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 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. 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 The celebration of New Year in China began to revive in the late 20th century, when the Chinese government began to liberalize its rule. Today, Chinese workers get a week-long holiday that extends through the first half of the Chinese New Year period, and they have returned to celebrating the holiday in a big way [source: History.com]. In 1912, the government decided to abolish Chinese New Year and the lunar calendar, but adopted the Gregorian calendar instead and made January 1 the official start of the new year. After 1949, Chinese New Year was renamed to the Spring Festival. It was listed as a nationwide public holiday. For more than 3,000 years, Lunar New Year was just what it sounds like—the beginning of a new year in the Chinese calendar. The historic Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, meaning dates are determined by both the moon (lunar) and the sun (solar). Lunar New Year may be called different names in different East Asian countries and communities, but it is celebrated on the same date (and surrounding days) with similar celebrations. China. In China, Lunar New Year is known as Chinese New Year or in Chinese 'Spring Festival' (Chunjie). The celebrations traditionally last for 16 days, beginning Chinese New Year starts a new animal’s zodiac year. In China, each lunar cycle has 60 years and 12 years is regarded as a small cycle. Each of the 12 years is defined by an animal sign: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. 2025 is the Year of the Snake and 2026 is the Year of the Horse. 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. 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. The date changes every year but is always somewhere in the period from January 21st to February 20th. There are 12 Chinese zodiac signs, in the following order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.Each sign is named after The Chinese New Year occurs as the second new moon after the December Solstice. Let’s explore the calculation of the Chinese New Year. Which Countries Celebrate Chinese New Year? The Lunisolar Chinese New Year Calendar is celebrated across the world. Countries that have a national public holiday to celebrate Chinese New Year include: China Chinese New Year Side Dishes. Even some vegetable dishes are iconic Chinese New Year foods. Buddha’s Delight, consisting of at least 8 ingredients, is often eaten the morning of Chinese New Year after a ceremonial offering of food to honor family ancestors. Some believe that this sweeps away bad luck and makes room for incoming blessings. However, sweeping or cleaning on New Year’s Day is avoided, as it could sweep away good fortune. Special Foods and Festive Customs of Chinese New Year. Food is an essential part of Chinese New Year celebrations, with each dish carrying symbolic meanings. Every Chinese zodiac year from 1900–2031, full table and broken down by each zodiac. Find your year, animal, dates and element (metal, water, wood, fire, earth). Chinese New Year 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 CHINESE new year has a number of different animals that represent the year, and it is said that this correlates with people's personality traits when born in a year of a particular creature. This is known as the Chinese zodiac, which repeats in a 12-year cycle. This is what we know. Chinese Lunar New Year performances in Center Plaza Celebrate the Year of the Snake at Santa Monica Place! Visit us from January 28th to February 13th and write a wish for the cherry blossom wishing trees, stand under the red and gold lanterns in Center Plaza, and grab a photo with all of our festive Lunar New Year décor plus pick up a Lunar New Year craft kit for the kids*. Plus, visit us on Each of these Chinese Lunar New Year videos can be used for various age groups, and parents or educators are encouraged to view them beforehand to decide what works best for their audience. 1. Qiǎo Hū Sing and Dance Spring Festival Special 巧虎 唱唱跳跳 賀春節 The legal holiday is seven days long, from the Lunar New Year's Eve to the sixth day of the first lunar month. Some companies and public institutions enjoy a longer holiday up to 10 days or more, because in common knowledge among Chinese people, the festival lasts longer, from the Lunar New Year's Eve to the 15th day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival).
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