According to legend, due to arrogance and misbehaviour, the horse’s wings were cut off and it was banished beneath Mount Kunlun. One popular narrative tells of the celestial horse, originally the Jade Emperor’s imperial steed. Beyond cosmological explanations, rich folk legends also recount the origin of the zodiac animals.
According to Chinese metaphysics consultant Vicki Iskandar, the Year of the Horse comes every 12 years and the last time “we had the Fire Horse as the ‘pillar’ of the year was in 1966”. The Chinese zodiac system combines a 12-year animal cycle with a 60-year elemental cycle created by pairing the five elements with yin and yang. The Vietnamese zodiac is slightly different, as it honours the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox. According to legend, as God prepared to depart from Earth, he invited all the animals to bid him farewell.
It is customary and polite for children to wish elders a happy new year and a year of happiness, health, and good fortune before accepting the red envelope. Red packets are generally given by married couples to the younger unmarried members of the family. In response, parents wrapped coins in red paper and placed them next to their children’s pillows. According to legend, a demon named Sui would pat a child on the head three times on New Year’s Eve, causing the child to have a fever.
- Chinese New Year dates vary slightly between years, but it usually comes during the period from January 21st to February 20th in Gregorian calendar.
- The festival food in south China is called Yuan Xiao or rice sweet dumpling.
- It originated from the ritual activities of praying for good years at the beginning of each lunar year during the ancient Shang Dynasty period.
- Today (February 17) marks Lunar New Year.
- Festivities include red decorations, elaborate meals, thorough cleaning of homes, and visiting family.
- During this period, red packets are also known as yasuiqian (壓歲錢; 压岁钱; yāsuìqián), which evolved from a homophonous phrase yasuiqian (壓祟錢; 压祟钱; yāsuìqián), literally meaning « money to suppress evil spirits ».
If Horses Are Unlucky This Year, What About My Zodiac Sign?
Each flower has a symbolic meaning, and many Chinese people believe that it may usher in the values that it represents. During Chinese New Year day, work at most establishments stops, and a favourite pastime is playing Mahjong with family or friends. In some places, the taking of a family portrait is an important ceremony after the relatives are gathered. The colour red is commonly worn throughout Chinese New Year; traditional beliefs held that red could scare away evil spirits. In mainland China, the New Year’s Gala is broadcast by every TV station, featuring traditional performances and a message by the president. It is customary for gifts to be wrapped in red or golden paper, symbolizing good luck.
How Long is Chinese New Year Celebration?
On the sixth day, known as Horse’s Day, people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by discarding the garbage accumulated during the festival. In other regions with a longer Chinese New Year holiday, celebrations include welcoming back the gods who were previously sent off on this day. In communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day marks the beginning of corporate « spring dinners » and the return to normal business operations.
The main parade, which sees over 100,000 spectators and involves more than 3,500 performers, is a notable highlight of the celebrations. With one of the largest Chinese populations outside of Asia, Sydney also boasts the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia, annually attracting over 600,000 attendees to the festivities in Chinatown. The Dragon dance and the Southern Lion dance are customarily performed on that day. The main events typically take place in the Chinatown area in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. During the week before New Year’s Day, spring cleaning in homes is performed.
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In northern China, people traditionally eat dumplings and noodles, while in the south, Nian Gao (sticky rice cake) is a must-have, symbolizing rising fortunes. Wearing new red clothes on New Year’s Day symbolizes a fresh start and invites good luck. New clothes, especially for children, add excitement to the holiday. To protect themselves from the bad luck of their Ben Ming Nian, those born in the Year of the Horse are encouraged to wear red throughout 2026. In 2026, the cycle brings us to the Horse, the seventh animal in the zodiac order. Festivities include red decorations, elaborate meals, thorough cleaning of homes, and visiting family.
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As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu, Volume 2, on the day of New Year’s Eve the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor’s bedroom door. During the Tang dynasty, people established the custom of sending bai nian tie (拜年帖, « New Year’s greetings »), New Year’s greeting cards. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one’s house thoroughly in the days preceding the Chinese New Year. In the Lüshi Chunqiu, in the Qin state, an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called « Big Nuo », was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. The 10th month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year.The records of the first Chinese New Year celebration can be traced to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC).
