For those who are passionate about a country like China, you cannot help but recognize how important the traditional festivities of the Asian subcontinent are. Among the most important, the most felt and awaited is certainly the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, which every year moves practically all of the Chineseness, and in this article we explain what it is, what is celebrated and why it is important.
Update: 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, and in this deep-dive we discover all the details of the most important Chinese event.
Chinese New Year 2026 (or Spring Festival): what it is, what is celebrated and why it is important
To understand what Chinese New Year is, one must start with its etymology. Both 春節 (Chunjie) and 農曆新年 (Nongli Xinnian) refer precisely to the fact that it coincides with the new moon (hence the New Moon) after the winter solstice, or the beginning of Spring according to the Chinese. For this reason, the date varies over a span of 29 days.
Therefore, we can have the Spring Festival between January 21 and February 20 on our calendar. This makes clear that for China, the year begins exactly on that date and not, as for us, on January 1. But what is this holiday celebrating?
Before answering the question above, here are the details for this year’s celebrations: 2026 marks the transition from the Snake to the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal of the Chinese zodiac. It represents vitality, independence and speed. The horse is known for its active and sociable nature while the element of 2026 is Fire Yang, associated with the color red and fire.
It represents energy, passion, enthusiasm but also transformation: a force capable of illuminating everything but that can also burn if not managed properly.
The Legend of Nian: why Chinese New Year is celebrated
According to mythology, in ancient times there lived a monster called Nian (the character used for “year”), which, according to legend, used to come out of its lair once every 12 months to eat humans. The only way to scare it away was to frighten it with loud noises and with red-colored objects.
For this reason, over time the Chinese developed a strong predilection for fireworks, in addition to a significant use of the color red (the national color). To celebrate this legend, the annual ritual of the Lion Dance is performed, which indeed represents the monster.
The Chinese Calendar and its Animal Symbols
Another distinctive feature of the New Year is the start of a new astrological year (strictly Chinese) symbolized by a specific animal. There are 12 and they are: Rat, Ox (or Buffalo), Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. These recur every 12 years.
After the Year of the Dragon (2024) and the Year of the Snake (2025), all hopes are directed toward the Chinese New Year 2026, i.e. the Year of the Horse.
How to celebrate Chinese New Year
The celebration period for the Chinese New Year is a full 2 weeks, but only some days are considered official holidays, with offices, schools and work activities closed.
And this holiday is extended to many nearby countries in the region. In fact, in the People’s Republic of China the first 3 days are holidays, as well as in Hong Kong and Macao, which also observe a vigil if it falls on Sunday.
In Taiwan, the first 5 days are holidays, while for Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia and Korea it is holiday only on the first day. Finally, in Vietnam two holidays and the vigil.
During these days, a family banqueting is held on the eve and on the last day the beautiful Lantern Festival is celebrated, during which families go out holding lit lanterns. The essence of the Chinese New Year is precisely to be with family, visiting relatives and close friends.
For this reason, the Chunyun migrations are the most frequent of the year. People dress mainly in red, in addition to decorating homes and streets with characteristic objects and trinkets.
Moreover, returning to mythology, families perform large home cleanings to “drive away” evil spirits and bad luck. As for food, dumplings are the protagonists of the feast, along with Nian Gao, traditional rice cakes.
The tradition of Red Envelopes is highly appreciated, bringing money to the younger generations through coins, often in even numbers, avoiding 4 and its multiples for luck (or more precisely tetraphobia, the fear of the number 4, typical of East Asian countries where the word for that number sounds very similar to the word for death). The exception is the number 8, considered very lucky in Chinese tradition.
When does Chinese New Year 2026 start and how long does it last?
Chinese New Year this year begins on February 17, 2026 and celebrations run until March 3. This is because, as noted above, the Spring Festival lasts a full two weeks: after all, it is China’s most important festival and a particularly meaningful moment.
Chinese stores stop: here’s when the stop happens
Being the most important festival of the year, for the <strong Chinese New Year 2026 even online stores based in China that sell and ship to Italy (such as Banggood and Geekbuying, for example) will observe some closure periods. This will surely lead to some slowdowns in shipping and delivery (of course for shipments from China).
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