A Spring Festival

Happy Lunar New Year! About 2 billion people celebrate the holiday. They are all over the world. Most of them are in Asian countries.

The lunar year begins with a new moon. There’s one in late January or early February. This year, there’s one on February 10. People will celebrate for many days. It’s a way of honoring their ancestors and welcoming spring.

Hanging red banners is an old Lunar New Year’s tradition.

Ancient Beginnings

For thousands of years, farmers relied on the moon. They used it to know when to plant and harvest crops.

Legends tell us how Lunar New Year festivities might have started. One legend is about a beast called Nian. The creature appeared in villages every New Year. To scare it away, people put up red banners. They set off firecrackers and beat drums. People still do these things during the holiday.

How to Celebrate

There are many ways to celebrate Lunar New Year. In China, people hang colorful lanterns. Kids get red envelopes, for luck. There’s money inside. Dancers in lion costumes roam the streets. They are also thought to bring good luck.

Lion dancing brings good luck in the coming year. See it at Lunar New Year festivals.

In Vietnam, people celebrate Tet. They clean their homes to get rid of bad luck. In South Korea, people wear traditional clothes called hanbok. Kids play holiday games.

Shopkeepers in Hanoi, Vietnam, get lanterns ready for Lunar New Year celebrations.

Each Asian culture has its own ways of observing Lunar New Year. But some things are important to all of them. Spending time with family is part of every celebration. And don’t forget the food. Lunar New Year is a time to eat!

These kids are wearing traditional clothes from Korea called hanbok.

Zodiacs

Each lunar year is represented by an animal, or zodiac sign. This is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon is one of 12 zodiac animals. The others are the snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, and rabbit. Each animal occurs once every 12 years. Some people believe that the year you were born shapes your personality.