Talk:Chinese New Year/Archive 1

Archive 1

Archive 2

Text from before December 2003

What are those Romanizations beside the animal names ("Chicken-Yaw5")? It's not in Pinyin (ji1), Wade-Giles (chi1), or Cantonese Romanization (gai1). They are apparently unfound elsewhere online. Is it Vietnamese? If so, they don't belong to the '"Chinese" new year' page. --Menchi 07:00, Aug 3, 2003 (UTC)

They're not Vietnamese
128.195.100.62 10:07, 13 Aug 2003 (UTC) It's Cantonese, possibly a non-standard romanization written by people living long in Western countries. -- Tomchiukc 17:12, 10 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Dates

The dates of the Chinese New Year are listed only until 2019. Can anyone give me the date of Chinese New Year for 2020? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.177.224.164 (talk • contribs)

According to Calendrica it's 25 January. — Joe Kress 00:36, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

"the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar"

Only on the first day? Chinese New Year isn't like New Year's Day, where it lasts for only a day. As far as I know it lasts up to 15 days?

"The New Year's Eve dinner is very large and traditionally includes chicken. However, the New Year's Day dinner is typically vegetarian." Is this true too? Mandel 07:48, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

Although Chinese New Year is technically only the first day of the first month, it is indeed celebrated for at least 15 days, if not longer, considering the earlier preparation activities. Thus the article should be reworded. — Joe Kress 18:31, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

Have reworded it now, as the previous wording was very misleading. Have used "chinese new year" to refer to the whole period, and "new year's day" to refer specifically to the first day. But was unsure how to classify "Spring Festival"; is this a synonym for chinese new year, or new year's day? --Spudtater 15:29, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Indeed, "period" is a good choice of word. This is not unlike the Twelve days of Christmas in the West. --Kvasir 08:49, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Found (and deleted) this in the "festivities" section, just before the "dates" section:

These dates will slowly drift over tens of thousands of years because the Gregorian calendar is a rule-based calendar that only approximates the true astronomical calculations used by the Chinese calendar.

Quite apart from breaking NPOV, is there even any truth to the assertion that the Gregorian and Chinese calendars will drift apart? I would have thought that leap years would keep them in line.--Spudtater 15:35, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

The removed sentence was correct. The Chinese lunar calendar as it is now calculated (since 1913) uses the most modern available astronomical equations. These are now available in two forms, the official discrete time step (or 'digital') method used by the world's astronomical almanacs (since 1984) to which an approximation of ΔT must be added, and a very good polynomial (or 'analog') approximation. The discrete form has only been calculated for a few centuries into the future, whereas the polynomial approximation (to degree four) is valid for about 4000 years from now. In contrast, the Gregorian calendar includes a leap year via a regular linear (or degree one) rule, so the two forms will gradually diverge. Unfortunately, only the degree two (quadratic) term of ΔT can be predicted with any certainty, but it has totally unpredictable short-term variations which are comparable in size at this time. The unpredictable nature of ΔT may cause the first day of a few individual months within the twenty-first century and beyond to differ by one day from the currently predicted calendar (using a quadratic ΔT). Nevertheless, it doesn't matter to me whether the sentence is included or not, since this article is only about a festival. — Joe Kress 18:46, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Can I ask for a clearer explanation on when the New Lunar Year starts? Samnikal 10:55, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

When is Chinese New Year this year?

In 2006, the New Year in Chinese lunar calendar is January 29th in solar calendar. It is true that Korea adopts the Chinese lunar calendar as it is, but the New Year tradition is clearly distinguished from that of China. For example, the Korean one does not have the 15-day festivals but emphasizes on the family gathering and some specific rituals for their anscesters. Therefore, it does not seem to be appropriate to call the Korean lunar New Year the Chinese New Year and perhaps the same goes for the Vietnamese lunar New Year. Chinese New Year should be meant limitedly the lunar New Year of Chinese people in Chinese traditions. For a broader naming, Chinese lunar New Year or just lunar New Year should be adopted.

