate houses with lanterns and New Year paintings, pray to the Kitchen God, etc. All these activities share a common theme, that is: 'bid farewell to the old and welcome the new'. 1. New Year Shopping How do Chinese prepare for New Year? Pre-Chinese New Year Preparations and Activities (Jan. 10–30, 2022) the Laba porridge. People clean their houses before Chinese New Year. Putting up spring couplets. Watching CCTV’s New Year Gala. Giving Red Envelopes (Lucky Money) to Kids. Staying Up Late. Chinese New Year fireworks display. Remember other countries that celebrate Chinese New Year in Asia like Vietnam, Korea, Japan. The month before Lunar New Year is a golden shopping time for consumables, gifts, and entertainment products. Quality: Production before the Chinese New Year is often rushed to fill the time gap and meet the increased demand of distributors.
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