Lunar New Year and Chinese New Year: Meaning, Traditions and Dates to 2036

Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?

Both names describe the same festival. In China it is commonly known as the Spring Festival, and in English it is also called Lunar New Year, Wikipedia explains. Strictly speaking, the traditional Chinese calendar is lunisolar, following both the moon and the sun, rather than purely lunar.

“Lunar New Year” is also used more widely, for the new year in several Asian calendars. Vietnam's Tết and Korea's Seollal generally fall on the same day as Chinese New Year, while Tibetan Losar and Mongolian Tsagaan Sar can fall on the same day or about a month later, according to Wikipedia.

Cambodia is different. Khmer New Year, like the new years of Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, follows the Buddhist calendar and falls in mid-April, which is also when the Khmer zodiac animal changes. Our Khmer New Year guide explains how the two calendars line up.

How the date is set

Chinese New Year does not have a fixed date in the international calendar. It begins on the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February, as Wikipedia puts it, which is why its date changes from one year to the next.

The new year also starts a new animal in the Chinese zodiac. Anyone born in January or early February before that day belongs to the previous year's animal; our guide to being born in January explains how to check, or use the zodiac checker.

Chinese New Year dates and animals, 2027 to 2036

These dates come from the lunar calendar table our zodiac checker uses. Governments publish their official public holidays for each year separately.

For 2027 in detail, see Chinese New Year 2027: the Year of the Goat and why the Goat is also called the Sheep or Ram.

The main traditions

Customs vary from family to family and country to country, but Wikipedia describes these as the most widespread:

• Cleaning the house before the new year, to sweep away any ill fortune.
• Red decorations: red paper-cuts and couplets on windows and doors.
• The reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, when the family gathers for a meal together.
• Red envelopes of money, called hongbao in Mandarin, given out during the celebrations.
• Firecrackers, traditionally lit to ward off evil spirits.
• Fifteen days of celebration, from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the year.

Behind the red and the noise is an old story. In the legend of the Nian, a beast came to eat villagers, especially children, in the middle of the night, until the villagers learned that it was afraid of the colour red and of loud noises.

In 2024, Chinese New Year was added to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Wikipedia notes.

Chinese New Year in Cambodia

Chinese New Year is not a public holiday in Cambodia, but it is widely celebrated, and some schools, private companies and institutions close for it, Xinhua reported in 2023. A university vice-president it quoted, Sambo Manara, estimated that about 80 percent of Cambodians in urban areas and 40 percent in rural areas celebrate it.

Families of Chinese descent clean their homes and decorate them with red paper-cuts, flowers, red lanterns and couplets, honour their ancestors and gather for family reunions, the same report said. A history professor, Diep Sophal, noted that Cambodia in fact marks three new years: the international New Year, Chinese New Year and Khmer New Year.

In February 2026, on the eve of the Year of the Horse, Prime Minister Hun Manet sent his best wishes to Chinese people and Cambodians of Chinese descent, and folk artists performed a lion dance at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, The Star reported.

Where it is a public holiday

Outside mainland China, where it is the start of a longer holiday week, Chinese New Year is an official holiday in several places, according to Wikipedia's overview:

• Hong Kong and Macau: three days each.
• Taiwan: several days, with extra bridge holidays.
• Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar; in Thailand it is a public holiday only in some southern provinces.
• Korea and Vietnam: the same days are public holidays as Seollal and Tết.
• Elsewhere: one day in New York and California in the United States, and in Suriname.

Frequently asked questions

When is Chinese New Year 2027?

Saturday 6 February 2027. It starts the Year of the Goat, a Fire Goat year.

Is Lunar New Year the same as Chinese New Year?

Yes, for the Chinese festival: Lunar New Year is its common English name, and in China it is called the Spring Festival. Lunar New Year is also used for related new years such as Vietnam's Tết and Korea's Seollal, which usually fall on the same day.

Why does Chinese New Year change date every year?

It follows the moon: it begins on the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February, so its date in the international calendar moves each year.

How long does Chinese New Year last?

The celebrations run for 15 days, from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the new year.

Is Chinese New Year a public holiday in Cambodia?

No, but it is widely celebrated, especially by families of Chinese descent, and some schools, companies and institutions close for it. Cambodia's own new year, Khmer New Year, is in mid-April.

Sources and further reading

• Wikipedia: “Chinese New Year” — the names Spring Festival and Lunar New Year, the date rule, the 15 days to the Lantern Festival, the traditions, the Nian legend, the 2024 UNESCO listing and the public holidays.
• Wikipedia: “Lunar New Year” — Tết, Seollal, Losar and Tsagaan Sar, and the mid-April new years of Cambodia and its neighbours.
• Cambodianess (Xinhua): “Chinese Lunar New Year widely celebrated in Cambodia” (20 January 2023) — Chinese New Year in Cambodia, the estimates by Sambo Manara and the three new years noted by Diep Sophal.
• The Star: “Cambodian PM sends Lunar New Year greetings” (16 February 2026) — Hun Manet's greetings and the lion dance at the Royal Palace.
• Hong Kong Observatory: Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table of 2027 — 6 February 2027 as the first day of the lunar year.

Dates follow the Lunar New Year table used by our zodiac checker; official holidays are announced by each government. Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under the free licences named under each picture.