Names

Dragon - Chen  2000 February 5 	2012 January 23
Snake - Si 	2001 January 24 	2013 February 10
Horse - Wu 	2002 February 12 	2014 January 31
Goat - Wei 	2003 February 1 	2015 February 19

Are these the Cantonese names? They don't seem to be putonghua, Long, She, Ma, Shan Ya etc though I'll freely admit my putonghua is dodgy. Could someone explain? -- Conflatuman 15:06, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

These are pinyin romanizations of the putonghua Earthly Branches assigned to the years beginning on the stated dates — they are not direct translations of the animals. The article should be reworded to make that clear. — Joe Kress 18:31, Dec 24, 2004 (UTC)

Question for anyone that can help please

We are a family in New England that truly doesn't impart any "traditions" in our house and we are not Asian, but I thought it would be truly wonderful to teach my children to a great extent the cultures of others

well, long story short, the first country we are working extremely hard on is China and I have several questions in regards to Chinese Cultural traditions

when serving the chicken = do I really have to keep all the parts of the bird on it? living in the USA does anyone know where I would get such a chicken?

The chicken is usually boiled, left to cool for a few hours, and half of it is cut into pieces for serving. The other half is saved for they day after. As for all the parts of the bird, there's a Chinese expression that refers to good things having a beginning and an end (literally, 'a head and a tail') -- nobody says you have to eat them, they are generally kept on the platter or with the half of the chicken that gets saved. The Chinatown in Boston has two shops where they sell live chickens. You can buy one live and try to slaughter it yourself (not recommended), or they will do the dirty work for you (you take a number and come back). Don't order anything heavier than 4-5 pounds because the chicken will be old and tough and mostly fat. Don't try to boil a frozen chicken from the supermarket -- it'll taste awful. Yes, boil -- no salt, no herbs(when serving, a saucer of soy sauce is provided for dipping) -- general rule of thumb is 5 minutes per pound.--Bobcat 06:16, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

what is the tradition when children are involved

what do I put into the red envelopes -- do I place real money it them and whom do I dispense them to and when

These are known in Mandarin as hong baos or red packets. Generally it's like the equivalent of a Christmas gifts for kids. Usually they give it to children and the unmarried, and technically speaking only the married are priviledged to hand them out. And yes, they do put real cash inside, almost always paper notes, and the receiver accepts it with some auspicious greetings. Anyone who isn't married can accept them (although sometimes one gives them to the elderly as well). Technically these can be given out on any of the fifteen days of the New Year, and kids almost always receive them with glee (as to be expected). Usually given to visiting relatives and children -- New Year is a time for gathering and visiting, and there are some friends and relatives who isn't seen per year until Chinese New Year's Days.

Hope this helps. Mandel 21:56, Dec 31, 2004 (UTC)

and if at anytime anyone finds this offensive I humbly appologize -- this is not meant to offend anyone

Not sure who the original poster was but hope you get this. (If you do kindly add it into the article to help others - my edit skills are lacking)

Of serving chicken. A whole chicken is served. Usually in traditional poor China this was the only time of the year a family would see an entire chicken. These days...anyway besides the family celebration there would also be a "corporate" one in traditional Chinese practice. Most typical chinese businesses are family businesses and employees signed on for life (this was in the past) as such this was an extended family dinner known as "sau kong chau" (cantonese) - meaning complete work drinking session (literally). Bosses would give out bonuses in the form of "red packets" to staff. A strange tradition is that the head of the chicken would be positioned to point at the staff member who was on his "to be fired" list. It was a very polite way to give notice to a worker. As such we do not serve the head in our house. The choicest part (the drumstick) would be given to the oldest by the person sitting next to them (yes, you pile food on other peoples plates during chinese dinners - live with it).

As with all Chinese dinners younger people would have to ask their elders to eat (elders are allowed to eat without being asked). Saying Bob or Alice is not allowed. You used the official titles like "wife of the third aunts second son". --Malbear 07:57, 31 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Of giving money. Money is given in red packets. Yes its real money. It used to be required that it was given in multiples. $2 or $1.10 etc. It used to be a token but as families got more affluent the amount given is also grown larger. Such gifts should be declared (discreetly) to your elders when received from family friends to avoid situations where you are seen to be "taking". I am not sure what the exact formula is but there is a complex formula for giving gifts and red packets and receiving gifts in return. As such, I have personally received red packets with amounts higher than the per capita GDP of this country.

Red packets are given to anyone who is unmarried. This includes old aunties. Old unmarried women are a traditional tragic literary device so be sensitive when giving them a gift. --Malbear 07:57, 31 Jan 2005 (UTC)

"Idolatry" is both patently offensive and a very partisan POV

Re: Food section, nián gao topic, offending sentence: Chinese families who practice idolatry also offer "nian gao" to the kitchen god.

Never forget that one person's "god" is somebody else's "idol".

