What is Chinese New Year?

This week, millions of people will be celebrating Chinese New Year. It will be marked by communities all over the world. People eat lots of food, they enjoy fireworks, wear special clothes and hang red lanterns to mark the occasion of Chinese New Year.

When is it?

Chinese New Year will begin on Tuesday 5th February 2019, this year. The reason the new year falls at this time of year is because it marks the start of the lunar year, which is when there is the start of a new moon. This is different to the ‘Gregorian’ calendar that we traditionally use in the UK, which always starts on 1st January. Because it depends on the moon, the date of Chinese New Year actually changes each year, but it always fall some time between 21st January and 20th February. Next year, the new year will start on 25th January, so the celebrations will be slightly earlier than they are this year.

What is it?

Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. It is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. In Chinese tradition, each year is named after on of twelve animals, which feature in the Chinese zodiac. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and the Pig. So the animals will have a year dedicated to them once every 12 years, in a cycle. 2018 was the year of the dog, and this year it is the year of the pig. The next time it will be the year of the dog is 2030, as this is in 12 years’ time. It is believed that the pig is a symbol of optimism, enthusiasm and being hardworking.

By Thuvarakaa & Amelia \Z\Z