Chinese New Year 2027

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 2027 will fall on Saturday, February 6th. The date changes every year but is always somewhere in the period from January 21st to February 20th.
It was traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors, and it has also become a time to feast and visit family members.
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· Traditions and Celebrations
· How Long is Chinese New Year Celebration?
· 2027 Zodiac Animal: Fire Goat
· Superstitions and Taboos
· Chinese New Year Greetings
· Why Chinese New Year Is Celebrated?
· Chinese New Year Celebrations in Other Regions and Countries
Chinese New Year Traditions and Celebrations
Regional customs and traditions vary widely but share the same theme: seeing out the old year and welcoming in the luck and prosperity of a new year. The main Chinese New Year activities include
· putting up decorations,
· offering sacrifices to ancestors,
· eating reunion dinner with family on New Year's Eve,
· giving red envelopes and other gifts,
· firecrackers and fireworks, and
· watching lion and dragon dances.
1. Cleaning and Decorating Houses with Red Things
People give their houses a thorough cleaning before the Spring Festival, which symbolizes sweeping away the bad luck of the preceding year and making their homes ready to receive good luck.
Red is the main color for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious color for the Lunar New Year, denoting prosperity and energy — which ward off evil spirits and negativity. Red lanterns hang in streets; red couplets and New Year pictures are pasted on doors.
· See more on How to Decorate for Chinese New Year: The Top 7 Decorations.
2. Offering Sacrifices to Ancestors
Honoring the dead is a Chinese New Year's tradition that's kept to the word. Many Chinese people visit ancestors' graves on the day before the Chinese New Year's day, offer sacrifices to ancestors before the reunion dinner (to show that they are letting their ancestors "eat" first), and add an extra glass and place it at the dinner table on New Year's eve.
3. Enjoying a Family Reunion Dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) is a time for families to be together. Chinese New Year's Eve is the most important time. Wherever they are, people are expected to be home to celebrate the festival with their families. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is called 'reunion dinner'. Big families of several generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together.
4. Exchanging Red Envelopes and other Gifts
Chinese New Year is a season of red envelopes (or red packets, lìshì or lai see in Cantonese). Red envelopes have money in, and are often given to children and (retired) seniors.
The red envelope (money) is called ya sui qian (压岁钱 /yaa sway chyen/), which means 'suppressing Sui [the demon]money'. Those who receive a red envelope are wished another safe and peaceful year.
Other popular Lunar New Year gifts are alcohol, tea, fruits, and candies.
See more on:
· Who You Should Give Red Envelopes to and How Much to Give
· Best Chinese New Year Gift Ideas for Friends, Parents, Kids
· 10 Things You Should Not Give as a Chinese New Year Gift
5. Setting Off Firecrackers and Fireworks
From public displays in major cities to millions of private celebrations in China's rural areas, setting off firecrackers and fireworks is an indispensable festive activity. It is a way to scare away the evil and welcome the new year's arrival.
Billions of fireworks go up in China at 12 am and in the first minutes of Chinese New Year, the most anywhere at any time of year.
· See more on Why Chinese New Year Must Have Firecrackers.
6. Watching Lion and Dragon Dances
Lion dance
Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen in China and Chinatowns in many Western countries during the Lunar New Year period. They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event.
There are more Chinese New Year traditions and customs, such as wearing new clothes, staying up late on Chinese New Year's Eve, watching the Spring Festival Gala, etc.
How Long Is Chinese New Year Celebrations?
Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival. The public holiday in 2027 is from February 5th to February 12th, lasting 8 days.
The most notable dates of the Chinese New Year 2027 are these days:
Solar Date (2027)
Title
Activities
Jan. 31st
Little Year
(小年 Xiǎonián)
Thorough house-cleaning and cooking
Feb. 5th
Chinese New Year's Eve
(除夕 Chúxì)
Visiting ancestors' graves, enjoying the family reunion dinner, giving red envelopes, staying up until midnight, and setting off firecrackers and fireworks
Feb. 6th
Chinese New Year's Day
初一 (Chūyī)
Visiting/greeting family and relatives, and giving presents
Feb. 20th
Lantern Festival
(元宵节 Yuánxiāojié)
Marks the end of the festival. Lanterns, dragon dances...
Chinese New Year Food
· Fish is a must as it sounds like 'surplus' in Chinese and symbolizes abundance.
· Dumplings shaped like Chinese silver ingots are shared as a sign of the family unit and prosperity.
· Niángāo (glutinous rice cake) is welcome because it symbolizes a higher income or position as it sounds like 'year high'.
Food is an important part of Chinese New Year. Lucky food is served during the 16-day festival season, especially on the New Year's Eve family reunion dinner.
Read more on:
· 7 Lucky Chinese New Year Foods
· The Top 11 Chinese New Year Desserts
· Top 7 Chinese New Year Snacks
· Chinese New Year Fruits
2027 Chinese Zodiac Animal: Fire Goat
The Chinese zodiac gives each year an animal sign.
Each Chinese year is associated with an animal sign according to the Chinese zodiac cycle. 2027 is the year of the