Dictionary

Lunar New Year en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) An annual holiday of several cultures that marks the beginning of a new year according to a lunar or lunisolar calendar, as opposed to a new year dictated by a solar calendar such as the Julian or Gregorian calendars.
   • Photos obtained by CNN from an attendee at a village funeral in Cheng'an County in Hebei Province show mourners of all ages, including children, watching the performance. The attendee, who asked not to be identified, said he was visiting family during the Lunar New Year holiday. While he was there, one of the elderly villagers died so he went to the funeral. 2015 April 24, Euan McKirdy, “What a send-off: China's funeral strippers told to cover up”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2015:
   • This Tuesday and Wednesday, four holidays from different cultures and religions overlap in a rare calendar year. The celebrations of Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) and Lunar New Year both occur on Tuesday, Feb. 17 [2026]. This won't happen again until Feb. 13, 2029, according to the websites chinahighlights.com and mardigrasneworleans.com. Ramadan is expected to start Tuesday evening, pending official confirmation, and Lent ([which begins on] Ash Wednesday) begins on Feb. 18. Last year, Ramadan and Lent began within a week of each other on Feb. 28 and March 5. The holidays are all happening within two days this year because several long solar, lunar and lunisolar calendar cycles sync up. Lunar New Year happens on the second new moon after winter solstice, which is also Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) — 47 days before Easter Sunday. 2026 February 16, Alicia Eler, “Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Lent in rare alignment this year. The holidays follow different solar and lunar calendars, but some of them sync up in 2026”, in Minnesota Star Tribune, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2026:

Forms

Translations (52)

vi Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year) · fr nouvel an chinois (Lunar New Year) · ar عِيد الرَّبِيع (Lunar New Year) · cmn 春節 /春节 (Lunar New Year) · ja 旧正月 (Lunar New Year) · km ចូលឆ្នាំចិន (Lunar New Year) · lo ກຸດຈີນ (Lunar New Year) · vi Tết (Lunar New Year) · ar رَأْس السَّنَة الصِّينِيَّة (Lunar New Year) · za cieng (Lunar New Year) · bew lebaran cina (Lunar New Year) · cmn 農曆新年 /农历新年 (Lunar New Year) · yue 新年 (Lunar New Year) · my တရုတ်နှစ်တစ်ကူး (Lunar New Year) · ko 춘절 (Lunar New Year) · hu tavaszünnep (Lunar New Year) · de chinesisches Neujahrsfest (Lunar New Year) · mn Цагаан сар (Lunar New Year) · ru Кита́йский Но́вый год (Lunar New Year) · th ตรุษจีน (Lunar New Year) · haw konohī (Lunar New Year) · ko 설날 (Lunar New Year) · hu kínai újév (Lunar New Year) · tl Bagong Taon ng mga Tsino (Lunar New Year) · ja 春節 (Lunar New Year) · gl aninovo chinés (Lunar New Year) · km នានិទាឃរដូវ (Lunar New Year) · yue 農曆新年 /农历新年 (Lunar New Year) · ko 설 (Lunar New Year) · id Imlek (Lunar New Year) · nan-hbl 新正 (Lunar New Year) · nb kinesisk nyttår (Lunar New Year) · pt ano novo chinês (Lunar New Year) · vi Tết ta (Lunar New Year) · ka ჩინური ახალი წელი (Lunar New Year) · id imlek (Lunar New Year) · id hari raya Imlek (Lunar New Year) · lo ປີໃໝ່ຈີນ (Lunar New Year) · ug چاغان (Lunar New Year) · ug باھار بايرىمى (Lunar New Year) · fi kiinalainen uusivuosi (Lunar New Year) · es año nuevo chino (Lunar New Year) · id sincia (Lunar New Year) · vi Tết âm lịch (Lunar New Year) · mn Хятадын Шинэ Жил (Lunar New Year) · hu holdújév (Lunar New Year) · hi चंद्र नववर्ष (Lunar New Year) · ms Raya Cina (Lunar New Year) · kk Қытай Жаңа жылы (Lunar New Year) · ms Tahun Baru Cina (Lunar New Year) · lo ປີໃໝ່ຫວຽດ (Lunar New Year) · id tahun baru imlek (Lunar New Year)