I do not presume to rush in and edit this article without discussing it first here on the Talk Page. Nevertheless, idolatry—Wikipedia entry or not—is an inexcusably partisan, value-judgement-laden term and, as such, flagrantly violates the Wikipedia directive for Neutrality in Point of View. Certainly we can do greater justice to the the subject of the Lunar New Year, and the traditional offerings made, than this.

Proposed rewording: Families who practice traditional Chinese religion also offer.... with links to either the article on Chinese religion or Chinese mythology. Furthermore, the name of the Kitchen God, Zao Jun (灶君) with a link to His Wikipedia entry should be given for a more informative as well as respectful and Neutral Point of View treatment.

The remaining two sentences of the nián gao paragraph commenting on Chinese Folk Religion is likewise trivializing and should be rewritten.

--User:Ogambear

Ogambear, please sign your comments. I have done so for you above.

And I agree with you. Be bold, and make the changes! —Lowellian (talk) 22:22, Feb 9, 2005 (UTC)

Poll

In order to proceed in the discussion at Talk:Chinese New Years greetings, which has been deadlocked, I have started a poll at Talk:Chinese New Years greetings/Poll. Please provide us with your thoughts. enochlau (talk) 14:46, 22 December 2005 (UTC)

年年有余 vs 年年有餘

Just to correct an error in my edit summary. "年年有余" = 190,000 hits [1]. "年年有餘" = a paltry 1,820 hits [2]. I would think it makes far more sense to use the former rather than later term.--Huaiwei 02:35, 23 January 2006 (UTC)

---

Well, 年年有餘 is used for traditional Chinese, 年年有余 is used for Simplified Chinese. Although 余 exists in traditional Chinese, but it is the lesser-used variant in 年年有＿.

Here are my search results, using a Chinese language version of Google: "年年有餘" - 209,000 hits [3], whereas "年年有余" - 3,050 hits [4]

dictionary entry: [5]

Also, the second link you provided (SG Google search for "年年有餘") returned 60,300 hits, not 1,820.

I suggest differentiating 年年有餘 and 年年有余 as Traditional and Simplified versions, just as is done in the rest of the article. --69.237.154.174 00:47, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

Not too sure how Huaiwei did the Google test. I got 49 600 and 19 600. — Instantnood 20:21, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Revert edit

I'm wondering could someone check this history [6] It seems that an anonymous user delete everything including picture, caegories, interlanguage links. --manop 16:57, 27 January 2006 (UTC)

The items were removed by 24.43.120.85 at 14:09 on 26 January 2006. Because of exstensive edits since then, I reinserted those items that you did not, rather than reverting to the last edit before his. — Joe Kress 03:44, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

Someone vandalized this page; apparently, they were trying to point out that we "suck". For what it's worth, I did some cleanup. Best regards, y'all. Oh, and happy new year.

second day

On the German wikipedia page http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinesisches_Neujahr it mentions that the second day is rather the day where you would visit the family of the wife. Can anybody confirm which is correct? - Bernburgerin 10:00, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

It's true in some places, but I don't think it's universal among all people who follow the festival. — Instantnood 20:22, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Dragon picture wrong

The dragon picture in New York city is actually a Chinese Lion. The Chinese Dragon page also has it mislabeled.

Reunion dinner

The section discussing Reunion dinner refers to New Year's Eve. Is this the Chinese New Year's Eve or the Gregorian New Year's Eve. If it is the first, the link is simply wrong... --Sophroniscus 18:35, 10 February 2006 (UTC) In fact, we have the Reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve, not on the Gregorian New Year's Eve.

Bad article

Cluttered with all sorts of irrelevant info with no flow. Some editors think adding all info makes an encyclopedia. Someone do something about it. Mandel 08:43, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Delisted GA

This article did not go through the current GA nomination process. Looking at the article as is, it fails on criteria 2b of the GA quality standards. Only two references are provided, but one is mainly an article on activities to do for Chinese New Year. Please improve the citation of your sources, reexamine the article against the GA quality standards, and submit the article through the nomination process. RelHistBuff 11:41, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

They misspelled

They used "an" instead of "a" when not needed!!!Cowloverdude 23:19, 3 January 2007 (UTC) nobody gives a hoot about word useage

Chinese New Year is not observed in non-Chinese civilizations

Please provide evidence that Chinese New Year is observed in non-Chinese civilizations in East Asia. Its observance by overseas Chinese don't count.

