Embracing The Year Of The Snake: A Guide To Celebrating Lunar New Year 2025

Lunar New Year, celebrated by millions across the world, marks the transition into a new year with a variety of rich traditions and customs.

Also known as Chinese New Year, this holiday is observed by various cultures across Asia, each with its own unique customs and names for the event.

In 2025, Lunar New Year begins on January 29, marking the start of the Year of the Snake.

While the festival is widely referred to as Chinese New Year, most countries around the world, like Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore, celebrate the event with its local names: Seollal and Tết.

Unlike the Western Gregorian calendar, Lunar New Year has dates that shift every year since it follows the cycles of the moon rather than the sun. In a lunar calendar, there are 354 days in a year, so the New Year begins between January 21 and February 20. This year's festivities will continue for 15 days and conclude with the Lantern Festival on February 12. It's the period when families gather to worship their ancestors, enjoy meals, and extend blessings and wishes for the next year.

Why the Snake?

The Chinese zodiac sees a different animal every Lunar new year, which takes on a cycle of 12 years.

The Year of the Dragon, which started on February 10, 2024, concluded on Tuesday, making way for the Year of the Snake.

Contrasting with the negative connotation with which the west perceives the snake, for the Chinese people, it means an intelligent and charismatic animal known for wisdom. People born in the Year of the Snake are thought to possess qualities of beauty, mystique, and intuition, although they can also be seen as enigmatic and even cunning.

The Chinese zodiac includes the following 12 animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit (which is replaced by the Cat in Vietnam), Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar/Pig. Each of these animals is associated with specific characteristics, influencing the fortunes and personalities of those born under their signs.

Global Celebrations and Traditions

Lunar New Year is celebrated by communities around the world, with each culture contributing its own traditions. In China, it's known as Chūnjié, or Spring Festival, which is also a family reunion time and an honoring time of the ancestors. Seollal in South Korea is a traditional time of old customs such as sebae, a form of bowing ceremony in which the younger generation performs for elders. In Vietnam, Tết is more about honoring the deceased while calling in the new year of fresh beginnings in a spirit of hopefulness.

Everywhere, it's a tradition to clean houses before the celebration, sweeping away bad luck from the house. Similarly, houses are decorated with red items since red is deemed lucky and prosperous in the Chinese culture. Moreover, families prepare bountiful feasts, since there are dishes prepared to ensure wealth, health, and good fortune come next year.

The Lantern Festival: A Grand Finale

The end of 15-day celebrations is marked by the night of lantern festival. The last day is seen with colorful lanterns, and tangyuan is enjoyed; it is sweet glutinous rice balls filled with fillings like sesame or red bean paste. The lights are carried around the neighborhood by children, and people come forward to enjoy the evening from the community meeting, marking the end of the old year and a new, prosperous one.