Last week marked the start of Lunar New Year — one of the most significant holidays across East and Southeast Asia, celebrated by Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and many other cultures around the world. If you’re not familiar with it, or just want to know what makes this year’s celebration particularly special, here’s everything worth knowing.
What Is Lunar New Year, Exactly?
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the lunisolar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, which means the new year falls on a different date each year. Technically, it lands on the second new moon after the winter solstice, putting it somewhere between late January and mid-February. This year, celebrations began on February 17th and will continue for 15 days.
How People Celebrate
The traditions are rich and deeply intentional. Before the new year begins, families thoroughly clean their homes in a ritual called “sweeping away the dust” — a way of clearing out bad luck from the previous year. Once the new year actually arrives, though, the cleaning stops. The thinking: you don’t want to accidentally sweep out the fresh good fortune that just arrived.
The celebrations themselves center on family reunions, elaborate feasts, red envelopes filled with money, fireworks, and traditional foods like dumplings and rice cakes, all chosen to invite good luck and ward off bad fortune. The emphasis on family ties means millions of people make the journey home during this period. This year, officials are expecting a record 9.5 billion domestic trips in China — the largest, most concentrated annual human migration on earth.
The Zodiac: Every Year Has Its Animal
Since at least the second century B.C., each Lunar New Year has been named for one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each year is also paired with one of five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water — creating a 60-year rotation. The animal changes every year, while the element shifts every two years.
This Year Is the Year of the Fire Horse — and That’s a Big Deal
In Chinese astrology, the Horse is associated with energy, freedom, passion, speed, and a rebellious spirit. Add the Fire element, and all of those traits get dramatically amplified. Fire Horse years are considered among the most intense in the entire 60-year zodiac cycle — fast-paced, bold, and innovation-driven. It’s a year that encourages big decisions and personal leaps. The flip side is that the same intensity can tip into impatience and impulsiveness if people aren’t careful.
Because the animal and element cycle together only once every 60 years, Fire Horse years are rare. The last two were 1966 and 1906. History buffs will note that 1966 was, to put it mildly, a turbulent year — the Cultural Revolution began in China, and major civil rights and countercultural movements surged across the globe. In 1906, a catastrophic mine explosion in France killed over 1,000 people, and the San Francisco earthquake devastated the city. Whether you take zodiac symbolism literally or not, the Fire Horse’s reputation for intensity has a certain historical track record.
How It All Ends: The Lantern Festival
The 15-day celebration culminates with the Lantern Festival on March 3rd, which marks the first full moon of the new year and the official transition from winter into spring. People light lanterns — almost always red, for good fortune — as a symbol of driving out darkness and welcoming hope for the year ahead.
Happy Year of the Fire Horse.