Celebrating Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year and while it is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, this holiday is also celebrated in Korea, Singapore, Mongolia, Tibet, Vietnam and in Asian communities worldwide. The New Year celebration is usually celebrated for multiple days. In 2024, Lunar New Year begins on February 10. China’s Lunar New Year is known as the Spring Festival or Chūnjié in Mandarin, while Koreans call it Seollal and Vietnamese refer to it as Tết.
While it is celebrated differently across different Asian cultures, the holiday is traditionally a time to honor ancestors and deities, with family reunions, parades, feasts, and fireworks to drive off evil spirits. The New Year typically begins with the first new moon that occurs between the end of January and spans the first 15 days of the first month of the lunar calendar—until the full moon arrives.
Zodiac Animals
Each year in the Lunar calendar is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals, which include the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In addition to the animals, five elements of earth, water, fire, wood and metal are also mapped onto the traditional lunar calendar. Each year is associated with an animal that corresponds to an element. 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon, the 5th placement of the Chinese Zodiac.
