On Jan. 22, 2023, more than a billion people globally will welcome the Year of the Rabbit – or the Year of Cat, depending on which cultural traditions they follow – as the start of the Lunar New Year. In the New York City public school district, Lunar New Year has been observed as a school holiday since 2015.
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Chinese New Year in 30 stunning images
At the New Year’s markets, calligraphers sell decorative banners and envelopes with couplets wishing luck, prosperity, and good health for the new year. This photo is of a calligrapher outside the Temple of Literature in downtown Hanoi in Vietnam in preparation for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year or Tet.
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In some countries, it is traditional to burn sugarcane stalks with paper offerings for the dead on the ninth day of celebrations. On this ninth day, families either gather at the temple or their home’s alter to burn the stalks of long uncut sugarcane along with paper offerings and other fruits as a tribute to their ancestors. Pictured above, shoppers buy sugarcane in front of a temple to mark the start of the Lunar New Year in Kandal, Cambodia.
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The dragon dance dates back to the Han dynasty, initially for the purpose of worshipping ancestors. However, by the Tang dynasty, the dragon dance became a celebratory dance for the new year, symbolizing wisdom, power, wealth, and, most importantly, luck. In this photo, Chinese dragon dancers perform at a fair at a local park on the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing, China.
New Year’s brings with it various parades over approximately 15 days of celebrations. Chinese New Year parades happen across the world, with performers dressing up to represent the incoming zodiac year or performing lion and dragon dances. Pictured above, parade performers dress up to welcome the Year of the Monkey in 2016 in Glasgow, Scotland.
In addition to the many parades and dances performed within the days-long celebrations, there are also cultural performances, including operas, stilts acts, and ballets. Here, an actor performs a Cantonese opera in Hong Kong during New Year Celebrations.
Also known as the Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year celebrations are a 15-day extravaganza of cultural events and traditions that are celebrated worldwide. While many regard it as a Chinese tradition, the Lunar New Year is celebrated across a variety of Asian cultures, including Korean, Thai, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Filipino cultures. Additionally, Lunar New Year celebrations happen in Chinatowns across the world, with notable events in New York City, London, Sydney, and Vancouver. Chinese New Year festivities have become an attraction around the world, drawing tourists who are eager to partake in celebrations.
For observers of the lunar calendar, the new year marks a point of growth, a chance to reset, and renewed hope for a prosperous future. The tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year is believed to have begun during the Shang dynasty as a spring carnival that welcomed the season and paid tribute to the gods and ancestors. Since then, the holiday has developed robust traditions that include special foods, vibrant performances, and firework shows. While some customs have become synonymous with the celebration of the Chinese New Year, such as red decorations and the famous lantern festival, others focus on the unique traditions of the individual locales and cultures. Though these customs can vary by region, the spirit of hope and good fortune unites all cultures that celebrate the Lunar New Year.
In celebration of the Chinese New Year, Stacker compiled a collection of 30 incredible images showcasing the diverse traditions of the celebration. Keep reading to learn more about these traditions in practice.
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An incoming new year is a time to start anticipating what is ahead. Feng shui consultations are called upon during this time to predict and navigate the new Chinese zodiac year. In large cities like Hong Kong, people from all socioeconomic backgrounds consult Feng shui practitioners to consult about the new year. Here, Feng shui master Thierry Chow uses a luopan, or Chinese compass, at her office in Hong Kong ahead of the new year.
Money-filled red envelopes, known as ang pows, are a customary gift given out primarily to children and teenagers at familial New Year’s Day feasts. They can also be given out to friends and family as a celebratory gift. Above is a photo of Hong Kong Exchange Chairman Chow Chung-kong handing out a red envelope after the first day of trading began after the Lunar New Year holiday in Hong Kong in 2014.
The Lunar New Year is the world’s largest annual mass migration, and Chinese residents rush to train stations to secure tickets to see friends and family (as seen in the photo of a Beijing railway station above). The 40-day travel rush, also known as Chunyun, begins in mid-January and goes through to mid-February.
Oranges and tangerines are a symbol of luck and good fortune and make great gifts for loved ones for the new year. The gold color of their skin is symbolic of prosperity in Chinese culture. Above, Singaporeans shop for tangerines and oranges at a street stall ahead of their New Year’s celebrations.
On the night of New Year’s Eve, in Chinese tradition, children are allowed to stay up late, and all of the lights in the homes are to be on through the night. At midnight, a big show of fireworks bids the past year farewell and ushers in the new year. Pictured above, people watch firework displays to mark the Chinese New Year beside the Pearl River in Guangzhou, China.
The tradition of lighting firecrackers during Chinese New Year celebrations is intended to scare off an evil monster named Nian, who would come out to eat villagers and destroy their houses on New Year’s Eve. Here, a firework goes off on the eve of the Chinese New Year in Jinzhai County, Anhui province of China.
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The wishing tree is another Chinese tradition that is intended to usher in good luck for the year. Both tourists and locals flock to temples to write down their wishes for the new year on paper. The paper is then tied to an orange (for extra luck) and thrown onto the tree’s branches. According to legend, if the orange successfully sticks in the branches, the wish will come true. Above, people throw their wishes at a wishing tree as the community celebrates in Semarang, Indonesia.
In some cultures, as the celebrations wind down, people participate in the tradition of jumping over a bonfire. This signifies leaping into the new year and leaving the old year behind. Pictured here are people jumping over the bonfire to celebrate the lantern festival in Haikou, China.
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