Lunar New Year Begins January 29th

For 2025, the Lunar New Year is the Year of the Snake.

The Chinese New Year begins on January 29, 2025.  Celebrations last up to 16 days, but only the first 7 days are considered a public holiday (January 29th–February 4th, 2025).

The Korean New Year, or Seollal, will be celebrated on Sunday, February 9, 2025. Seollal is a three-day celebration that begins on Korean New Year's Eve. It's a time to spend with family and show respect to ancestors.

In Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is called Tết Nguyên Đán will begin on January 29th and lasts for three days. 

How to  Celebrate in New Mexico

Lion Dances

This year, as in previous years, Talin Market will lead in Chinese New Year celebrations in Albuquerque with Lion Dances on January 25th, 26th, and 29th.   

Events
Chinese New Year Traditions

This year it is the year of the Snake and it falls on January 29, 2025.  Because it is based on a lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year date may fall on any date between January 21 and February 20 in any given year.  Consequently, if you are born in either January or February it is wise to confirm under which sign you were born. An animal of the lunar zodiac symbolizes each month and each represents particular attributes.

The celebration of Chinese New Year is the most auspicious holiday celebration during the year. Traditionally, it begins with Chinese New Year’s Eve and runs for 15 days until the Chinese Lantern Festival this year it will culminate on February 12.

As with any cultural celebration, practices vary but often consist of much early preparation including the Little Year, winter cleaning, and New Year’s shopping for decorations, gifts, and food.  The culmination is typically decorating on New Year’s Eve with red paper lanterns to ward off bad luck, writing and hanging pairs of Chinese poetry known as couplets, preparing offerings to ancestors to honor them, show respect, and thank them for their intercessions on behalf of the family.

No cultural celebration is complete without food.  Chinese New Year is no exception- so much food! Most are symbolic of luck, prosperity, and health some because of color, others because the name sounds like the Chinese words for luck, prosperity, or health: fish and pork belly for prosperity, dumplings, and spring rolls for wealth, a whole chicken for luck, glutinous rice cakes to increase your status, noodles for longevity, sweet rice balls and pork meatballs for family harmony, shrimp for happiness.  These are served at the reunion feast, a family reunion when every family member if at all possible, gathers together on New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Day is spent visiting elders, other family members, and neighbors.

Of course, there is much gift giving too!  Symbolism reigns here as well: the red envelope with money for prosperity is a traditional gift for children and they can collect them from parents, relatives, and friends, fruit is given especially kumquats and tangerines whose names contain the words for luck, and in case of kumquat, gold and luck.

To learn more about the Chinese New Year and Year of the Snake, visit here.

To learn more about the Korean New Year, visit here.

To learn more about the Viet Tết Nguyên Đán, visit here.

This blog is presented by the ABCD Committee