What is Lunar New Year?

(WKBN) — Happy Lunar New Year! Did you know it was today?

Lunar New Year starts with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later with the first full moon of the lunar calendar.

Several Asian countries celebrate the Lunar New Year. So what does it mean, and how did it come to be the big deal that it is today?

Where does the Lunar New Year come from?

Lunar New Year is based on the lunar calendar. It’s also known as the lunisolar calendar.

This means that a year is based on synodic months. These are complete cycles of moon phases.

It takes about one month on the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we use) to go from one full moon to the next full moon.

There are eight phases of the moon in two directions: waxing and waning. Below are pictures of moon phases in both directions.

Courtesy: NASA

A solar year (a calendar based on Earth’s orbit of the Sun) actually has 12.37 months. So in a lunar year, some additional days may be added to keep up with the solar year.

Does the start of Lunar New Year change?

The start date of Lunar New Year does vary slightly from year to year.

Since it follows the Lunar Calendar which is slightly shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the moon isn’t in the same phase on the same day each year on the Gregorian calendar.

This means Lunar New Year can start any day between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 on the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, the current Lunar New Year is a bit later than some.

Looking ahead, the next Lunar New Year will start on Jan. 29, and the following on Feb. 17.

History of Lunar New Year

The history of Lunar New Year dates back thousands of years. It’s based on several legends from Asian culture.

One such legend is of a beast called Nian. The legend goes that Nian feasted on human flesh on New Year’s Day.

Nian had a strong fear of the color red, loud noises and fire, people made red paper decorations, set off firecrackers and lit lanterns all night to scare Nian away.

Below is what a typical Lunar New Year celebration looks like today.

AP Photo/Thein Zaw Zodiac animals and the Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is also associated with a zodiac animal in Asian cultures. Many of the animals are the same across different Asian countries with only a few minor differences.

These animals are also followed in a specific order. For reference, below is a list of zodiac animals associated with China’s celebration of their Lunar New Year:

This year’s zodiac animal in the Chinese lunar calendar is the dragon. Next year will be the snake, and the following year will be the horse.

As for differences between animals in different Asian countries, one is happening this year. Where China’s zodiac animal is the dragon, Thailand’s is the naga which is a snake-like creature.

Vietnam has the buffalo instead of the ox and the cat instead of the rabbit. Japan also uses a boar instead of a pig.