The clever Snake coiled around the Horse’s hoof, managing to finish the race ahead of the Horse and causing the Horse to fall into the seventh place. According to Chinese mythology, the order of the zodiac animals was decided by a Great Race held by the Jade Emperor. The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal. This story explains two important traditions—hanging red decorations and lighting firecrackers—representing victory over evil and a fresh start to the year.
- As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung, a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing.
- The monster was afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the color red, so those things were used to chase the beast away.
- The 15-day festival is about saying goodbye to the past year and, like the season of spring itself, symbolises renewal.
- The man claimed to have scared Nian away by hanging red banners on his door, lighting firecrackers and donning red clothing.
- In the zodiac, they thrive in lively settings and are often seen as natural leaders and motivators.
- On the 28th day of the last lunar month, families do a thorough house cleaning to sweep away any lingering bad luck, making way for a fresh beginning.
- Transportation during Chinese New Year, abbreviated as “Spring Festival travel rush”, is divided by the Spring Festival, with 15 days before the festival and 25 days after, for a total of 40 days.
It is convenient for people to buy gifts for their New Year visits as well as their home decorations at these markets. These usually open-air markets feature New Year–related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks and firecrackers. Common gifts include fruits (especially oranges, but never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and candies. In addition to red envelopes, typically given from older individuals to younger ones, small gifts such as food or sweets are exchanged between friends or relatives from different households during Chinese New Year. With the demon vanquished, peace returned to the village, and in gratitude, the elders bestowed upon the courageous young man a red envelope filled with money as a token of appreciation for his valor and for freeing the village from the demon’s menace. When the sui was going to reach out and touch the child’s head, the pillow suddenly brightened with the golden light, and the sui was scared away, so the exorcism effect of « red paper wrapped copper money » spread in China (see also Chinese numismatic charms).
However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival, during which the Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing the winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third, if an intercalary month occursb). Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweeping away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture and was placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2024.
Children born in the last lunar calendar year were Snakes, while those born on or after the Lunar New Year in 2027 will be Goats, and so on. Lunar New Year, widely considered the most important event of the year in China and Chinese communities around the planet, is nearly here. Keep in mind that different regions and minorities may celebrate the days on different dates, or have different names or practices for certain days. Each day of the 16-day-long festival has a name, and usually an assigned purpose or meaning. In the Chinese tradition, a person’s birth year—rather than their birth month—is considered key to understanding character and fortune. Many traditional dishes served during this festival reflect wishes for prosperity, health, and longevity.
One of the key celebrations is the Chinese New Year parade with floats and fireworks taking place along the streets in Chinatown, Manhattan, the largest Chinese New Year parade outside Asia. However, even smaller cities that are historically connected with Chinese immigration, such as Butte, Montana, have recently hosted parades. The common activities are the lion dance, dragon dance, New Year market, and food festival. The festival in Sydney is organized in partnership with a different Chinese province each year. The festival also attracts international media coverage, reaching millions of viewers in Asia.
Traditional foods include carp for long life, whole fish for abundance, dumplings and spring rolls for wealth, long noodles for longevity, sticky rice cakes for success, and citrus fruits for good luck. On the first day of the New Year, sweeping or cleaning is avoided as it is believed to brush away good fortune. In 2026 the Chinese New Year marks the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. These greetings or phrases may also be used just before children receive their red packets, when gifts are exchanged, when visiting temples, or even when tossing the shredded ingredients of yusheng, particularly popular in Malaysia and Singapore. For example, as breaking objects during the new year is considered inauspicious, one may then say 歲歲平安 (Suìsuì-píng’ān) immediately, which means « everlasting peace year after year ».
And every year, a heavenly stem (one of five elements, which fall into the yin or yang category) is paired with an earthly branch (one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals). Marking the Ringospin Casino first new moon of the lunar calendar, it falls on February 17 in 2026, kicking off the 15-day Spring Festival. Chinese New Year is not just one day but over 30 days of festivities and activities, which have their own calendar.
The preparation begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and the celebration lasts until the 15th of the first month. The Chinese zodiac year begins with Chinese New Year, thus changing the cycle to a new animal. One popular Chinese New Year tradition is the thorough cleaning of one’s home to rid the residence of any lingering bad luck.