How many days Chinese usually celebrate New Year

New Year, traditional around the world and observed on the night of December 31/ January 1 is not so significant for the Chinese, as Chinese New Year, which falls on the 1st day of the lunar calendar or Qingming festival. These holidays, considered as family ones are celebrated among the closest people. Traditional Chinese festivals arranged to celebrate the occasion are rich in customs and traditions. They are very often accompanied by beautiful ritual ceremonies.

In its turn, New Year by the Gregorian calendar is celebrated in China, too, but compared to other national holidays it is not particularly important. For example, the Chinese do not attach much importance to Christmas tree and other attributes natural for New Year. The Chinese usually spend 31December with friends or in corporate parties, arranged by large companies. By 12:00PM the Beijing residents gather in the city main square - Tiananmen to enjoy stunning and spectacular fireworks on the background of the Forbidden City.

Thus, when the whole world has celebrated this holiday, the Chinese, having paid tribute to the international tradition, begin preparing hard for New Year by the Eastern calendar. Chinese New Year comes with a new moon in late January-early February. This day, they light millions of traditional red Chinese lanterns, render salutes and play off fireworks, which according to popular belief, scare away evil spirits. This is the main and favorite holiday in China, celebrated in a big way for 15 days.

Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is usually referred to as the Spring Festival in mainland China and is one of several Lunar New Years in Asia. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20. It’s a major holiday in Greater China and has strongly influenced lunar new year celebrations of China’s neighboring cultures, including the Korean New Year, the Tết of Vietnam, and the Losar of Tibet. It is also celebrated worldwide in regions and countries with significant Chinese populations, like Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, North America, and Europe.

In 1928, the Kuomintang party decreed that Chinese New Year will fall on the first of January, following the Gregorian Calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition from the populace. In 1967 during the Cultural Revolution, official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China. The State Council of the People’s Republic of China announced that the public should change customs, have a revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival, and since people needed to work on Chinese New Year Eve, they did not have holidays during Spring Festival day. The public celebrations were reinstated by the time of the Chinese economic reform.

The festival was traditionally a time to honor deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely, and the evening preceding Chinese New Year’s Day is frequently regarded as an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean their house, in order to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck.

Lunar New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, in China start on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The festival lasts for about 23 days, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the following year in the Chinese calendar.

Lunar New Year is a public holiday. It is a day off for the general population, and schools and most businesses are closed.

Lunar New Year decorations, including red envelopes for money.

©iStockphoto.com/Liang Zhang

Many people clean their homes to welcome the Spring Festival. They put up the red posters with poetic verses on it to their doors, Lunar New Year pictures on their walls, and decorate their homes with red lanterns. It is also a time to reunite with relatives so many people visit their families at this time of the year.

In the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, many people set off fireworks and firecrackers, hoping to cast away any bad luck and bring forth good luck. Children often receive “luck” money. Many people wear new clothes and send Lunar New Year greetings to each other. Various activities such as beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival festivities.

The Spring Festival is a national holiday in China. Government offices, schools, universities and many companies are closed during the period from the Spring Festival Eve to the seventh day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. However, some enterprises such as banks often arrange for workers to be on shift duty. Public transport is available during the Lunar New Year period.

According to historical documents, on the day when Shun, who was one of ancient China’s mythological emperors, came to the throne more than 4000 years ago, he led his ministers to worship heaven and earth. From then on, that day was regarded as the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. This is the basic origin of Lunar New Year.

China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, so Lunar New Year was renamed the Spring Festival.

Each new year year is represented by a Zodiac animal sign. The red posters with poetic verses on it were initially a type of amulet, but now it simply means good fortune and joy. Various Lunar New Year symbols express different meanings. For example, an image of a fish symbolizes “having more than one needs every year”. A firecracker symbolizes “good luck in the coming year”. The festival lanterns symbolize “pursuing the bright and the beautiful”.

While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.

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