Lunar New Year in Taiwan

Lunar New Year (Chinese: 臺灣農曆新年; pinyin: Táiwān Nónglì Xīnnián; lit. 'Taiwanese Agricultural Calendar New Year') is a traditional festival and national holiday in Taiwan commemorating the first day of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.

The festival is most commonly referred to as 農曆新年 (Nónglì Xīnnián), meaning Agricultural Calendar New Year, or 舊曆年 (kū-li̍k-nî), or 過年 (Gùonián), emphasizing its basis in the agricultural lunisolar calendar. The term Spring Festival (春節) did not exist in ancient Taiwan.

Traditional Taiwanese society generally believed that the winter solstice (冬至), being the shortest day and longest night of the 24 solar terms, was the turning point where Yin reaches its extreme and Yang begins to emerge, symbolizing the "rebirth" and transformation of the sun. Therefore, the 11th month of the lunar calendar, containing the winter solstice, was considered the "first month" of the lunar calendar. People at that time would offer sacrifices to heaven and ancestors on the winter solstice, and relatives and friends would exchange gifts; its importance far exceeded that of the current Lunar New Year. The term "Spring Festival" was introduced to Taiwan only after the Retrocession of Taiwan.

Thus, the term "Spring Festival" is not usually used in Taiwan as it is more commonly associated with celebrations in China, even though 農曆新年 (Nónglì Xīnnián) and 過年 (Gùonián) are also commonly used there. Taiwanese usage of these terms often highlights the festival's agricultural and traditional significance rather than its association with the spring season.

Prior to Japanese rule in 1895, the Lunar New Year was the primary and widely observed New Year celebration in Taiwan. During Taiwan under Qing rule, households marked the occasion with ancestral rites, offerings to deities, setting off firecrackers, pasting spring couplets, temple visits, and family banquets. The celebration extended beyond New Year's Day, encompassing rituals such as the year-end Weiya (尾牙), sending off and welcoming deities, married daughters returning to their natal homes, and worship of the Jade Emperor. Diaries from local gentry in the late Qing period indicate that the lunar calendar structured both ritual and social life. There is no evidence of widespread observance of the Gregorian New Year before the introduction of Japanese colonial administration.

After Japan assumed control of Taiwan in 1895, the colonial government introduced the Gregorian calendar as part of broader administrative and modernization policies. In 1909, the Japanese authorities officially abolished use of the lunar calendar for official purposes. However, in the early years of colonial rule, the government permitted the continued observance of the Lunar New Year in order to maintain social stability.

Schools and government offices became key sites for promoting the Gregorian New Year. Archival materials and personal diaries show that students were sometimes required to attend classes during the Lunar New Year period, although attendance was initially low. Over time, school-based ceremonies, speeches, and official activities were organized on January 1 to reinforce the new calendar system.

Despite these efforts, most Taiwanese residents continued to observe the Lunar New Year as their primary festival before the late 1910s. Participation in Gregorian New Year events was largely limited to those with official connections to the colonial administration.