Please provide evidence that Chinese New Year is public holiday in Japan, Korea, Vietnam. —Preceding unsigned comment added by VeryGoodBoy (talk • contribs) 22:35, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Please do not mark the whole article as having problems just because you don't think the holiday is "observed" (whatever that exactly means?) in 3 countries. The overseas celebration should count. Maybe what you are looking for is an equivalent to something such as Christmas worldwide. Benjwong (talk) 00:06, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

There is Lunar New Year. This article says Chinese New Year is celebrated in Korea, Japan, Vietnam. It also says Chinese New Year is public holiday in those countries. Then what happened to Korean New Year, Vietnamese New Year, Japanese New Year? Are they no longer celebrated and no longer a public holiday in those countries? VeryGoodBoy (talk) 00:48, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

According to evidence provided by Angelo_De_La_Paz, Chinese New Year is celebrated in China, Southeast Asia, and Chinese communities worldwide. For other countries, Lunar New Year or New Year is used.

The Spring Festival is China's major traditional holiday, and is also celebrated in other parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam (where New Year's Day is called "Tet"), Malaysia, Taiwan, and of course, Hong Kong.[7]

Millions across Asia have begun celebrating the Chinese New Year - the biggest holiday for Chinese communities worldwide.[8]

Elsewhere in the region, the New Year period is also significant. Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur has been lit by lanterns and banners festooning buildings, despite the fact the Chinese only make up 30% of the population. In Vietnam, the New Year festival is also celebrated in style.[9] China and many other East Asian countries like Vietnam, Korea and Mongolia will celebrate the lunar New Year on February 7.[10] VeryGoodBoy (talk) 01:36, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Angelo_De_La_Paz has used three sources to claim that Chinese New Year strongly influence new years in other countries, but those sources say nothing about any influence. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 01:47, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

This site[11] says Lunar New Year is also known as Chinese New Year in other places. This does not mean Korean New Year is the same as Chinese New Year. This issue is resolved through the disambiguation page, Lunar New Year. This site[12] says New Year festival is celebrated in Vietnam, not Chinese New Year. Also, this is just a website. Korean dictionaries and encyclopedia treat Korean New Year and Chinese New Year as different celebrations. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 02:11, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

This site[13] is about Lunar New Year and says that Vietnam and Korea have their own celebrations, which means celebrations different from Chinese New Year are celebrated in those countries. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 02:17, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

I am certain many places celebrate it around the world. Some people do it for fun. Is really not that big deal. Your issue is not whether people celebrate it. But whether other culture's lunar new year = chinese new year. The answer is probably no. Benjwong (talk) 03:11, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Thank you for the comment. I feel Angelo_De_La_Paz's view that lunar new year in other cultures are same as the Chinese new year is ignorant and lacks respect for cultural diversity. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 03:24, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

If it's a holiday that was exported and absorbed, then it's a variant of Chinese New Year, so indded, if Angelo is saying that Chinese New Year is/was celebrated... he is in many ways correct. If as Very says, that they are different, that is also correct, because cultural assimilation results in different traditions having evolved. If they are separate, then there should be a Japanese Christmas, since it's a (female) Santa Claus and gift giving holiday, and not a Christian one. If they are intricately related, and descendant from the Chinese one, then it should be mentioned here. 70.51.10.188 (talk) 04:17, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

New year is celebrated around the world, mostly in cultures with yearly calendars. Lunisolar calendars are one of them, and because most traditional calendars in East Asia are based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, new year celebrations are held in generally the same day. But this cannot be evidence to common origin of these different lunar new year celebrations. Korea's Naver Encyclopedia[14] clarifies country of origin in all articles on imoprted culture. There is no mention of China in the article on Korean New Year, and Chinese New Year is treated as a separate subject. As a Korean, Chinese New Year is very foreign to me. And when Blizzard prepared an event in Korean World of Warcraft based on the Chinese New Year and introduced it to Koreans as Korean New Year, the Korean players noticed the obvious differences in its customs and were very angry at Blizzard's ignorance. After unceasing protests and boycott of the event, Blizzard changed the name from Korean New Year to a generic term, New Year. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 04:49, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Let's clarify here. Chinese New Year is celebrated basically anywhere there is a sizable ethnic Chinese community, which is to say, it is celebrated more or less all over the world.[15] Exactly who celebrates it is another matter. Honestly, go ahead and play with the wording so as not to step on anybody's ethnic toes, like so many articles that touch upon identity politics. This is such a trivial matter in my opinion, since there are already individual articles for how lunar new year is celebrated in the relevant cultures. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 13:36, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

