What Is Lunar New Year?

What Is Lunar New Year?

In the 1950s, a man named H. K. Wong lived in California and dreamed of sharing his Chinese culture with his community. Born in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood, H. K. was now a respected business leader there. He had always been proud of his heritage and felt lucky to experience it through language, art, and food every day.

As time went on, H. K. began to wonder how he could share his roots with the rest of the community. One day, an idea came to him. What if Chinatown’s annual Lunar New Year festival could be a grand celebration for the whole city?

H. K. got to work. Together with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, he set his sights on Lunar New Year—which would take place on February 15, 1953. He recruited a huge team of volunteers, and they all worked tirelessly to build a stage, set up sound and lighting, and rehearse performances. The festival would include art exhibits, music and dance shows, the annual Miss Chinatown contest, and a spectacular parade. H. K. and the other planners spread the news widely, hoping to draw a large crowd.

On the day before Lunar New Year, the preparations for the festival were ready. H. K.’s dream was about to come to life. Streets had been transformed into an outdoor museum so visitors could enjoy looking at traditional Chinese art. Children practiced marching with their instruments, getting ready for their big performances. The sharp pop of firecrackers began to echo through the streets.

The next day, Lunar New Year officially arrived! The festival kicked off in the afternoon with drummers. All afternoon, the stage showcased Chinese orchestras, dancers, and singers. After sunset, the long-awaited parade got underway. The grand marshal was Corporal Joe Wong, a Chinese American military veteran. As cars carrying local leaders rolled down the avenue, firecrackers went off at every intersection. Through the smoke, viewers could see floats and lion dancers passing by.

The crowds that packed the streets cheered as a marching band from a Chinese school paraded by. Next came the newly crowned Miss Chinatown, Pat Kan. She glided through the avenue as she waved and smiled at the crowd.

The climax of the parade was the dragon dance. The dragon was like a long, slithering puppet that took a whole team of people to operate.

The festival continued to light up the night with sword dancers, martial arts demonstrations, a fashion show, juggling, and acrobats. Then the streets opened up for a public dance party, and people in the crowd joined in on the fun.

The next day, newspapers reported on the enormous success of the parade. About one hundred thousand people had attended! One newspaper called it “one of Grant Avenue’s greatest days.”
Eventually, the festival was expanded and was even broadcast on national television. Today, the Chinese New Year Parade and Festival in San Francisco is the biggest parade celebrating Lunar New Year outside of China. But it’s just one example of festivities for a holiday that’s celebrated by over a billion people worldwide.

Chapter 1
The Origins of Lunar New Year


You may be familiar with New Year’s Day, which always occurs on January 1. But did you know that the day of the Lunar New Year changes from year to year? Lunar New Year is New Year’s Day on the lunar calendar—a different kind of calendar from the one we typically use. The lunar calendar tells time through the moon’s different phases.

Most countries celebrate Lunar New Year between January 21 and February 20. The reason why the date changes is that the lunar calendar doesn’t exactly match up with the solar calendar, which is the calendar that countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and other Western countries use.

Historians believe the first lunar calendar was developed in Sumer between 4100 and 1750 BCE. Sumer, in what is now southern Iraq, was the first civilization in the world. The Chinese lunar-solar calendar, which sets the day most people around the world celebrate Lunar New Year, dates to about the fifteenth century BCE—which is about three thousand years ago. Back then, farmers needed a way to know when to plant, grow, and harvest their crops. They noticed that it took about twenty-nine and a half days for the moon to go from a new moon (meaning not visible at all) to a full moon and back to a new moon again. That is what a lunar month is. It then took twelve of these lunar months to make up a year of farming seasons.

The calendar we use today is a solar calendar, not a lunar calendar. That means the length of our year matches the time it takes for Earth to orbit around the sun. This is why the timing of lunar months is different from the months of the solar calendar. In addition, the solar year is slightly longer than the lunar year—it is 365 days, while a lunar year is just 354 days.

The Chinese lunar-solar calendar eventually spread to other parts of Asia, where people modified it and used it to mark important days and seasons. Historians aren’t sure exactly when Lunar New Year began to be celebrated, but they believe that the first celebration was in China around 1600 to 1046 BCE, during the Shang dynasty. A dynasty (say: DY-nuh-stee) is a series of rulers (similar to kings and queens) from the same family. From about 1600 BCE to 1912 CE—just over one hundred years ago—China was ruled by dynasties.

Lunar New Year is the first day of the first lunar month of the year. This is the day of the first new moon. Since a majority of people in ancient China were farmers, the end of the year was an anxious time. It was the middle of a long, cold period, and rent money was due to the landlords who owned the land that the farmers grew their crops on. Marking the new year was a way of celebrating the coming of spring and the payment of debts to the landlords. A debt is an amount of money that is owed.

During the Han dynasty (206 BCE–-220 CE), the time period when the Han family was in power, Lunar New Year traditions became more official. On the first day of the new year, officials from around the Chinese empire would visit the imperial palace. They brought gifts and bowed before the emperor to show their loyalty. In return, the emperor would give them gifts. The day ended with feasting, music, and a dazzling display in front of the palace. The entertainment included acrobats, dancers, and a huge figure of a beast called Han-li that transformed from a fish into a dragon.

Historians know less about what ordinary people did to celebrate back then. But what they do know is that Lunar New Year was a family event. From the beginning, it was about being surrounded by loved ones and remembering those who had come before you. The day may have started with the family making sacrifices to their ancestors, probably by offering them food and drink. In the evening, the family might have visited extended relatives and important members of their community.

Lunar New Year customs in China started for many reasons. They helped people get through a long winter and honor their ancestors and elders. But a major reason why they continued for years to come is that Lunar New Year was joyful! The feasting, bright lights, music, and dance of the earliest Lunar New Year celebrations would go on to become beloved traditions.