What Is the Lunar New Year

What Is the Lunar New Year?

On February 10, Asian American communities around the world will ring in the Year of the Dragon. Some Lunar New Year celebrations will be public, like parades and fireworks. But, families will also gather for private parties.

What is the Lunar New Year?

The Lunar New Year is a major holiday in several Asian countries. And people celebrate over several days or even weeks.

It is called the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea.

The holiday begins on the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. Because the holiday is based on the moon, it falls somewhere between the end of January and the end of February.

The lunar calendar is based on 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The animals are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In the Vietnamese zodiac, the cat replaces the rabbit and the buffalo is in place of the ox. For 2024, it is the year of the dragon for both.