It is my understanding the the term "Chinese New Year" is the accepted term for any lunar new year that occurs at around the time that the Chinese one does. Is it fair? I don't know, probably not. But I feel that is the accepted usage. I'll go see if I can get some citations for my opinion. Also, as a side note, you guys might want to note the discussion at Talk:British Isles where the same thing happened (common usage of the term pissed off people from Ireland, but it is the common usage so it stayed. However, the lead talk about how different countries view the term).LedRush (talk) 14:28, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Canada gov't site uses "Chinese New Year" for all lunar years: http://www42.statcan.ca/smr08/smr08_102-eng.htm

American University does the same: http://lanecc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=5173

Poland seems to do the same: http://www.krakowpost.com/articles/2008/02/21/1017.html

I realize these are by no means conclusive...just some small evidence.LedRush (talk) 14:39, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

What it comes down to, as it always does when identity politics comes into play in article editing, is what wording and titles to use. In my mind, the different ways that Lunar New Year is celebrated in different cultures is significant enough that we have seperate articles - which is currently the case. There's not exactly an authoritative source to decide that the common name for Lunar New Year is Chinese New Year, unless you want to do the research to figure out how most governments around the world name it. One issue that may be relevant is whether or not there's a common origin, or if Lunar New Year as it is celebrated in China had influenced the celebrations in other countries - and I think this is a claim that needs to be sourced, or otherwise be excluded from the article. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 17:02, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree with Hong Qi Gong. Chinese New Year became more familiar to people around the world due to widespread Chinese dispora. In sources that specifically deal with lunar lew year, Chinese is carefully avoided and replaced with a generic term when referring to lunar new years celebrated in other countries. In the Smithsonian magazine for example[16], it commonly uses Chinese New Year, but when referring to those that are celebrated in East Asia, is uses lunar New Year. In BBC News[17], Chinese is again carefully avoided and replaced with New Year. It's understandable for Chinese New Year to be celebrated in Southeast Asia maybe even Vietnam, because of sizable Chinese dispora in that region. But in Korea and Japan, Chinese dispora is not very large, so there aren't many Chinese to celebrate Chinese New Year, so there is no reason for those countries to make Chinese New Year a public holiday. Please check demographic table of Overseas Chinese provided by Hong Qi Gong and cross reference it with the table of coutnries where the article claims Chinese New Year is a public holiday. In Malaysia, there is 6 million Chinese, 2.6 million in Singapore, 100,000 out of 381,371 in Brunei, 1.2 million in Vietnam. In Japan, there is 519,561 out of 127 million, and in South Korea, there is 30,000 out of 49 million. The articel says Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories where a sizable Chinese population resides. Isn't it self contradictory that Japan and South Korea are included when they don't have a sizable Chinese population? VeryGoodBoy (talk) 21:38, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Chinese New Year is 'celebrated' in Australia in that ethnic Chinese have celebrated Chinese New Year for years (see media archives of major Australian newspapers: The Age and The Australian) and in more recent years, Australians have been joining in. This does not make it an 'Australian' event. Chinese New Year is celebrated by Chinese people. That local populations in Asia also partake does not make it Asian New Year. See the Christmas analogy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.250.5.247 (talk • contribs) 04:57, 18 February 2011

Chinese calendar was the official calendar that the Chinese emperors bequeathed to their main tributary states, namely Vietnam, Korea, Ryukyu Kingdom (modern Okinawa) and indirectly Japan. Therefore, Chinese New Year, or better qualified as “Chinese Calendar New Year”, was also those nation's official new year, until Japan did away its feudal vestige by jumping on Western calendar bandwagon in late 1800's and the same for the others, including mainland China, in the 20th century. With that said, calling this Chinese (Calendar) New Year is correct, as it only signifies the origin of this unit term, rather than national or cultural possession. Similarly, familiar colloquial terms such as "English metrics system", "BTU (British Thermo Unit)", heck, even the language "English" itself , are spoken in the US without cultural or national sovereignty baggage. Again, designating this holiday as Chinese New Year is just showing its true origin in a calendar different from Gregorian or Julian calendars that are prevalent in the West.

