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Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year)
The most important festival in Chinese culture — welcoming the new lunar year.
📅 February 17 – 15 days🌙 Lunar calendar
✦ Why It Matters
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar calendar. It is a time to honor ancestors, deities, and family bonds. Taoist temples are visited to pray for blessings in the new year, and fire crackers drive away evil spirits.
✦ How It Is Observed
Temple visits, family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, red envelopes (hongbao) with money, lion and dragon dances, fireworks, lantern festival, reunion meals, cleaning the house.
✦ Sacred Text
“Return to the root is called stillness. Stillness is called returning to one's destiny. Returning to one's destiny is called the eternal. Knowledge of the eternal is called enlightenment.”
— Tao Te Ching, Chapter 16 ↗
Note on dates: This holiday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar. The date shown is approximate for 2025–2026. Exact dates may vary by one or two days depending on moon sighting and regional tradition. Always confirm with your local community.