When Is Lunar New Year? Exact Dates, Why It Changes, and the Next 7 Years at a Glance
When Is Lunar New Year: People ask the same question every winter for a reason: when is lunar new year isn’t a fixed date on the January-to-December calendar. It “moves,” it varies by year, and it can feel unpredictable if you don’t know the rule behind it.
This guide makes the date logic simple, gives you a reliable year-by-year snapshot for upcoming celebrations, and shows how to confirm the correct day quickly—whether you’re planning travel, school programming, family gatherings, or publishing content that needs to stay accurate.
The Core Answer: It Changes Every Year, But It Stays in a Predictable Window
If you’re asking when is lunar new year, the most accurate evergreen answer is that it falls sometime between late January and mid-February in the Gregorian calendar. Encyclopaedia Britannica summarizes this window for Lunar New Year as occurring “between January 21 and February 20,” reflecting how the date is anchored to lunar cycles rather than a fixed solar date.
That’s also why two people can be “in the same year” on the Gregorian calendar and still be in different zodiac years, depending on whether they were born before or after Lunar New Year. For example, Lunar New Year 2025 starts on January 29, which is when the zodiac year shifts for celebrations tied to the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
Why the Date Moves: The New Moon, Not the Page on Your Wall Calendar
The simplest reason Lunar New Year moves is that it’s based on lunar phases, especially the new moon, while the Gregorian calendar is based on the solar year. Britannica describes Lunar New Year as beginning with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ending with the first full moon 15 days later, which is why the festival period often lands in a similar seasonal “slot” but not on the same numbered date each year.
Many English-language explainers call it “Lunar New Year,” but it’s often more precise to think in “lunisolar” terms for East Asian traditions, because the calendar is designed to stay aligned with seasons through intercalation (leap months). National Geographic captures this seasonal anchor by explaining the new year starts on a new moon near the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, placing it reliably in the late-January-to-February corridor.
The Practical Rule People Use to Predict It (Without Doing Astronomy)
A useful mental model is to treat Lunar New Year as a “new moon holiday” that lands in the late-winter window, then verify the exact day with a trusted calendar. That’s why the date feels like it jumps around, even though it’s actually following the same astronomical trigger each year, and why the holiday stays within a narrow range rather than drifting across the seasons.
If you’re trying to explain when is lunar new year in one sentence that’s accurate and easy to repeat, use this: it’s tied to the new moon that begins the first month of the lunisolar year used for the celebration you mean (often the Chinese lunisolar calendar for “Chinese New Year/Spring Festival”). Technical references note that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, and official computations are standardized to a reference timezone (commonly Beijing time) for that calendar’s rule set.
Lunar New Year Dates at a Glance (2024–2030)
Most readers don’t just want the rule—they want dates they can plug into plans. When Is Lunar New Year table below uses China’s Spring Festival/Chinese New Year observance dates as a widely referenced anchor (the same day many countries and communities also celebrate, even if local holiday lengths differ).
If your content strategy targets recurring seasonal search behavior, this is the most practical way to satisfy the intent behind when is lunar new year: provide the rule, then provide the next several dates so readers can immediately act on the information.
| Year | Lunar New Year date (Chinese New Year / Spring Festival) | Weekday | Common zodiac label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Feb 10, 2024 | Saturday | Dragon |
| 2025 | Jan 29, 2025 | Wednesday | Snake |
| 2026 | Feb 17, 2026 | Tuesday | Horse |
| 2027 | Feb 6, 2027 | Saturday | Goat |
| 2028 | Jan 26, 2028 | Wednesday | Monkey |
| 2029 | Feb 13, 2029 | Tuesday | Rooster |
| 2030 | Feb 3, 2030 | Sunday | Dog |
Sources for 2024–2028: timeanddate China Spring Festival observances.
Sources for 2029–2030: timeanddate China holiday listings.
Chinese New Year, Seollal, Tết: Same Season, Different Cultural Calendars
A major reason people get confused is that “Lunar New Year” is used as an umbrella term in English, while communities may be referring to distinct traditions, names, and public-holiday rules. In China, the celebration is commonly called Spring Festival; in Korea, Seollal; in Vietnam, When Is Lunar New Year—often overlapping in timing, but not identical in customs, foods, or official leave policies.
So, when someone asks when is lunar new year, a high-quality answer quietly clarifies “which Lunar New Year” without sounding pedantic: the widely shared date is frequently the same day across several East Asian lunisolar traditions, but observance length, ritual emphasis, and even some zodiac framing can vary by country and diaspora community. This is why date tables are most useful when you label the calendar basis you’re using rather than implying one universal rule for all lunar calendars.
