Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The new year begins on the first day of the Chinese calendar, which usually falls in February, and the festivities continue for 15 days.

During Chinese New Year celebrations, people wear red clothes, give children 'lucky money' in red envelopes and set off firecrackers. Red symbolises fire, which the Chinese believe drives away bad luck. Family members gather at each other's homes for extravagant meals.

Chinese New Year ends with the lantern festival, where people hang decorated lanterns in temples and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon. The highlight of the lantern festival is often the dragon dance. The dragon can stretch over 30 metres long and is typically made of silk, paper and bamboo.

About Chinese Calendar

Western countries like USA and Australia follows the Gregorian calendar. Although the People's Republic of China follows the Gregorian calendar for its day-to-day business, the dates of the Chinese New Year and other important festivals are determined by the Chinese calendar which is thought to have been invented by Emperor Huangdi, nearly 3000 years BC.

The Chinese tradition follows a different calendar to the calendar followed in western world. The Chinese lunar year is divided into 12 months of 29 or 30 days. The calendar is adjusted to the length of the solar year by the addition of extra months at regular intervals. The years are arranged in major cycles of 60 years.

Each successive year is named after one of 12 animals, and these 12-year cycles are continuously repeated. The Chinese New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice and falls between 21 January and 19 February on the Gregorian calendar.

Chinese Zodiac

Chinese New Year, pronounced in Chinese as 'xin nian', occurs on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar. There are different versions of the story behind the development of the Chinese zodiac, but all the versions are based around a race called by an Emperor to determine the animals to be represented.

The cunning Rat hitched a ride on the back of the Ox and crossed the winning line first. The Rat was followed (in order) by Ox (Cow), Tiger, Rabbit (Cat), Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram (Goat, Sheep), Monkey, Rooster (Chicken), Dog and Pig (Boar).

According to the Chinese zodiac, you take on the characteristics of the animal associated with the year of your birth, but those characteristics are also influenced by what time of day you're born, what fixed element you belong to (water, metal, wood, fire, earth), as well as the influence of Yin and Yang.

The Chinese zodiac for the next 12 years is:
2011 - Rabbit
2012 - Dragon
2013 - Snake
2014 - Horse
2015 - Sheep (Goat)
2016 - Monkey
2017 - Rooster
2018 - Dog
2019 - Pig
2020 - Rat
2021 - Ox
2022 - Tiger