Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is the beginning of a year whose months are coordinated by the cycles of the moon. The whole year may account to a purely lunar calendar or a lunisolar calendar.

Celebrations

The following East Asian Lunar New Year celebrations are, or were historically, based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar (occurring in late January or early February):[1]

These South Asian traditional lunisolar celebrations are observed according to the local lunisolar calendars. They are influenced by Indian tradition, which marks the solar new year on the sun's entry into Aries in April.

These South and Southeast Asian New Year celebrations have dates based on the solar cycle ("solar new year"), but are part of the local lunisolar calendar system or were historically observed according to the local lunisolar calendars, and thus do not generally align with the first day of the lunisolar year. They are influenced by Indian (Indic) tradition (occurring on 13/14 April):

  • Burmese New Year (Thingyan): New year falls in April, but is not the first day of the Burmese lunisolar calendar year; similar to Dai, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bengali, Tamil and Thai new years
  • Cambodian New Year (Chaul Chnam Thmey), similar to Burmese, Dai, Lao, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Odia, Bengali, Malayalee, Tamil and Thai new years
  • Lao New Year, similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bengali, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Thai new years
  • Nepali New Year, similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Sri Lankan, Bengali, Odia, Thai, Malayalee, Tamil and Lao new years
  • Odia New Year (Pana Sankranti), similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Sri Lankan, Nepali, Bengali, Thai, Malayalee, Tamil and Lao new years
  • Sinhala and Tamil New Year, similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Lao, Nepali, Bengali, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Thai new years
  • Thai New Year (Songkran), similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Bengali, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Nepali new years
  • Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year), similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Nepali new years
  • Puthandu (Tamil New Year), similar to Burmese, Dai, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Odia, Malayalee and Nepali new years
  • Water-Sprinkling Festival (Dai New Year), similar to Burmese, Bengali, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Nepali new years
  • Sangken, similar to Burmese, Bengali, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Dai, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Nepali new years
  • Vishu, (Malayalee New Year), similar to Burmese, Dai, Bengali, Cambodian, Lao, Sri Lankan, Odia, Malayalee, Tamil and Nepali new years
  • Maithili New Year, in Mithila, Nepal

Lunar New Year celebrations that originated in Western Asia fall on other days:

  • Islamic New Year or Muslim New Year is not lunisolar but follows a purely lunar calendar of 12 months that retrogresses through the Gregorian and Julian calendar years. The day of Muslim New Year may thus fall in any season on the calendar.
  • In Jewish (Rabbinical and Karaite) and Samaritan religious and secular traditions, there are several holy days and festivals that are lunar new year observances. Each tradition uses a slightly different version of the Hebrew Calendar but they are all lunisolar, so the days always fall in the same season.
    • Rosh Hashanah in the Rabbinic Jewish tradition begins with the new moon of the month of Tishrei and inaugurates a new calendar year. Karaite Jews and Samaritans observe 1 Tishrei as the holiday Yom Teruah (meaning "Day of Noise," whereas Rosh Hashanah means "Head of the Year"). It is an autumn holy day.
    • 1 Nissan/Abib is the first day of the new year in Karaite tradition and begins a 15-day celebration culminating in the Passover holiday. Rabbinic Judaism calls this the New Year for Kings and similarly numbers Nissan as the first month. Nissan/Abib begins in the spring.
    • 1 Elul is the date on which the Samaritan calendar advances. It corresponds to the New Year for Animal Tithes in the Rabbinic tradition. This is a very late summer/early autumn holiday.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wamg, Frances Kai-Hwa (2017-01-23). "10 Lunar New Year facts to help answer your pressing questions". NBC News. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  2. ↑ DuBois, Jill (2004). Korea. Volume 7 of Cultures of the world (illustrated, revised ed.). Marshall Cavendish. p. 114. ISBN 978-0761417866. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
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