Chinese New Year 2024 - Date, how to celebrate, Zodiac animal and significance of new lunar year

Around 2 billion people worldwide will be celebrating the Lunar New Year, which follows the moon's phases and not the regular calendar.

Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, holds particular significance with its deep cultural and traditional roots. Families come together during this time to pay homage to their ancestors and embrace the arrival of spring.

A man lifts a child on his shoulders near Chinese New Year themed decoration ahead of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing, China on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)(AP)

Year of the Dragon:

Last year was the Year of the Rabbit and this year is the Year of the Dragon. In the Chinese Zodiac, there are 12 animals, each representing a year. Dragons are seen as charismatic, intelligent, and naturally lucky.

Dragon's personality traits: Dragons are confident, ambitious, and charismatic. They're like the leaders of the zodiac crew.

Zodiac compatibility: Dragons get along best with Rooster and Monkey, but they might face challenges with Dog and Rabbit.

Lucky colours and numbers: Dragons love gold, silver, and yellow. Their lucky numbers include 1, 6, and 7.

Lunar New Year date:

This year, the Lunar New Year kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 10. Why does the date change every year? Well, it follows the moon's phases, not the regular calendar. It's like a lunar dance of about 354 days.

Why is 2024 Lunar New Year called the Year of the Wood Dragon?

The Chinese zodiac operates on a 12-year cycle, associating each year with an animal sign. The 12 animal signs include Rat (shu 鼠), Ox (niu 牛), Tiger (hu 虎), Rabbit (tu 兔), Dragon (long 龍), Snake (she 蛇), Horse (ma 馬), Sheep (yang 羊), Monkey (hou 猴), Rooster (ji 雞), Dog (gou 狗), and Pig (zhu 豬). The order of the animal signs is fixed, with the Dragon being the fifth in the cycle, hence marking 2024 as the Year of the Dragon (longnian 龍年). The previous year, 2023, was the Year of the Rabbit (tunian 兔年), and 2025 will be the Year of the Snake (shennian 蛇年).

Each year is also associated with one of the five basic elements (wuxing 五行) in Chinese cosmology: Metal (jin 金), Wood (mu 木), Water (shui 水), Fire (huo 火), or Earth (tu 土). This creates a 60-year cycle, as the universe is believed to be composed of these five interacting elements in a cyclical manner. These elements serve as the fundamental building blocks of everything in the world. The 60-year cycle is a fusion of the 12 animal signs and the five elements, playing a crucial role in Chinese astrology, cosmology, medicine, philosophy, and particularly feng shui. Understanding and applying the concept of the five elements enrich these various aspects of Chinese tradition and knowledge.

Who celebrates Lunar New Year:

Lunar New Year is a big deal for many Asian cultures like Chinese, South Korean, Vietnamese, and more. Each culture has its cool name, like the Spring Festival in China or Tết in Vietnam.

Duration of Lunar New Year celebration:

While the Western New Year is just one day, the Lunar New Year is a longer party. In China, it goes from the first new moon to the next full moon, from Feb. 10 to Feb. 24 in 2024. Different countries celebrate for varying lengths, like a week in Vietnam.

Just like the Western New Year, the Lunar New Year is about letting go of the past and embracing the present. It's also a time to be with family, show love, and pay respects to ancestors. Think of it like a mix of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Lunar New Year customs and traditions:

Families clean their homes, decorate with red (a lucky colour), and share a big meal on Lunar New Year's Eve. Fish is a popular dish for good luck, and younger folks often get red envelopes with money.

What are the taboos during Year of the Dragon?

The Year of the Dragon is associated with various taboos that differ across locations and periods, however, there is a consensus on certain taboos one should observe:

Avoid using characters, and characters that contain the radicals, such as xu 戌 (weapon) or ge 戈 (halberd, spear, lance), and gou 狗 (dog) or quan 犬/ 犭 (dog) when naming a baby born in the Year of the Dragon. This is because chen 辰 and xu戌are mutually exclusive in the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches (tiangan dizhi 天干地支 or simply ganzhi 干支)

Avoid placing the bed in the northwest corner when arranging the furniture in your bedroom, as the northwest is believed to belong to the Earthly Branch of xu 戌, which is associated with the zodiac animal of Dog in Chinese astrology. The Dragon corresponds to the Earthly Branch of chen 辰, which is mutually exclusive with xu 戌