How many days until Lunar New Year?

About Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year, widely known as Chinese New Year and also celebrated under different names and customs in countries such as Vietnam and Korea, marks the beginning of the year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Its date shifts on the Gregorian calendar each year because it falls on the second new moon following the winter solstice, a calculation rooted in a lunisolar system that combines lunar months with an occasional leap month to keep the calendar roughly aligned with the solar year, resulting in the holiday falling somewhere between late January and late February depending on the year. The holiday is associated with one of twelve zodiac animals in a repeating twelve-year cycle, and each new year is popularly identified with its corresponding animal, a tradition that shapes much of the holiday's popular symbolism and associated customs. Celebrations typically span multiple days and include family reunions often involving significant travel, elaborate meals with symbolic foods, the giving of red envelopes containing money to children and unmarried relatives, fireworks, and decorations in red and gold intended to bring good fortune. The holiday period is one of the largest annual mass-migration events in the world, as many people travel long distances to reunite with family. A common point of confusion is assuming Lunar New Year refers only to the Chinese observance; while the underlying calendar and many customs originated in China, Vietnam and Korea observe their own related New Year traditions, generally on the same date due to shared lunisolar calculation but with distinct customs, foods, and names specific to each culture, making it more accurate to describe Lunar New Year as a broader East and Southeast Asian observance rather than one uniquely Chinese holiday.

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