East Asian New Year

A solution could be formulating a new article at East Asian New Year that documents descent from the Chinese calendar and celebration, through diffusion to the rest of East Asia, and the similarities and differences between them. 70.51.10.188 (talk) 04:26, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

There is already a disambiguation page for Lunar New Year, and claiming descent and diffusion from Chinese New Year is a dubious and ignorant claim. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 04:49, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Calling other people ignorant usually doesn't score you any points.LedRush (talk) 14:29, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

I'm saying the claim is ignorant, not the person. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 21:41, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

A. the calendar is based on the Chinese one

B. the date is based on the Chinese one

That clearly indicated descent from the Chinese one. How much has descended versus how much was locally developed is not the same thing as not having descent. Your statement "because most traditional calendars in East Asia are based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, new year celebrations are held in generally the same day" shows descent. 70.51.10.188 (talk) 03:20, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't see that as a basis to claim descent. Those cultures may have had different calendars before adopting the Chinese calendar, and the tradition of celebrating the new year is much more than a specific type of calendar. For instance, the Japanese traditionally used a lunisolar calendar based on the Chinese calendar, but they have switched to the Gregorian calendar and started celebrating new year based on that calendar. Based on your argument, the tradition of Japanese New Year should have ended after adopting the Gregorian calendar, and current Japanese New Year should be descended from Italian New Year because the Gregorian calendar was developed in Italy. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 06:55, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't think it is a good idea. "East Asian New Year" is not a common term in English. If there are disputes over whether Chinese New Year is celebrated outside of Chinese speaking countries, then just put in tag until reliable sources are cited. If reliable sources are not provided, then we can remove these assertions altogether.

In this case, I am curious why User:Angelo_De_La_Paz isn't participating in this discussion since this user is making these assertions and should be backing up the assertions with reliable sources.--pyl (talk) 07:00, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

As a Thai, I won't mind that much when the article claims that Spring Festival or Chinese New Year is celebrated in Thailand, as the overseas Chinese community in Thailand and the Thai-Chinese do celebrate it. Other Thais join the fun, too. But traditionally the Thai New Year, or Songkran, is celebrated in April, as a different festival. I am more surprised at the fact the no protest seems to have been made over the article's claim that the Chinese Festival is celebrated in "other countries" outside China, including "Taiwan" !!! Oh-oh... So Taiwan is another country apart from China? What do you think, my PRC friends out there? And my Taiwanese friends? 122.0.3.123 (talk) 10:31, 12 February 2010 (UTC) APRT

Where Chinese New Year is celebrated and designated a public holiday

Three sources provided by Angelo_De_La_Paz say Chinese New Year is celebrated in China, Southeast Asia, and Chinese communities worldwide. Generic terms such as New Year or Lunar New Year is used for other countries such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam, with one exception where Vietnam is included in Southeast Asia. Disambiguation for new year celebrations in those countries are provided in Lunar New Year.

Proposal 1 - Change Observed by Mainly East Asia countries with various local names. to Observed by China and Overseas Chinese[18][19] or Observed by China and Southeast Asia.[20] I favor Overseas Chinese because this is mostly true in Southeast Asian countries where sizable overseas Chinese reside, and this can also apply to other Chinese communities around the world.

Proposal 2 - Remove Korea, Japan, Vietnam in table of countries where Chinese New Year is celebrated. Southeast Asian countries designated Chinese New Year a public holiday because of sizable overseas Chinese in that region. But in Korea, Japan, Vietnam where overseas Chinese population is relatively small, their own local traditional new year celebrations are designated as a public holiday.

I think these changes are reasonable and fair, and references are provided. I'll make these changes once protection is removed, but if you feel opposed to these changes, please let me know. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 17:08, 11 October 2008 (UTC)

• Oppose - Neither option recognizes the facts as cited above.LedRush (talk) 15:25, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

Those facts are well handled by Lunar New Year, where possible usages of these terms, including Chinese New Year, are disambiguated. Please see my response below yours. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 22:15, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

I have a different approach to this:-

1. Source no 1 is from the BBC. It says "Millions across Asia have begun celebrating the Chinese New Year - the biggest holiday for Chinese communities worldwide."
2. Source no 2 is from "Smithsonian.com". Who are they?
3. I don't think source no 3 is reliable. It is from about.com, and I don't think it has an established reputation in this field of knowledge. I think it also made a factual error. Vietnam's lunar near year doesn't fall on the same day as the Chinese lunar new year.

So far the only reliable source established that the Chinese New Year is celebrated in the Chinese communities worldwide. No assertions for other communities / countries can be made as there are no reliable sources.--pyl (talk) 15:49, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

vietnamese new year DOES fall on the same day, most of the time, except with extremely rare exceptions Breaistwrote (talk) 22:17, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Smithsonian.com expands on Smithsonian magazine's in-depth coverage of history, science, nature, the arts, travel, world culture and technology. I think its publisher, the Smithsonian Institution, has established reputation. I agree that about.com is not reliable. I won't oppose an alternate proposal for using Chinese communities world wide however. VeryGoodBoy (talk) 22:15, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

Spring Festival

In China, English-speaking chinese people always refer to this as "Spring Festival" ( even though it is in mid-winter ), and if you ask them about "chinese new year", they don't even know what you are talking about. This article should probably mention that it is called "spring festival" in China.Eregli bob (talk) 11:16, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

Well, the funny thing is, until this edit [21] on 28 August this year, it did list "Spring Festival" as an alternative term. Somehow Wikipedia seems doomed to repeat itself. Something starts out OK, then someone vandalises, tidies up, removes POV etc., and presto, something that was OK is changed. Then a few months later someone else comes along and says "Hey, why isn't this there?" So they put it in until someone else comes along and decides it isn't necessary...

