THE Lunar New Year is an international festival that celebrated in many Asian countries but not all is all.
So let's take a look at which countries celebrate it.
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Which countries celebrate Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year is rich in tradition and marks the first new moon of the lunar calendar.
It is celebrated in many east Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Singapore and South Korea.
Typical festivities last for multiple days, sometimes as long as 15 days depending on the culture.
Vietnam
Lunar New Year is called Tết in Vietnam – short for Tết Nguyên Đán,.
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It is the celebration of the start of spring and families come together to celebrate.
South Korea
The Korean New Year is also celebrated on the Lunar New Year.
It is called Seollal and usually lasts three days.
In 1945 the liberated regime moved the new year in line with the Gregorian calendar to January 1 but public opinion reinstated the Lunar New Year in 1989.
Tibet
The Tibetan Lunar New Year is called Losar.
The date it is celebrated on is based on the Tibetan lunisolar calendar and is often different to the date Lunar New Year is celebrated elsewhere.
China
Lunar New Year is also known as ChūnJié or Spring Festival in China.
It is also known widely around the world as Chinese New Year.
Festivities last 16 days beginning on the first new moon and lasting until the first full moon of the lunar calendar.
Singapore
Singapore has a large Chinese community so the Lunar New Year is celebrated much the same as in China.
Indonesia
The Lunar New Year celebration in Indonesia is called Imlek.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri declared the day a national holiday starting from 2003 after it had been banned for many years.
Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, The Philippines and Brunei also celebrate the day.
How is the Lunar New Year celebrated?
Lunar New Year kicks off with a reunion dinner with family.
Millions travel to visit relatives for the celebration, this is known as Chunyun – a 40 day period of travel surrounding the Lunar New Year.
Another tradition is for older relatives to give red envelopes filled with money to younger family members.
Firework displays and parades including lions and dragons are a large part of the festivities as they are believed to ward off bad spirits – as are lanterns.
How is the date decided?
The Gregorian calendar, which is used by most cultures, does not keep track of the sun or the moon, whereas the lunisolar calendar does, and this is what decides when Lunar New Year is.
It can fall in either January or February each year and the date changes annually too.
It is also known as Spring Festival. In China the festivities are known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, they don't call it Chinese New Year.
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