The lunar calendar is also associated with 12 animal signs in Chinese zodiac, so every 12 years is regarded as a cycle. 2025 is a Year of the Snake, while 2026 turns to be a Year of the Horse. Chinese New Year Calendar (1930 - 2030) 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 lunar calendar, unlike the Gregorian calendar, uses the phases of the moon to delineate days, weeks and months of the year. A lunar month is the period of time from one new moon to the next 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 The Chinese calendar, which underpins the Lunar New Year, is a lunisolar calendar based on astronomical observations of the Sun’s position in the sky and the Moon’s phases. When Is the Lunar New Year? The year begins on the date (in East Asia) of the second new Moon after the winter solstice, which always occurs in late December. This means 2025 Chinese New Year date: Jan. 29th, Wednesday, Year of the Snake. Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the grandest festival in China, usually with a 8 days' holiday. As the most colorful annual event, the traditional CNY celebration lasts longer, up to two weeks, and the climax arrives around the Lunar New 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 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. Its traditional Chinese celebrations last for 16 days, from Lunar New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. In 2025, Lunar New Year will fall on Wednesday, January 29th and start a year of the Dragon. The Origin of Lunar New Year. Lunar New Year has enjoyed a history of about 3,500 years. A very old legend about Lunar New Year is still popular 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 marks the beginning of the Spring Festival. The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, marks the transition from one animal to the next—2024 is the year of the Dragon, which began on February 10th, 2024, and ends on February 24th, 2024. January 29th, 2025 (Chinese New Year) will signal the start of the year of the Snake. What’s Your Zodiac Sign? 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 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 This year, Lunar New Year begins today, Wednesday, Jan. 29, and ends Feb. 12. The Lunar New Year kicks off on Jan. 29, 2025. While the Snake year comes every 12 years, the last time we had the Wood Snake year was in 1965 according to the Chinese calendar. "The Wood Chinese New Year in 2025, also known as Spring Festival, Chinese Lunar New Year 2025 or Chunjie with an animal sign Snake. The Spring Festival lasts from Chinese New Year's Eve on January 29th to Lantern Festival on February 12th. 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. Simply put, Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year are not the same. Despite being related, there are a few noteworthy differences between the two. Read on to find out what they are. The Differences between Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year 1. "Chinese New Year" is specific while "Lunar New Year" is more general. Lunar New Year, festival typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later. The dates of the holiday vary from year to year, beginning some time between January 21 and February 20.
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