Lunar New Year Festival and Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)

Lunar new year in some regions of the globe, it is based on the lunisolar calendar. It is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are cycles of the moon and the cycles of the sun. In the present day Lunar New Year mostly refers to the East Asian new years which are celebrated on the same date of which the most influential one is the Chinese new year. The Chinese new year date is on 12th of February 2021

Celebrations of the Lunar New Year Festival

In the East Asia

In modern East Asia the Lunar new year celebrations usually fall on the same date across the whole region(that occurs in late January month or early February). The following are derived from the happy Chinese new year using the traditional Chinese new year calendar and shares the same date –

• Chinese new year (A sprint festival)
• Korean New Year (Seollal)
• Vietnamese New Year (Tet Nguyen Dan)
• Japanese New Year (prior to 1873) Ryunku present year
• The following influence by the Chinese new year calendar during the long history of China
• Tibetan New Year (Losar)
• Mongolian New Year (Tsagaan Sar)

Also Read: Best Christmas Offers on Huawei Products in New Year

Origin and History – China

The origin of the Chinese new year celebration can be traced back to an ancient exorcistic ritual, which is Nuo. In warring states periods literature Lushi Chunqui the ritual was recorded is being carried out in the ending day of a year to expel illness in the Qin state and it was further named Big Nuo.

Later Qin unified China and funded the Qin dynasty the ritual was then continued.

The 1st mentioning of the celebrations of the start of the new year was recorded in the Han dynasty(from 202 BC – 220 AD). In the textbook <四民月令> which is written by the Eastern Han agronomist and writer 崔寔, the celebration was recorded by stating “The starting day of the first month” is called Zheng Ri.

I bring my wife and childrens to worship, commemorate and ancestors my father. Later he wrote Children, Wife, great grandchildren, grandchildren all serve pepper wine to their parents, make toast for them and wish their parents good health.

Chinese New Year

Chinese new year is a spring festival or the Lunar new year festival is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a happy new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.

In Chinese culture and Asian countries within the Sino sphere the festival is also referred to as Sprint Festival as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar which traditionally starts with lichun the first of the 24 solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of the happy Lunar new year.

Marking the end of the spring observances traditionally take place from the New year’s evening. The evening preceding the 1st day of the year to the Lantern festival which is held on the 15th day of the year.

The 1st day of the Chinese new year brings on the new moon that appears between 21st of January and 20 February.

In 2021 the 1st day of the Chinese new year will be on Friday 10 of February 2021 which is the year of the OX.

Chinese new year is the most important holiday and festival in China and has strongly influenced Lunar new year celebrations such as the Losar(new year of Tibet) and of China’s neighburing cultures including the Korean new year(which is Seollal) and the Tet(new year of Vietnam).

It is also celebrated in the whole world and in the different regions of the countries that house significant overseas Chinese or sinophone populations including Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Philippines, Mauritius, Singapore and in North America and Europe as well.

The chinese new year is also associated with the various myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to the honor deities as well as ancestors within the old china. The regional customs and traditions concerning the celebrations of the happy new year vary widely.

The evening preceding the new year’s day is frequently regarded as an occasion for the Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also a tradition for every family to thoroughly clean their homes inmorder to sweep away any ill fortune and to make way for the incoming good luck in their lives.

Another custom is the decoration of the windows and the doors with the red paper cuts and couplets with designs. Popular themes among these papers and couplets include that of happiness and good fortune, wealth and longevity. Other activities include lightning firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes to their loved ones and relatives.

For the northern regions of the Mainland China dumplings (Chinese new year food) are featured in meals celebrating the new year festival. It often serves as the first meal of the year either at midnight or as breakfast of the first day of the year.

Celebrations in India and Pakistan of the Chinese New Year

Many Chinese citizens and Tibetans celebrate the festival in Chinatown, Kolkata, India where a significant number of Chinese origin exists. In Kolkata Chinese new year is celebrated with the dragon dance and lion dance.

In Pakistan the Chinese new year is also celebrated among the Chinese expatriate community that lives in the country during the festive season the Chinese embassy in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad arranges various cultural events for their citizens in which Pakistani arts and cultural organizations and members of the civil society also participate in the festival.

Is Lunar and Chinese New Year the Same?

The lunar new year and the Chinese new year and the spring festivals are all related to each other but they are not the same thing. The Chinese new year is totally based on the Chinese lunar calendar.

So this was the complete history and importance of the Chinese new year and the Lunar new year which is celebrated in the different countries of the world as a new year celebration for them according to their Chinese lunar calendar.