Chinese New Year 2020: Know everything about Lunar New Year or Spring Festival

Chinese New Year, otherwise called Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most significant festival in China. Chinese New Year 2020 falls on Saturday, January 25, 2020, starting a Year of the Rat.

Chinese New Year or generally alluded to as Lunar New Year all around, is the Chinese festival that praises the start of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar. The festival is normally alluded to as the Spring Festival in mainland China and is one of a few Lunar New Years in Asia.

Observances generally happen from the evening going before the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the fifteenth day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year starts on the new moon that shows up between 21 January and 20 February. In 2020, the first day of the Chinese New Year will be on Saturday, 25 January, starting the Year of the Rat.

Chinese New Year is a significant holiday in China and has firmly impacted the Lunar new year festivities of China’s neighboring cultures, including the Korean New Year (seol), the Tết of Vietnam, and the Losar of Tibet.

Which countries celebrate the Spring Festival?

While Spring Festival has since become the official name of Chinese New Year, the Chinese outside mainland China despite everything like to call it Lunar New Year. “Chinese New Year” is a popular and convenient interpretation for individuals of non-Chinese cultural backgrounds. Alongside the Han Chinese in and outside China, upwards of 29 of the 55 ethnic minority groups in China additionally observe Chinese New Year. Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia celebrate it as an official festival.

Chinese New Year is seen as a public holiday in certain countries and domains where there is a sizable Chinese and Korean populace. Since Chinese New Year falls on various dates on the Gregorian calendar each year on various days of the week, some of these governments select to move working days to oblige a more extended public holiday.

In certain countries, a statutory holiday is included the accompanying workday when the New Year falls on an end of the week, as on account of 2013, where the New Year’s Eve (9 February) falls on Saturday and the New Year’s Day (10 February) on Sunday. Contingent upon the nation, the holiday might be named unexpectedly; common names are “Chinese New Year”, “Lunar New Year”, “New Year Festival”, and “Spring Festival”.

Chinese New Year is additionally celebrated worldwide in regions and countries with huge Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populaces, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Mauritius, as well as numerous in North America and Europe.

Chinese New Year is additionally celebrated every year in numerous countries with huge Chinese populaces. These incorporate countries all through Asia, Oceania, and North America. Sydney, London, and San Francisco claim to host the biggest New Year festivity outside of Asia and South America.

Why is it called the Spring Festival?

Even though being in winter for a large portion of China, the Chinese New Year is famously known as the Spring Festival in China. Since it begins from the Beginning of Spring (the first of the twenty-four terms in coordination with the changes of Nature) and marks the finish of winter and the start of spring.

The Spring Festival denotes a new year on the lunar calendar and represents the longing for a new life.

Why do Chinese New Year dates change every year?

Chinese New Year festivities, otherwise called the Spring Festival, in China start on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The celebration goes on for around 23 days, finishing on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the next year in the Chinese calendar.

Chinese New Year dates change somewhat between years, yet it usually comes during the period from January 21st to February 20th in the Gregorian calendar. The dates change every year because the festival depends on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The lunar calendar is related to the movement of the moon, which for the most part characterizes traditional festivals like the Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Day.

The lunar calendar is additionally connected with 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, so every 12 years is viewed as a cycle. 2020 is a Year of the Rat, while 2021 goes to be a Year of the Ox.

Chinese New Year 2020: Customs and Traditions

Chinese New Year is related to a few myths and customs. The festival was traditionally an opportunity to honor divinities as well as predecessors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the festival of the New Year vary widely, and the evening going before Chinese New Year’s Day is frequently viewed as an event for Chinese families to accumulate for the annual get-together dinner.

Chinese New Year is additionally traditional for every family to completely clean their home, to clear away any evil fortune and to clear a path for approaching good luck. Another custom is the decoration of windows and doors with red paper-cuts and couplets. Popular themes among these paper-cuts and couplets incorporate that of favorable luck or bliss, riches, and life span.

Different exercises remember lighting fireworks and giving cash for red paper envelopes. For the northern regions of China, dumplings are included noticeably in dinners praising the festival. It often serves as the first feast of the year either at midnight or as a breakfast of the first day.

In Chinese custom, every year is named after one of 12 animals, which include in the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

So the animals will have a year devoted to them once every 12 years, in a cycle.

2018 was the year of the dog, 2019 was the year of the pig and 2020 will be the year of the rat.

Whenever it will be the year of the pig again is 2031, 12 years after 2019.

How is Chinese New Year 2020 celebrated?

Numerous individuals clean their homes to welcome the Spring Festival. They set up the red posters with poetic verses on it to their doors, Chinese New Year pictures on their walls, and decorate their homes with red lamps. It is likewise an opportunity to rejoin with family members such huge numbers of individuals visit their families during this time of the year.

In the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, numerous individuals set off firecrackers and fireworks, planning to cast away any misfortune and deliver good luck. Kids often get “luck” cash. Numerous individuals wear new clothes and send Chinese New Year greetings to one another. Different activities, for example, beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival celebrations.

Before the celebrations start, individuals clean their homes truly well to prepare them for the festivals.

Then, when New Year’s Day comes, there is a tradition not to get a broom, if you clear the good luck for the New Year out of the door!

In China, schools and businesses can close for the first few days of the new year, so everybody can invest time with their families.

Individuals appreciate eating lots of flavorful nourishment, including noodle soup, which customarily brings luck for the year ahead.

There will be parades and performances, with individuals wearing customary clothes.

Firecrackers are additionally set off because it is believed that clamor and lights will frighten off any detestable spirits for the coming months.

Grown-ups may give red envelopes to kids with cash inside as well.

The festivities proceed for about fourteen days, completing the special lantern festival, which signals the finish of the New Year festivity period.

What will be open or closed on Lunar New Year 2020?

The Spring Festival is a national holiday in China. Government offices, schools, colleges, and numerous organizations are closed during the period from the Spring Festival Eve to the seventh day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. In any case, a few enterprises, for example, banks frequently arrange for laborers to be on move obligation. Public transport is accessible during the Chinese New Year period.

Businesses and public institutions in China take a 7-day Chinese New Year holiday, yet the individuals who need to (like us) will have some staff on obligation. Nonetheless, most enormous shopping centers, tourist attractions, public transport, hotels, and restaurants will open as usual, or even remain open longer! Likewise, observe when transport will be over-burden and when local customs are expected to occur.