Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year marks the beginning of a new year on China's traditional lunisolar calendar. It is a time for family gatherings.
It is the most important festival in China (where it is known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival), and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea (where it is known as Seollal), in Vietnam (as Tet), as well as Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries with a significant overseas Chinese population.
Lunar New Year falls on different dates each year, but always falls between February 10 and February 24 of the international standard calendar. Its traditional Chinese celebrations last for 16 days, from Lunar New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.
In 2027, Lunar New Year will fall on Saturday, February 6th and start a year of the Goat.
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 even today. A monster named Nian would attack villagers every Lunar New Year's Eve. In order to chase the beast away, people used loud noises, fire, and the color red. Celebrations with these elements have been preserved to this day.
Lunar New Year Zodiac Animals
The Chinese zodiac gives each year an animal sign.
Each year in the Lunar calendar is associated with one of 12 Chinese zodiac animals. The 12 zodiac animals in order are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.
Lunar New Year 2027 is a year of the Goat.
The zodiac signs in most countries are identical to the Chinese ones, but a few of the animals differ in some countries.
The Vietnamese zodiac resembles the Chinese zodiac except that the second animal is the Buffalo instead of the Ox, and the fourth animal is the Cat instead of the Rabbit.
In the Thai zodiac there is no Dragon but rather a Naga (a mythical monster that looks like a giant snake).
Lunar New Year Traditions and Customs
Lunar New Year is a festival rich in traditions and customs. Asian countries share many similar traditions, but each also has some unique traditions.
Preparations before Lunar New Year
People usually start preparing for the New Year a week or half a month in advance of the actual date of the holiday. 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
Like in the Christmas season, shopping is a major activity of the Lunar New Year holiday season. On the days leading up to the festival, there are many New Year street markets.
People buy a lot of things, including new clothes, gifts for relatives, foods, snacks, spring couplets, lanterns, fireworks, etc.
2. Sending off the Kitchen God
Sending off 'Kitchen God' is a very old custom. On the 23rd day of the 12th month of the Lunar Calendar, according to Chinese tradition, Kitchen God departs to deliver an annual report on the household's activities to the Jade Emperor in heaven.
According to the report, the Jade Emperor will decide to bless or punish that family in the New Year.
Therefore, people prepare abundant of votive offers to show their thankfulness to the Kitchen God, and also wish that he would say good things about them to the Jade Emperor, as well as asking, on their behalf, for a peaceful and prosperous coming New Year.
3. Cleaning House
It is traditional for families to clean their houses and the areas surrounding them before the start of the new year. This is called 'sweeping away the dust'. The word 'dust' in Chinese is a homophone for 'old', thus cleaning the house is symbolic of driving away the bad luck of the previous year to allow for a new start.
Celebrations on Lunar New Year's Eve
Lunar New Year's Eve, the last day of the old year, is the most important day of the holiday. There are a lot of traditions for this day.
1. Putting up Red Decorations
On Lunar New Year's Eve, doors and windows are decorated with brand new Spring Festival couplets, New Year's pictures, papercuts, images of the Door God, lanterns, etc. All of them are red.
It represents a way to scare away the legendary monster named Nian (which also means 'year'). Legend has it that Nian would devour people and livestock on New Year's Eve if not successfully scared away.
2. Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors
Making offerings to the ancestors is one of the most important folk customs of Lunar New Year. It is a way to show respect and piety. In addition, ancestral spirits are believed to protect their descendants and to bless them with luck and prosperity in the New Year.
In some places, ancestors are honored before the New Year's Eve feast, while in others the ceremony is conducted at midnight on New Year's Eve.
In some regions, offerings are made to the ancestors at home, while in others, people visit their ancestors' graves and make offerings. Offerings usually include meat, chicken, wine, joss sticks, and joss paper.
3. Enjoying a Reunion Feast
On New Year's Eve, family members, some of whom may have traveled long distances to return home, gather for a reunion. Lunar New Year's Eve dinner, also called 'Reunion Feast', is the biggest and most important dinner of the year.
Family members sit around a round table and enjoy a wide variety of delicious foods and drinks. Most of them are symbolic with lucky meanings, such as fish (meaning 'surplus' or 'abundance'), jiaozi i.e. dumplings (meaning 'wealth'), lotus roots (meaning 'wisdom'), lettuce (meaning 'wealth'), sausage (meaning 'longevity'), niangao (meaning the promise of a 'better year'), and so on.
4. Giving Red Envelopes
After the New Year's Eve dinner, it is a traditional custom to give red envelopes containing money, which are known as hongbao (red envelopes) in Mandarin, lai see in Cantonese, or lì xì in Vietnamese.
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