Students who learn Chinese online or work with a Chinese teacher will come to learm that Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year on the Western calendar. In 2026, the holiday begins on February 17, while in 2027 it starts on February 6. The Chinese calendar is technically a lunisolar calendar, meaning it incorporates both lunar and solar elements. Months are based on the moon’s cycles, with each month beginning at the new moon (when the moon is not visible in the night sky). A lunar month lasts approximately 29.5 days, which means a year of twelve lunar months totals only 354 days. This creates a problem because Earth’s orbit around the sun takes approximately 365.25 days, leaving an eleven-day gap between the lunar and solar years.

To solve this discrepancy, the Chinese calendar adds a leap month approximately every three years. This thirteenth month keeps the calendar synchronized with the solar year and ensures that seasonal festivals occur in their proper seasons. Without these adjustments, Chinese New Year would gradually drift through all the seasons over time. The leap month system is why Chinese New Year can fall anywhere between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar.

The celebration itself extends for fifteen days, beginning on New Year’s Eve and concluding with the Lantern Festival on the first full moon of the new lunar year. This extended celebration period is why Chinese New Year is often referred to as the Spring Festival, as it marks the transition from winter toward spring even though the weather remains cold in much of China during this time.

Each year in the Chinese zodiac is represented by one of twelve animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. This twelve-year cycle is combined with a five-element system of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, creating a sixty-year cycle known as the sexagenary cycle. The year 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, a combination that occurs only once every sixty years. People born in a particular year are believed to share characteristics with that year’s animal and element.

Preparation for Chinese New Year begins well before the holiday arrives. Approximately ten days before New Year’s Eve, families thoroughly clean their homes in a practice called “sweeping of the grounds.” This cleaning symbolically removes bad luck accumulated over the previous year and makes the home ready to receive good fortune. Once the new year begins, however, sweeping is traditionally avoided for the first few days to prevent sweeping away the newly arrived good luck. Red dominates the visual landscape of Chinese New Year. The color red represents joy and prosperity in Chinese culture.

Family reunions represent the emotional core of Chinese New Year. New Year’s Eve dinner, called the reunion dinner, is considered the most important meal of the year. Family members travel long distances to gather for this meal, creating what is often described as the world’s largest annual human migration as hundreds of millions of people return to their hometowns. The dinner typically includes dishes with symbolic meanings: fish represents surplus and abundance, dumplings resemble ancient gold ingots and symbolize wealth, and noodles represent longevity.

Children receive red envelopes called hongbao in Mandarin or lai see in Cantonese. These envelopes contain money and are traditionally given by married adults to unmarried children and young adults. The amount inside is less important than the act of giving, which expresses wishes for good fortune in the new year. The envelopes themselves must be red, and the money inside is preferably new bills. Amounts containing the number eight are considered especially lucky because the word for eight sounds similar to the word for prosperity. Now, Chinese New Year goes beyond China’s borders. The holiday is officially celebrated in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Korea, and the Philippines, though each country has adapted the celebration to local culture.

Language schools that teach Chinese culture alongside language instruction, such as GoEast Mandarin in Shanghai, often organize special activities during Chinese New Year to give international students direct experience with the holiday. These activities might include making dumplings, practicing calligraphy for couplets, or attending temple fairs. Understanding the holiday provides students with cultural context that enriches their language learning and helps them connect with Chinese people during this significant time.