And every year, a heavenly Ringospin Casino stem (one of five elements, which fall into the yin or yang category) is paired with an earthly branch (one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals). Marking the first new moon of the lunar calendar, it falls on February 17 in 2026, kicking off the 15-day Spring Festival. Chinese New Year is not just one day but over 30 days of festivities and activities, which have their own calendar.

It falls on a different date every year

San Gabriel hosts an annual Chinese Gala at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in addition to its street festival. Neighboring Alhambra has also hosted a large festival since 1993 with many performances and street vendors. Monterey Park puts on the largest of such festivals, occupying 5 blocks in the city and attracting over 100,000 individuals. The Little Saigon area has hosted Tet celebrations since 1982 for its Chinese and Vietnamese communities.

Having Family Reunion Dinner (年夜饭)

It is convenient for people to buy gifts for their New Year visits as well as their home decorations at these markets. These usually open-air markets feature New Year–related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks and firecrackers. Common gifts include fruits (especially oranges, but never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and candies. In addition to red envelopes, typically given from older individuals to younger ones, small gifts such as food or sweets are exchanged between friends or relatives from different households during Chinese New Year. With the demon vanquished, peace returned to the village, and in gratitude, the elders bestowed upon the courageous young man a red envelope filled with money as a token of appreciation for his valor and for freeing the village from the demon’s menace. When the sui was going to reach out and touch the child’s head, the pillow suddenly brightened with the golden light, and the sui was scared away, so the exorcism effect of “red paper wrapped copper money” spread in China (see also Chinese numismatic charms).

Spring Festival Shopping (办年货)

Families prepare food in advance since using sharp objects on New Year’s Day is considered unlucky. Arguments and anger are avoided to ensure harmony, and sweeping or cleaning on the first day is seen as inauspicious, as it is believed to brush away good fortune. Breaking objects is considered a bad omen and is thought to bring bad luck. Since the dragon is a Chinese symbol of good fortune, a dragon dance highlights festival celebrations in many areas. Celebrations to usher out the old year and bring forth the luck and prosperity of the new one often include firecrackers, fireworks, and red clothes and decorations.
Children born in the last lunar calendar year were Snakes, while those born on or after the Lunar New Year in 2027 will be Goats, and so on. Lunar New Year, widely considered the most important event of the year in China and Chinese communities around the planet, is nearly here. Keep in mind that different regions and minorities may celebrate the days on different dates, or have different names or practices for certain days. Each day of the 16-day-long festival has a name, and usually an assigned purpose or meaning. In the Chinese tradition, a person’s birth year—rather than their birth month—is considered key to understanding character and fortune. Many traditional dishes served during this festival reflect wishes for prosperity, health, and longevity.
There is a circle of 12 animals, including the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. While the date varies each year in the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year always occurs between January 21 and February 20. This festival is known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Seollal in Korea. Most of the world organises time through a solar year, in which time is measured by Earth’s revolution around the sun. Nearly a quarter of the world – across East Asian countries – pauses to celebrate the New Year, to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Today (February 17) marks Lunar New Year.

New Year’s Eve Dinner

Visitors will be showered with gifts after catching up over Lunar New Year treats. Bags are stocked with presents and fruits to give out at people’s homes. For instance, in some northern areas people tend to serve dumplings and noodles, whereas the south can’t live without steamed rice.

• They probably predate the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), but did not become widespread until then.
• Early in the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, people also have to visit and greet each other with family and friends.
• In the chapter, “Ending of a Year” (歲除) in Wulin jiushi (武林舊事), concubines of the emperor prepared a hundred and twenty coins for princes and princesses to wish them longevity.
• It was celebrated as one of the official national religious holidays by Chinese Indonesians from 18 June 1946 to 1 January 1953 through a government regulation signed by President Sukarno on 18 June 1946.
• If you’ve ever attended a Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year celebration, or have even seen photographs, you’ll likely have seen a number of extravagant costumes and dancers.
• This is done so that the Kitchen God can report to the Jade Emperor of the family household’s transgressions and good deeds.