I would say the original wording (mentioning "Spring Festival") was fine. But who am I to say?

Bathrobe (talk) 15:19, 28 November 2008 (UTC)

農曆新年 is the most original term from people I have asked. If you talk to old people, the reason why spring festival 春節 became the normal term in China is because the post-1949 government was against the old Chinese calendar 農曆 concept at one time. As part of the "New China" philosophy you just don't say 農曆新年. Good luck finding sources on this. Benjwong (talk) 07:22, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Romanization of Cantonese

Cantonese is not romanized according to Jyutping or Yale in this article. Instead, it is romanized phonetically. I suggest Jyutping be used for romanization, just as Pinyin is used for the Mandarin pronunciations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Javalava14 (talk • contribs) 2009-01-13T03:42:07

Is it even called Chinese New Year?

I've only heard the term "Chinese New Year" in the west. During my time spent in mainland China and East Asia, I've always heard it referred to as "Lunar New Year." The Chinese in China themselves refer to the holiday as either Lunar New Year or the Lunar Spring Festival. Intranetusa (talk) 21:47, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

Not locally. But I'd imagine every culture typically call its own traditional New Year just "New Year". My parents (who were born in Southern China) called it "Agrarian" Calendar New Year to distinguish it from the New calendar (Gregorian) New Year. You'll probably find several different names for this since the Chinese culture is very diverse. --Tesscass (talk) 17:34, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

I called my father-in-law (a Chinese national in China). After I told him "happy new year" in Chinese, he responded with "Happy Chinese New Year" in English. I thought it was a little funny, but it is widely regarded as "Chinese New Year" when speaking in English.LedRush (talk) 17:39, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Americans don't call American football American football but internationally it's called American football. "Lunar New Year", "Agrarian Calendar New Year" and "Spring Festival" all suffer technical issues once you're outside Asia or China. HkCaGu (talk) 17:45, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

At least in Thailand, it is called"Chinese New Year", Trut Chiin, by the Thais in Thai language. 122.0.3.123 (talk) 05:06, 8 March 2010 (UTC)thaivisitor

When does it start, exactly?

I can't seem to find (in this article or anywhere else) when the official start of the first day takes place. Does it start in the entire world at the same time? Does it start an hour later if you're a timezone earlier? Heck, is "new moon" a global effect or does the perception of the moon vary from country to country? With these questions answered the article would be more complete, at least. --MooNFisH (talk) 10:07, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

See Chinese calendar. The astronomical new moon occurs at the same instant throughout the world when the ecliptic longitude of the Moon and Sun are the same as viewed from the center of the Earth. The Sun appears to move slowly along the ecliptic toward the east, while the Moon appears to move rapidly along the ecliptic toward the east as much as 5° north or south of it. The astronomical new moon occurs when the Moon overtakes the Sun. The time of this astronomical new moon relative to midnight in the Chinese time zone determines the Gregorian date of the traditional Chinese New Year, which is then used throughout the world as its date. — Joe Kress (talk) 18:43, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Yes, do add a calendar onto this page, for the exact dates for the current year. The German language wikipedia page has a very nice list that you could re-use for this. See: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinesisches_Neujahrsfest#Datum 83.79.141.170 (talk) 20:32, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Now that you mention it, there used to be a table in the section "New Year dates". Someone removed it. --Tesscass (talk) 21:08, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Not Chinese New Year but Lunar New Year

Chinese new year is merely used in China. In fact,many asian countries have Lunar New year because they use Lunar Calender so this spring festival should be only Lunar New Year, not Chinese one (if the purpose to say internationally) and it isn't fair to say so ( almost means of mass media use this word). The word chinese itself shows that it only in China, but there's no proof that it originated in China. In Vietnam, we call it "Tet holiday", which means we also have our spring festival. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.186.98.167 (talk) 09:38, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

If you were looking for Tet, then maybe you should have... looked for Tet. Please see Tết. Hong Qi Gong (Talk - Contribs) 12:18, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

