Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, is celebrated based on China's traditional lunisolar calendar. The first day of the festival falls on the date of the new moon, between January 21 and February 20. In 2024, Lunar New Year begins on Saturday, February 10, and in 2024, it will begin on January 29.

Each year is associated with an animal that cycles every 12 years. 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, and 2025 will be the Year of the Snake. Chinese New Year is celebrated in other Asian countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and others. Numerous American cities like San Francisco, New York and Boston have big celebrations that include a Chinese New Year parade featuring music, dragon and lion dancing, and members of the Chinese-American community sharing their culture. During the celebration, families gather for a reunion dinner—often featuring delicious dumplings—and it's also traditional to give the house a deep cleaning to sweep away bad luck and make way for incoming good fortune. Celebrants also decorate windows and doors with paper cutouts made from red paper to bring luck, and fireworks are set off. To keep the fun going, read our other ideas for celebrating the Chinese New Year, including how to make a money tree.

Celebrate one of the world's largest festivals, celebrated by 1 billion people, with Chinese New Year gifts and decorations, including books about Chinese festivals and the Chinese zodiac, lanterns, red envelopes and flying wish paper kits. Send Chinese New Year greetings to loved ones near and far with a Lunar New Year card or lai see envelopes featuring traditional Chinese designs including the Chinese zodiac, dragons and lots of red. Hallmark also offers Eight Bamboo, a full line of greeting cards for all occasions that celebrates the rich heritage of Chinese-American culture.