Day 15: The Lantern Festival

The beast is said to have terrorised people every year, until he was defeated due to his fear of red, loud noises and fire. Primarily in traditional Chinese culture, the colour red originates from the myth of a monster called Nian. This is why many people clean their homes before the celebrations, as many clean to remove any misfortune or bad luck lingering ahead of the new year. The 15-day festival is about saying goodbye to the past year and, like the season of spring itself, symbolises renewal. This is because it marks the beginning of the spring season and the end of winter in the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. While celebrations and traditions take place annually, the exact date of the Lunar New Year changes every year as it begins with the arrival of a new moon, which signifies the start of a new month.

The parade is attended by some 500,000 people, along with another 3 million TV viewers. They invited a variety of other groups from the city to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, carrying colourful flags, banners, lanterns, drums, and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. In 1849, with the discovery of gold and the ensuing California Gold Rush, over 50,000 people came to San Francisco to seek their fortune or just a better way of life. The festival incorporates Grant and Kearny Streets into its street festival and parade route, respectively. The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is the oldest and one of the largest events of its kind outside of Asia, and one of the largest Asian cultural events in North America. Many communities throughout all of California celebrate with large celebrations taking place in both the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, as well as in Fresno, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Rosa, and Stockton.
In Taiwan in the 2000s, some employers also gave red packets as a bonus to maids, nurses, or domestic workers from Southeast Asian countries, although whether this is appropriate is controversial. Incense, tea, fruits, vegetarian food or roasted pig, and gold paper are served as customary protocol for paying respect to an honored person. While large firework displays are popular in some places, Taiwan tends to focus more on temple visits, lantern-lighting ceremonies, and family reunions.citation needed ‘Spring Festival’ is the standard and official term; people in Taiwan typically do not use “Spring Festival” in daily conversations.

• Chinese temples are generally open for 24 hours on the first day, distributing red envelopes and sometimes rice, fruits or sugar to the poor.citation needed
• To kick things off, festive cakes and puddings are made on the 24th day of the last lunar month (February 11 in 2026).
• President Trump has warned of severe consequences if no nuclear deal is reached, while Iran demands sanctions relief as part of any agreement.
• Celebrated by millions around the world, this is a time for cultural traditions, family reunions, and hopes for good fortune in the coming year.
• As mentioned, the Lunar New Year is also called the Spring Festival in China and marks the beginning of the spring season.
• Other traditional foods consist of noodles, fruits, dumplings, spring rolls, and Tangyuan, which are also known as sweet rice balls.
• Each country has its own traditions, but the core values remain the same—family, food, and hopes for a prosperous year ahead.

Buy yourself a Chinese-style coat, get your kids tiger-head hats and shoes, and decorate your home with some beautiful red Chinese knots, then you will have an authentic Chinese-style Spring Festival. In stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities, products of traditional Chinese style have started to lead fashion trends. Red couplets and red lanterns are displayed on the door frames and light up the atmosphere. For example, in 2013, New Year’s Eve (9 February) fell on a Saturday and New Year’s Day (10 February) on a Sunday. In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, official Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in China.
One of the key celebrations is the Chinese New Year parade with floats and fireworks taking place along the streets in Chinatown, Manhattan, the largest Chinese New Year parade outside Asia. However, even smaller cities that are historically connected with Chinese immigration, such as Butte, Montana, have recently hosted parades. The common activities are the lion dance, dragon dance, New Year market, and food festival. The festival in Sydney is organized in partnership with a different Chinese province each year. The festival also attracts international media coverage, reaching millions of viewers in Asia.
We’ve mentioned a lot about the colour red in the celebrations and what it symbolises. The colour red is believed to bring positivity and happiness and also ward off evil spirits. The red envelopes are a token of good fortune and symbolise good luck. Another long‑standing tradition is passing red envelopes, known as Hóngbāo, to friends and family.