It's not Lunar New Year because in a lunar calendar, any month can be the First Month. All these cultures that use a lunar calendar have different months to begin the year, and that's why it is internationally incorrect to say Lunar New Year. HkCaGu (talk) 18:58, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

Luner New Year is not precise. Different luner calenders are used in different places in the world. Chinese New Year refers to one specific lunersolar calender used in East Asia. Celebration customs may differ from country to country, and from province to province. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.91.150.14 (talk) 22:12, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Also, note that the term Chinese New Year is also widely used in Malaysia and Singapore. Therefore, the word "Chinese" does not only refer to China although the tradition may originate from China. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nezs (talk • contribs) 12:52, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Haha, Vietnamese year Tet is just a transliteration of Chinese 元旦节. Before west calender was introduced to China, Chinese new year was called 元旦节, but now the west year is called 元旦节.--刻意(Kèyì) 15:59, 1 February 2011 (UTC)

Is it possible to add simple table of dates for each year?

It would be very useful if someone, if they know how, could construct a simple table of the new year dates for each year. An example for Christian Easter is at Easter#Date of Easter.--212.183.140.53 (talk) 19:46, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Such a table is already provided under Dates, where each New Year date is related to its animal and branch. But it does not separate the year from the date within the year, which, if done, would result in a very short twelve year list. I'm clarifying that these are New Year dates. — Joe Kress (talk) 20:07, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Adding new external link.

{{editsemiprotected}}

Hi, under ==External links==, can someone put in this link. Its to an image gallery featuring images of the 2009 new year celebrations in Hong Kong.

The link should go something like this:

• Chinese New Year as celebrated in Hong Kong in 2009.

That should do it.

Thanks and cheers - Rogan Coles--Tingyat (talk) 06:59, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

We already have three extlinks; can't see why we need this. Pmlineditor ∞ 12:45, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Pronunciation Audio

Just a suggestion - audio with Mandarin and Cantonese pronunciation of key phrases and greetings could be a useful addition to this article. -- Rob.au (talk) 09:43, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Public holiday in Indonesia

Under the table of public holidays, the article states that the first day of CNY is celebrated in Brunei and Indonesia and that if the first day is Sunday, it is carried over to Monday. This situation has arisen this year (2010), but the public holiday has not been carried over (I am an Indonesian resident). This is consistent with the approach taken to all public holidays in Indonesia - ie there is no "crediting" if they happen to fall on a week end. However I am not certain of the position in Brunei.

Sjmawson (talk) 07:56, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Festivities: Preceding Day (CNY eve)

I wish to propose adding some cultural practices under "Preceding Days" in Festivities.

In Malaysia and Singapore, the Chinese community creates a makeshift altar in front of the house and welcome the God of Prosperity[1]. There are certain time and direction where the alter must face[1]. It is belief that if the God of Prosperity chooses to enter one's house[1], the members of the house will benefit good health, good business, etc. It is also belief that during the "welcoming" duration, the doors should be left opened.

Part of a traditional Chinese New Year song depicts the same practice (rough translation into English)[2]:

"The sound of drums"

"A new spring has arrived, everyone is happy"

"Fireworks are going off in all directions"

"Inviting the God of Prosperity to our Doors"

Notes:
[1] http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/14/focus/5669550&sec=focus
[2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bjjUm593v4 - a modern day rap mixed with several traditional songs.

Nezs (talk) 13:27, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Chinese Spring Festival as public holiday

Chinese spring festival is also a public holiday in Mauritius. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.224.11.92 (talk) 07:28, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Yes, just verified that Mauritius does indeed have a public holiday for the Lunar New Year. Sources: http://www.tourism-mauritius.mu/Plan/public-holidays.html and http://mauritius.usembassy.gov/holidays.html. I will add this entry to the table of Public Holidays. —Molly-in-md (talk) 11:44, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Chinese Zodiac and New year

Traditionally, Chinese zodiac (shengxiao) is based on 24 Jieqi, start from the day of lichun, not the Chinese new year. This is usually confused by some modern ppl.--刻意(Kèyì) 02:24, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Chinese Greetings

This article should also explain the different Chinese New Year greetings. I'm not Chinese but whenever I go outside or watch TV, there are different greeting calls for this occasion. I would often see Kung Hei Fat Choi streamed in different media but while watching the news right now, they used, possibly, a different language? But also seem like a Chinese greeting. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 112.201.168.178 (talk) 11:05, 2 February 2011 (UTC)