However, for signs like the Pig and Monkey, 2026 could pose some challenges. If you’re unsure of your zodiac sign, you can easily find it with an online zodiac calculator (or using the one below). Each zodiac sign has a unique relationship with the Year of the Horse. Though their zodiac year may bring challenges, these obstacles often lead to greater wisdom and personal growth for Horses. Red underwear, socks, or accessories are believed to ward off misfortune and invite blessings. In the zodiac, they thrive in lively settings and are often seen as natural leaders and motivators.
Geomancy masters may interpret the data differently, but there is usually a consensus on what the year means for each zodiac animal based on the positions of the stars. Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2026 will welcome plenty of baby Horses. Whether you’re unfamiliar with the occasion or need a refresher, this guide to ushering in the Year of the Horse has you covered. Religious activities and preparations for Lunar New Year would begin on this day.
The folklore, food and rituals of the Chinese New Year
Each flower has a symbolic meaning, and many Chinese people believe that it may usher in the values that it represents. During Chinese New Year day, work at most establishments stops, and a favourite pastime is playing Mahjong with family or friends. In some places, the taking of a family portrait is an important ceremony after the relatives are gathered. The colour red is commonly worn throughout Chinese New Year; traditional beliefs held that red could scare away evil spirits. In mainland China, the New Year’s Gala is broadcast by every TV station, featuring traditional performances and a message by the president. It is customary for gifts to be wrapped in red or golden paper, symbolizing good luck.
On the sixth day, known as Horse’s Day, people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by discarding the garbage accumulated during the festival. In other regions with a longer Chinese New Year holiday, celebrations include welcoming back the gods who were previously sent off on this day. In communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day marks the beginning of corporate “spring dinners” and the return to normal business operations.
Word of the emperor’s gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. The poem describes people cleaning millet stacks, offering mijiu (rice wine) to guests, slaughtering lambs, visiting their master’s home, toasting him, and expressing wishes for longevity together. Before the new year celebration was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of the harvest in autumn.
Watching Spring Festival Gala (春晚)
Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a Hoi Nin prayer to start their business on the second day of the Chinese New Year, blessing their business to thrive in the coming year. Some people do not offer a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Any haircuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word “hair” (fa) and the word for “prosperity”. Some people give their homes, doors, and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers experience a year-end rush of business before the Chinese New Year.
interesting facts about Lunar New Year that you may not know
The celebration attracts between 300,000 and 500,000 people yearly, according to the organisers. In London, celebrations take place in Chinatown, Leicester Square, and Trafalgar Square. Many people also celebrate by going to temples across Southern California, and the largest temple celebration is held at Ringospin Casino Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. Starting in 2014, there are also larger celebrations at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa, which attract over 50,000 visitors.
Transport During Spring Festival
- On the 28th day of the last lunar month, families do a thorough house cleaning to sweep away any lingering bad luck, making way for a fresh beginning.
- Another long‑standing tradition is passing red envelopes, known as Hóngbāo, to friends and family.
- As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung, a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing.
- Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2026 will welcome plenty of baby Horses.
- In more than 96 percent of years, the Chinese New Year is the closest new moon to the beginning of spring (lichun) according to the calendar.
- They invited a variety of other groups from the city to participate, and they marched down what today are Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, carrying colourful flags, banners, lanterns, drums, and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits.
- We’ve mentioned a lot about the colour red in the celebrations and what it symbolises.
However, this was not the Mid-Autumn Festival, during which the Chinese gathered with family to worship the Moon. The Chinese calendar defines the lunisolar month containing the winter solstice as the eleventh month, meaning that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third, if an intercalary month occursb). Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweeping away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture and was placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2024.
Why Is 2026 the Year of the Horse?
The main parade, which sees over 100,000 spectators and involves more than 3,500 performers, is a notable highlight of the celebrations. With one of the largest Chinese populations outside of Asia, Sydney also boasts the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia, annually attracting over 600,000 attendees to the festivities in Chinatown. The Dragon dance and the Southern Lion dance are customarily performed on that day. The main events typically take place in the Chinatown area in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. During the week before New Year’s Day, spring cleaning in homes is performed.
All you need to know about the Chinese Year Of The Red Horse
- The monster was afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the color red, so those things were used to chase the beast away.
- In the zodiac, they thrive in lively settings and are often seen as natural leaders and motivators.
- This story explains two important traditions—hanging red decorations and lighting firecrackers—representing victory over evil and a fresh start to the year.
- The 15-day festival is about saying goodbye to the past year and, like the season of spring itself, symbolises renewal.
- The preparation begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and the celebration lasts until the 15th of the first month.
Chinese New Year, annual 15-day festival in China and Chinese communities around the world that begins with the new moon occurring sometime between January 21 and February 20, according to Western calendars. In Paris, since the 1980s, month-long celebrations have been held in several districts with many performances. Signed into law in 2022 and effective in 2023, California declared the Lunar New Year a state government holiday.
The clever Snake coiled around the Horse’s hoof, managing to finish the race ahead of the Horse and causing the Horse to fall into the seventh place. According to Chinese mythology, the order of the zodiac animals was decided by a Great Race held by the Jade Emperor. The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal. This story explains two important traditions—hanging red decorations and lighting firecrackers—representing victory over evil and a fresh start to the year.
As described by Song dynasty official Zhang Tangying in his book Shu Tao Wu, Volume 2, on the day of New Year’s Eve the emperor ordered the scholar Xin Yinxun to write the couplets on peach wood and hang them on the emperor’s bedroom door. During the Tang dynasty, people established the custom of sending bai nian tie (拜年帖, “New Year’s greetings”), New Year’s greeting cards. It evolved into the practice of cleaning one’s house thoroughly in the days preceding the Chinese New Year. In the Lüshi Chunqiu, in the Qin state, an exorcism ritual to expel illness, called “Big Nuo”, was recorded as being carried out on the last day of the year. The 10th month celebration is believed to be one of the prototypes of Chinese New Year.The records of the first Chinese New Year celebration can be traced to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC).
Early in the morning of the first day of the lunar new year, people also have to visit and greet each other with family and friends. However, in the folk traditional sense, Chinese New Year starts from the Kitchen God Worshiping on the 23rd of the 12th lunar month (or even the Laba Festival), until the 19th of the first lunar month. Modern people set the Spring Festival on the first day of the first lunar month, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival), with New Year’s Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. On this day, people from all over China will immerse themselves in a strong festive atmosphere, with every household decorating red and full of joy.
