Over a billion individuals in China and hundreds of thousands world wide will have fun the Lunar New 12 months this weekend. In 2023, it falls on January 22. The beginning of the vacation coincides with the date of the new moon, which can fall at 20:53 UTC on January 21, 2023. So new moon shall be 4:53 a.m. on January 22 in Beijing. And it’ll be 3:53 p.m. on January 21 in New York Metropolis. The Lunar New 12 months is a time to honor deities and ancestors and to be with household. An animal represents every of the 12 years within the Chinese language zodiac. In 2023, it’s the Year of the Rabbit.
The 12 months of the Rabbit will finish on February 9, 2024. After which the Year of the Dragon will begin on February 10, 2024.
The calendar and Lunar New 12 months
In China, the acquainted Gregorian calendar is used for day-to-day life. However Chinese calendar dates proceed for use to mark conventional holidays equivalent to the brand new yr and the autumn moon competition. After which Chinese language astrology makes use of the lunar calendar to find out favorable dates for weddings and different particular occasions.
In different phrases, the Chinese language calendar is a lunisolar calendar, a mix of solar and lunar calendars. Plus, it has a protracted historical past spanning a number of Chinese dynastic periods from way back to the Shang Dynasty across the 14th century BCE. Additionally, there are a number of completely different symbolic cycles inside the calendar, utilized in Chinese language astrology.
So the Chinese language calendar is an intricate and sophisticated measure of time.
The Chinese language calendar is predicated on a lunar cycle
A month within the Chinese language calendar spans a single lunar cycle. Actually, the primary day of the month begins through the new moon, when no daylight falls on the lunar hemisphere that faces Earth. So, a lunar cycle, on common, lasts 29.5 days.
And a lunar month can final 29 or 30 days. In consequence, there are often 12 lunar months in a Chinese language calendar yr. In an effort to meet up with the solar calendar, which averages 365.25 days in a yr, an additional month is added to the Chinese language calendar each two or three years. In consequence, Lunar New 12 months falls on completely different dates annually (within the Gregorian calendar) between January 21 and February 21.
2023 is the 12 months of the Rabbit
One in every of 12 animal symbols of the Chinese language zodiac (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep/Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Canine and Boar/Pig) symbolize annually of the Chinese language lunar calendar. For 2023, it’s the 12 months of the Rabbit. TravelChinaGuide.com says:
The rabbit is a tame creature representing hope and life for a very long time. It’s tender and beautiful. The moon goddess Chang’e within the Chinese language legend has a rabbit as her pet, which stimulates the thought that solely this creature is amiable sufficient to match her noble magnificence. One other method of claiming is that the Rabbit is the incarnation of the moon goddess per se and it’s at all times a logo of pureness and auspiciousness.
Individuals born within the 12 months of the Rabbit are mild and approachable. They’ve an honest, noble and stylish method.
The way to have fun Lunar New 12 months
From the primary day of the Lunar New 12 months (the day of the new moon) to the fifteenth day (subsequent full moon), Lunar New 12 months celebrations abound. What’s extra, every day holds a particular significance that varies in response to native traditions. However first, earlier than the arrival of the brand new yr, houses are totally cleaned to comb away in poor health fortune and to welcome good luck. Then on New 12 months’s Eve, households historically collect to have fun and revel in luxurious conventional feasts. Lastly, at midnight, they greet the brand new yr with fireworks.
Within the days that observe, celebrations embody a wide range of festivities. For instance, there are dance parades that includes colourful dragons or lions. Or there are ceremonies to pay homage to deities and ancestors. Plus, youngsters obtain cash in purple envelopes and items are exchanged. Prolonged relations journey lengthy distances to go to one another.
The Lunar New 12 months celebration historically culminates on the fifteenth day with the Lantern Festival. On this evening of the full moon, households mingle within the streets carrying lighted lanterns, typically creating a phenomenal mild show.
Folklore and Lunar New 12 months
There are a number of variations on the mythology behind Lunar New 12 months celebrations. Most concern the story of an unsightly, bloodthirsty monster named Nian. The monster would emerge on the final evening of every yr to destroy villages and eat individuals. A smart elder suggested villagers to scare the monster away with loud noises. That evening, they set fireplace to bamboo, lit fireworks, and banged their drums. So the monster, afraid of the loud noises and lights, ran away to cover in its cave.
In one other model of the parable, an previous man persuaded Nian to show its wrath on different monsters, not the villagers. Earlier than he was seen driving away on Nian, the previous man, truly a god, suggested the individuals to hold purple paper decorations of their houses and set off firecrackers on the final evening of the yr to maintain Nian away.
Then on the primary day of the brand new yr, the villagers celebrated, greeting one another with the phrases Guo Nian, which imply “survive the Nian.” That custom has continued to this day, with Guo Nian now that means “have fun the brand new yr.”
The world’s greatest New 12 months celebration
Traditionally, the Lunar New 12 months alerts the arrival of the world’s largest annual human migration. Nonetheless, because of the current pandemic and its subsequent variants, the mass journey occasion has briefly halted. The Chinese language authorities discourages journey through the pandemic.
Backside line: The Lunar New 12 months falls on January 22, 2023, and coincides with the new moon in Asia, which happens at 20:53 UTC on January 21. This yr is the 12 months of the Rabbit.
Read Lunar New Year recipes: 5 Asian cooks share dishes from their celebrations
