Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is the most important Chinese holiday. It is defined as the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar. Unlike the New Year observed by those that use the Gregorian Calendar, which is based on a solar calendar, the Chinese New Year is based on a traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar whose dates indicate both the phase of the moon as well as the time of the solar year. In addition, a lunar month is around two days shorter than a solar month. As such, in order to “catch up” with the solar calendar, an extra month is inserted every few years. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.
Typically, the celebration begins on New Year’s Eve and lasts for around 15 days through the middle of the first month. Before the celebration, people traditionally clean their houses thoroughly, and also display traditional New Year’s decorations. This festivity is a time for family reunions, and is considered the most important part of the Chinese New Year celebration. People often visit relatives and friends, do some shopping, watch traditional Chinese New Year events, launch fireworks, and plan for the coming year. The celebration is sometimes accentuated with a religious ceremony given in honor of heaven, earth, the family’s ancestors and other gods. In modern China, Chinese New Year is a celebrated public holiday, and working professionals usually enjoy 7 days of time off, including the weekend. After the family reunion and observation of certain traditions, some modern Chinese families may make use of the public holiday as an opportunity to visit tourist destinations.
農曆新年，也稱為農曆新年或春節，是最重要的中國節日。它在傳統中國日曆裏被定義為第一個月的第一天。它的新年與公曆的日曆日期不同，農曆新年是基於傳統的陰陽曆，日期既顯示月亮的相位，也顯示太陽的時間。此外，農曆月份比陽曆月份短了兩天左右。因此，為了“趕上”太陽日曆，每隔幾年插入一個額外的月份。這就是為什麼根據太陽日曆，農曆新年每年的日期都不同。
通常，慶祝活動從除夕開始，持續到第一個月的中旬，約15天。慶祝活動之前，人們傳統上會徹底打掃房屋，並展示傳統的新年裝飾品。這個節日是家庭團聚的時候，而且被認為是中國新年慶祝活動中最重要的部分。人們經常拜訪親戚和朋友，逛街購物，觀看傳統的農曆新年活動，放煙花，併做新一年的規劃。有時會在慶祝儀式上加重一個宗教儀式，以紀念天堂，大地，家庭的祖先和其他神靈。在現代中國，農曆新年是一個公共假期，上班族通常會享受7天的休息時間，包括週末。在家庭團聚和遵守某些傳統之後，一些現代的中國家庭可能會利用公共假期作為遊覽旅遊勝地的機會。
