Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year in United Kingdom, for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020.

United Kingdom	2018	2019	2020
Chinese New Year	Friday 16th February	Tuesday 5th February	Saturday 25th January

Chinese New Year

Celebrating the Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year marks the start of the Chinese calendar year. It is a period of great celebration in the country and for Chinese people across the globe.

The date of the Chinese New Year

The date of New Year for the Chinese calendar is determined by the first new moon at the end of January or the start of February. It is traditionally a 15 day festival, which goes through to the full moon. The end of the Chinese New Year is celebrated with the Lantern Festival, where candles are used to direct any unwanted spirits home. There is confusion over the exact date of the first New Year, but it is often said to have heralded from the Shang Dynasty.

On the eve of Chinese New Year, families will get together for dinner and to mark the start of the celebrations. Many of their traditions are designed to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year. At the stroke of midnight fireworks will be launched to drive away evil and welcome in the Chinese New Year. They will always clean their homes to remove any bad luck and bring good fortune to all those who live there. Houses will be filled with red decorations, including lanterns and door gods.

Chinese New Year celebrations

The Chinese have a range of different traditions and customs that they use to celebrate the New Year. They will give out red envelopes containing money to those who are younger than them and unmarried. The money is designed to remove any evil and bring the children health and happiness. Each year has a designated animal zodiac and those born within this year are said to have characteristics of these animals. They include the year of the snake, horse and monkey.