Chinese New Year 2023

Did You Know? - Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival In China, you'll hear it being called chunjie (春节), or the Spring Festival. It's still very wintry, but the holiday marks the end of the coldest days. People welcome spring and what it brings along: planting and harvests, new beginnings and fresh starts.

You can also call it the Lunar New Year, because countries such as North and South Korea and Vietnam celebrate it as well. And because the Spring Festival goes according to the lunar calendar.

Did You Know? - There's no set date for Chinese New Year! According to the Lunar calendar, the Spring Festival is on January 1st and lasts until the 15th (the full moon). Unlike western holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, when you try to calculate it with the solar (Gregorian) calendar, the date is all over the place. Chinese New Year ranges from January 21 to February 20. In 2023, it occurs on January 22. For a full list of dates and events check out our Chinese New Year calendar.

Did You Know? - It is a day for praying to gods! The Spring Festival was originally a ceremonial day to pray to gods for a good planting and harvest season. As an agrarian society, the harvest was everything. People also prayed to their ancestors, as they were treated as gods (see Mulan for reference).

Did You Know? - The most fireworks are set off in the world that night (but sometimes it's illegal)! As in the myth about Nian, firecrackers are supposed to scare off monsters and bad luck. So people stay up on Chinese New Year's Eve and set off firecrackers at midnight. In the morning, firecrackers are used again to welcome the new year and good luck.

Both firecrackers and fireworks sound throughout the night. That same night, families also burn fake paper money and printed gold bars in honor of their deceased loved ones. Similar to the Korean Chuseok holiday or the Mexican Day of the Dead traditions, they believe the offerings will bring fortune and good luck to their ancestors in the afterlife.

Due to safety reasons and concerns for air pollution, many Chinese cities have banned fireworks. More than 500 cities have restrictions too. But... many people don't care and they do it anyway. Beijing had banned fireworks for 13 years. The ban was lifted in 2006 because of the angry public.

If you're in China during this time, you'll probably be able to hear and see the explosions for at least 3 nights (and it can go on for weeks).

Did You Know? -The Spring Festival causes the largest human migration in the world. The most important part of Chinese New Year is the family reunion. Everyone should come back home for the New Year's Eve dinner.

But since in modern China, most elderly parents live in rural villages while their children work in the cities. The migration back home and to go on vacation is called chunyun (春运), or Spring Migration.

Even on normal days, subways to work are jammed pack with people just barely squishing past the door. You can imagine the intensity of the chunyun. Plus, the earliest you can buy train tickets is 60 days before. It leads to a mad rush of literally fighting for tickets. In 2015, statistics showed that around 1,000 tickets were sold each second.

Did You Know? - No showering, sweeping or throwing out garbage allowed!Showering isn't allowed New Year's Day. Sweeping and throwing out garbage isn't allowed before the 5th. This is to make sure you don't wash away the good luck!

On the other hand, there's a day before the Spring Festival dedicated to cleaning. This day is to sweep the bad luck away and make room for the good.

Did You Know? - There's wine specifically for the Spring Festival. Chinese people love drinking. There's a saying that there's no manners and/or etiquette without wine. This means that you need to have wine for every ceremony, festival or important dinner.

There's wine for engagement dinners, weddings, birthdays... and of course, the Spring Festival. With such a rich wine culture, it's no surprise that there is a bunch of drinking games you play. However, it's not all fun and games.

When you're eating with someone older than you, as is the case with New Year's dinners, you need to follow strict toasting etiquette rules. They include the order of toasts, seating, how you hold the wine glass etc. etc. To learn more read our post on Chinese New Year's drinks and etiquette.

Did You Know? - Every year has a zodiac animal. Western horoscopes include 12 zodiacs, one for each month. There are 12 Chinese zodiacs as well, but the animal is for the entire year.

They are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig

2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Some of the animals (such as Rat, Snake, Dog and Pig) aren't normally well-liked in Chinese culture. But as a zodiac, their positive traits are bestowed on people born that year.

They play a much bigger role than in Western cultures. Your animal can decide your career, health and relationship success. Make sure you find out what zodiac animal you are!

Did You Know? - Chinese New Year ends with the Lantern Festival. The first full moon of the (lunar) year is the Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节 / yuán xiāo jié) or Lantern Festival (灯节 / dēng jié). Though family is still important, it's still a night of partying and freedom.