The Chinese New Year

Not all countries celebrate New Year at the same time. Because some nations use a
different calendar, they may celebrate at different time. One of the most popular
examples is the Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year, known in China as the Spring Festival and in Singapore as the
Lunar New Year, is a holiday on and around the new moon on the first day of the year in
the traditional Chinese calendar. This calendar is based on the changes in the moon and is
only sometimes changed to fit the seasons of the year based on how the Earth moves
around the sun. Because of this, Chinese New Year is never on January 1. It moves
around between January 21 and February 20.

In the past, the holiday was usually just called the "New Year". Because the traditional
Chinese calendar is mostly based on the changes in the moon, the Chinese New Year is
also known in English as the "Lunar New Year" or "Chinese Lunar New Year". This
name comes from "Luna", an old Latin name for the moon.

Every year takes the name of an animal. This is the traditional Chinese zodiac. The
animals are the following: mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep,
monkey, chicken, dog, and pig. Chinese people believe that each of these years has its
special meaning. There are things which we should do in a certain year, and in another
we should not do it.

The day of the new year's first full moon is called the Lantern Festival. Many streets and
homes are decorated with old paper lanterns. In the past, this was one of the few days of
the year when the women of families with lots of money could go outside their homes.
They walked the streets nearby with their maids and could say hello to people outside
their family. This still causes the festival to make people think of young adults meeting
their future husband or wife.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated also in other Asian countries: Singapore, Taiwan,
South and North Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and others. The big Chinese
communities in Europe, the United States, Canada, and other countries in the world also
celebrate. Still, China officially celebrates also on 31 December.