This year, the 15-day festival begins Friday and will be a time for adherents to usher in a new year with a variety of the Chinese New Year follows a lunar calendar based the moon's 12 phases. Lunar New Year, celebrated by Chinese communities worldwide, begins on January 29, 2025, and lasts up to 16 days. 2025 marks the Year of the Snake, associated with wisdom, intuition, and charm in 2025 Lunar New Year falls on January 29th. The public holiday lasts from January 28th to February 3rd, during which the New Year's Eve on January 28th and the New Year's Day on January 29th are the peak time of celebration. The commonly known New Year calendar counts from the New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on February 12th 2025. When is Lunar New Year 2025? This year, Lunar New Year begins Jan. 29. Because the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon, the beginning of the year happens on a different day each year. 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). Traditional Holiday. Lunar Calendar Date. Gregorian Calendar Date (2025) Chinese New Year. 1 st Day of the 1 st Month. January 29, 2025. Lantern Festival. 15 th Day of the 1 st Month. February 12, 2025 China's public holiday for Lunar New Year is 8 days, from Chinese New Year's Eve to the 7th day of the lunar calendar new year. Offices, banks, factories, shops, and most non-essential services will close doors for a week's holiday. 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. Unlike the universal New Year observed on January 1st, Chinese New Year is never on a fixed date. The dates vary according to Chinese lunar calendar, but generally fall on a day between January 21st and February 20th in the Gregorian calendar. 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. When is Lunar New Year 2025? This year, Lunar New Year begins Jan. 29. Because the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon, the beginning of the year happens on a different day each year. 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. Each phase cycle spans approximately 29 days with 2025 Chinese New Year (the first day of first lunar month) falls on Jan.29, 2024 and the year lasts to Feb.16, 2027. In folk custom, the New Year celebrating starts from the Laba Festival (the 12th day of the 12th lunar month) or Little Year (the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month) to the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month). Chinese New Year marks the beginning of the new lunar year on the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar, while Lunar New Year encompasses various cultural celebrations that may occur around similar dates but differ in traditions and customs. Celebration Dates: When is Lunar New Year 2025? This year, Lunar New Year begins Jan. 29. Because the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon, the beginning of the year happens on a different day each year. To this day, the Lunar New Year celebration is centered around removing bad luck and welcoming all that is good and prosperous. Red is considered an auspicious color to ring in the new year. In many Asian cultures, the color symbolizes good fortune and joy. Laba Festival (Jan. 7, 2025): Old Chinese New Year Calendar Start. 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. Religious activities and preparations for Lunar New Year would begin on this day. On the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year generally falls during the last 10 days of January or the first 10 days of February, says Chen Yang, a professor of Chinese culture and philosophy at Note: China public holidays( ) include the New Year’s Day, Chinese Spring Festival (from Lunar New Year’s Eve to the sixth day of the New Year), Qingming Festival, May Day, the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the National Day (from Oct.1 to Oct.7). Holidays except the Chinese Spring Festival and National Day are usually 3-day The exact date varies each year based on the lunar calendar. The new year begins on Jan. 29 this year. When is Lunar New Year? Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, falls this year on Wednesday
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