This Wednesday, January 29, 2025, the Chinese New Year takes place. The festivities do not take place on December 31 and the date changes from one year to another. In 2025, the wood snake was in the spotlight.
Wednesday, January 29, begins the Chinese New Year. A party that will take End on Tuesday, February 4 next. Indeed, the Chinese New Year, also called “Spring Festival”, lasts on average fifteen days And the date changes from one year to the next. This is one of the differences from the New Year of December 31 which is based on the Gregorian calendar. Chinese New Year uses a different calendar named The Luni-Solar Calendar.
What is a lun-solar calendar?
The lun-solar calendar is calculated on the different moons and the position of the sun vis-à-vis our planet. As a result, the lun-solar calendar “turned upside down” the duration of the months of the year compared to the Gregorian calendar. The months being based on the lunar phases, A month lasts about 29.5 days And A year can last between twelve and thirteen months. However, from a new moon to a new moon, it takes 354 days which corresponds to a complete cycle while the solar year lasts 365 days. In order to adjust the two calendars, every 3 years of the months are added. This is the reason why the dates can change.
Thus, the Chinese New Year has often Location between mid-January and mid-February. Indeed, the start of the festivities corresponds to the date on which the second new moon appears after the winter solstice. Generally, the second new moon appears between January 21 and February 19. The Chinese New Year lasts a fortnight since it starts during the new moon and ends fifteen days after the full moon. This celebration also makes it possible to award the coming year A symbol animal Like the pig, the dog, the rooster, the monkey, the goat, the horse, the snake, the dragon, the rabbit, the tiger, the beef and the rat as well asan element Like fire, metal, earth, wood or water. In 2025, it will be The year of the wooden snake.
Chinese New Year Rituals
The luni-solar calendar was chosen to be in harmony with nature. In China, the population is in rural majority. This calendar therefore makes it possible to find a balance between the sun and the moon. As a reminder, the sun allows you to know the period of harvests as well as the duration of the days. For its part, the moon allows you to understand the rhythm of the tides.
Around the Chinese New Year, civilizations that celebrate it must perform certain rituals. Upstream of the festivities, They must clean the premises in which they live in order to remove bad luck for the coming year. The decorations must imperatively be in red and gold. These two colors are the symbol of luck and prosperity in Chinese New Year beliefs. Families are also found to share large tables and finally the elders must offer a red envelope with money to the youngest In order to transmit: luck and prosperity.