What Is the Lunar New Year, How Is It Celebrated and More Facts About the Holiday

Out with the old, in with the new! The Lunar New Year is about happiness and prosperity with the family. Celebrated by more than 1.5 billion people every year, the holiday is rich in tradition and meaning, which differ from culture to culture.

In 2024, the Lunar New Year will begin on Saturday, February 10, and mark the Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac. (However, for Thailand, 2024 is the year of the Naga, the mythical serpent – according to the Royal Museums Greenwich.) The year of the dragon is said to be a time of opportunity and opportunity.

What is the Lunar New Year?

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The Lunar New Year is a holiday that marks the first new moon in the lunisolar calendar, which is the calendar traditionally used in many East Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Singapore and South Korea. In these and other Asian countries it is one of the most important holidays of the year!

Many cultures use the Gregorian calendar to count time, but some use different means. The Gregorian calendar used by most of the world does not follow the changes of the moon and sun, while the lunisolar calendar does. This is why the Lunar New Year falls on different dates every year.

According to ABC affiliate Denver7 News, more than 1.5 billion people celebrate the Lunar New Year, and typical celebrations span multiple days, sometimes up to 15, depending on the culture being celebrated.

When is the lunar new year?

The Lunar New Year usually falls between January 20 and February 21 in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, it will begin on February 10, the Chinese New Year, and will end on January 28, 2025, on the Chinese New Year.

What is the difference between Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year?

The name Lunar New Year is preferred because it is less specific and more inclusive of other Asian New Year celebrations. The holiday is also known by different names in different countries. For example, in China it is called Chūn Jié. It is known as Tết in Vietnam, Seollal in Korea and Losar in Tibet. In addition, it is also known as the Spring Festival.

What is the zodiac animal for 2024?

Chinese New Year – Year of the Dragon.

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Each Lunar New Year corresponds to an animal from the Chinese zodiac, which consists of a dozen animals based on a 12-year cycle. Lunar New Year 2024 is the Year of the Dragon (or Wood Dragon), the fifth sign in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Dragon people are said to be confident, independent, charismatic, ambitious, adventurous and fearless.

Recent years of the Dragon include 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, and 1952. There is an additional five-year cycle related to the five elements (earth, fire, wood, metal, and water), meaning that there is a 60-year cycle cycle between elements and signs of the zodiac. The next year of the wood dragon will be 2084.

The ultimate guide to 2024 horoscope predictions, according to celebrity astrologer Kyle Thomas

How do you celebrate the Lunar New Year?

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What to wear for the Lunar New Year?

Black and white are considered bad omens as they are usually reserved for mourning. Those celebrating should wear bright clothes, especially the traditional lucky color: red. For the Lunar New Year 2024, emerald green is considered the color of luck. Need a little more luck? You can buy all new clothes in this color; new clothes from head to toe are thought to represent a new beginning. Holiday decorations are also usually red and gold.

Red is the most popular color to celebrate the Lunar New Year because of its traditional association with luck, good fortune, wealth and auspiciousness. It also has roots in the origins of the Chinese holiday – the color red (along with loud noise and fire) was key in warding off evil spirits, hence the red lanterns and firecrackers associated with the celebrations.

What are the traditions of the Lunar New Year?

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With so many countries celebrating, the Lunar New Year is a holiday rich in tradition. Here are just some that are often associated with the holiday. Keep in mind that there are many, many more and that different traditions and superstitions are associated with different cultures.

Cleaning the grounds

Lunar New Year celebrations last 15 days, beginning with a traditional house cleaning, according to Jan Stuart, curator in the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (via Smithsonian magazine). This serves to “drive away any misfortune, bad luck or any bad influences”.

Just don’t clean the next day! You don’t want to sweep far all the luck you got when the clock struck midnight.

Family gatherings

The vacation begins with a joint dinner with the family. As a result, billions travel to visit relatives to celebrate. This is known as Chunyun, a 40-day journey around the Lunar New Year. According to CNN, it is “the largest human migration on the planet.” In 2020, the outlet reported that 3 billion trips are expected.

Red envelopes

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One tradition that is usually associated with the holiday is the distribution of red envelopes (so-called lai see in Cantonese, hóng bāo in Mandarin and lì xì in Thai) filled with money. Older relatives give envelopes to younger children, a custom that has evolved over the years and dates back to when people exchanged coins to ward off evil spirits. In Korea, money is not necessarily given in a red envelope, but given to younger family members after bowing to the elders.

A celebration with meaningful (and delicious) meals

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Traditional holiday meals, which may include whole steamed fish, dumplings, and spring rolls, often have a greater symbolic meaning (eg. tang yuan, or sweet rice balls, symbolize family togetherness). Of course, the meal itself has meaning.

“We believe that the first day of the year must be eaten well, because [then] You’ll eat well for the rest of the year,” said chef Vicky Cheng The Washington Post in 2020

Explore Allrecipe’s collection of foods and ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Giving tangerines and oranges

Oranges and tangerines are also a traditional gift for the new year, as they are considered to represent luck and wealth. The Mandarin words for tangerine and orange have similarities to the Mandarin words for gold and luck, making them especially meaningful for the holiday.

You don’t wash (or cut) your hair

New Year, you are not so new! In Chinese, the character for “hair” is also the same as the first character in the word for “prosper,” so washing or cutting your hair is seen as literally flushing all that luck down the drain if you do it on the first day of the new year.

or cutting noodles!

Traditionally eaten on holidays, long-lived noodles symbolize long life, so it is considered bad luck to cut them before or during a meal. Other superstitions include not buying shoes, borrowing money, napping during ceremonies or talking about death.

Fireworks and parades

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Fireworks are a sign of the holiday, as are lanterns because they are believed to ward off evil spirits. This is also the reason for traditional dances and performances such as Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, Fan Dance, Phoenix Dance and many more.

Lantern Festival

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The Lantern Festival marks the end of the holidays and the first full moon of the lunisolar calendar. It is often marked with a beautiful display of lanterns that symbolize love and hope.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education