Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year
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Lunar New Year

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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.

The term "Lunar New Year", as used in English, commonly refers to new year celebrations that are based on lunisolar calendars as well as to those based on true lunar calendars. These new year events are celebrated by billions of people across the world on the first new moon of their calendar. Typically, the new year of a purely lunar calendar is determined by the first new moon after the end of a cycle of twelve lunar months (and ignores the solar cycle). The new year of a lunisolar calendar is typically determined by the first, second or even third new moon after the winter solstice, or after an equinox.

The Islamic New Year (1 Muharram) is determined by the Islamic calendar (lunar Hijri calendar), a purely lunar calendar. Lunisolar New Year celebrations in East and Central Asia, such as Chinese New Year, are based on a lunisolar calendar. Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month intervenes). Some Lunisolar New Year celebrations, such as in Korea and Vietnam, generally fall on the same day as the Chinese celebration in late January or February, due to being based on the Chinese calendar or a variation of it. However, celebration customs and holiday durations may differ. Lunisolar New Year celebrations of other cultures such as Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, and Thai people are based on the Buddhist calendar and occur in mid-April. Rosh Hashanah, the new year in the (lunisolar) Hebrew calendar, is based on the September equinox.

While "Lunisolar New Year" would be a more accurate term for Chinese New Year and other celebrations based on a lunisolar calendar, the name "Lunar New Year" has been promoted by people from some Asian countries, especially in Vietnam and South Korea, leading to a rise in its use. In the United States of America, "Lunar New Year" is strongly associated with Chinese Americans and "Chinese New Year" is commonly used as a translation by people of non-Chinese backgrounds. Chinese New Year is the official name of the celebration and holiday in some countries such as Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. However, the celebration has officially been known as "Spring Festival" (春节/春節 chūnjié) in China since the founding of the Republic of China in 1912 when the previous name, "Yuandan" (The First Day), was assigned to the first day of the Gregorian calendar. Chinese people outside China refer to it as both "Lunar New Year" as well as "Chinese New Year". Since at least the mid-2010s, there has been criticism in the United States regarding the use of the term "Chinese New Year" in an official capacity, particularly by Korean and Vietnamese people. Some American politicians have avoided using the term "Chinese New Year" in preference for "Lunar New Year".

Lunar New Year and Lunisolar New Year celebrations that originated in the Middle East fall on different days:

Most of East Asia celebrates the Lunisolar New Year based on the traditional Chinese calendar. While commonly referred to as "Lunar New Year" in the Western world, it is actually a Lunisolar New Year. Japan observes the Solar New Year, except for the Ryukyu islands which continues to observe the Lunisolar New Year.

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