Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar years which have a variable number of lunar months that periodically resynchronise with the solar year. The event is celebrated by numerous cultures in various ways at different dates. The determination of the first day of a new lunar year or lunisolar year varies by culture.

Better-known lunar new year celebrations include that based on the (lunar) Islamic calendar which originated in the Middle East. Lunisolar new year celebrations include that of the (lunisolar) Hebrew calendar from same region; the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar and Tibetan calendar of East Asia; and the (lunisolar) Buddhist and Hindu calendars of South and Southeast Asia.

In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the Spring Festival that coincides with the lunisolar Chinese New Year and is also celebrated in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea among others, designating Lunar New Year as a UN holiday. Some states in the US, including California and New York, officially celebrate the Lunar New Year as a public holiday in recognition of the lunisolar new year based on the Chinese calendar.