Why the Phrase “Lunar New Year” Has Become More Common Worldwide
In the last few years, “Lunar New Year” has increasingly been used as a global-facing term, especially in multicultural contexts, schools, and international organizations. One concrete signal of that globalization is that the UN General Assembly’s calendar recognizes Lunar New Year as a floating holiday starting in 2024, encouraging UN bodies to avoid scheduling meetings on that day where it’s observed.
This matters for planners because the holiday now shows up more often in corporate calendars, city programming, and public messaging—even in places where it isn’t a statutory holiday. It also influences search trends: people may look up the date for workplace planning, event scheduling, and travel coordination as much as for cultural or religious reasons, which broadens what a “best answer” to the date question needs to include.
Planning Reality: Why the Date Impacts Travel, School, and Business Decisions
For individuals, the date determines reunion meals, visits, and the rhythm of the full festival period that ends around the Lantern Festival (about 15 days after New Year’s Day in many traditions). For institutions, the date changes timelines for staffing, shipping, programming, and media schedules because the holiday is not just a day—it’s a season with predictable surges in movement and attention.
If you’re asking when is lunar new year because you need operational clarity, the key insight is that “holiday effects” often start before the date itself. Reporting on China’s travel season (“chunyun”) regularly frames it as a major migration tied to the Lunar New Year period, which is why logistics, tourism pricing, and scheduling decisions can shift weeks ahead of the actual new year day.
Common Misconceptions That Make the Date Feel Harder Than It Is
One common mistake is assuming Lunar New Year is “always in February.” Some years it’s in late January, and the date can swing significantly within the allowed window, which is exactly why strong references keep repeating the Jan 21–Feb 20 range.
Another mistake is treating every “lunar calendar” the same. Some calendars are purely lunar (drifting through seasons), while many Lunar New Year celebrations people mean in English are tied to lunisolar systems that deliberately stay season-aligned through leap months, producing the familiar late-winter placement. The fix is simple: define which tradition you mean, then use a trusted calendar source that explicitly states how it calculates dates.
How to Verify the Date Fast (and Publish It With Confidence)
The fastest reliable method is to use an authoritative holiday calendar that lists the observance by country and year, because it bakes in the correct reference timezone and local public-holiday practice. Timeanddate, for example, notes that holidays are calculated using local time for the listed location, which matters when a new moon occurs near a date boundary.
If you’re publishing evergreen content built around when is lunar new year, the best practice is to include both the stable rule and a small “next years” table. That combination satisfies readers who want the immediate answer while protecting you from looking outdated, because you’re clearly communicating that the date varies annually and you’re providing a verified forward-looking reference set.
Cultural Context: What People Celebrate, Not Just What Day It Falls On
A strong explanation of the date is only half the job, because people searching when is lunar new year are often also asking, implicitly, “what does it start?” The holiday typically marks the beginning of a new year on the relevant lunisolar calendar, launching a period of reunion, food traditions, visits, gifting, and public celebrations that carry through to the Lantern Festival in many communities.
A useful way to anchor the meaning without over-explaining is to let one clear line do the work. Britannica’s description of Chinese New Year highlights that it “begins with the new moon between January 21 and February 20,” then unfolds as a multi-day festival—an elegant reminder that the date is astronomical, but the experience is social and deeply relational.
Conclusion
Lunar New Year isn’t random; it’s structured around lunar phases and calendrical rules designed to keep the celebration in a consistent seasonal window. Once you understand that anchor—and once you rely on a reputable holiday calendar for the exact day—the question stops feeling mysterious and starts feeling practical.
If your goal is to answer when is lunar new year in a way that’s genuinely useful, give readers both layers: the stable range and rule that explain why it moves, plus a verified date snapshot for the next several years so they can plan without cross-checking multiple sources.
FAQs
Below are quick answers that match how people actually search, including date verification, regional differences, and planning intent. These are designed to stay evergreen while still giving concrete, checkable guidance.
If you use this section in published content, keep the dates table updated and leave the rule explanation intact; it’s the part that protects your accuracy year after year.
When is lunar new year each year on the Gregorian calendar?
When is lunar new year depends on lunar phases, so it changes annually, typically falling between January 21 and February 20 for Lunar New Year celebrations tied to the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
When is lunar new year 2025?
When is lunar new year in 2025? For Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), it begins on January 29, 2025.
When is lunar new year 2026?
When is lunar new year in 2026? For Chinese New Year/Spring Festival, it falls on February 17, 2026.
Is Lunar New Year the same day as Chinese New Year?
In everyday English, “Lunar New Year” often refers to the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year date, but the term can also be used more broadly across cultures, so it’s best to specify the tradition or country you mean.
Why do some sources show different dates for the same year?
Differences can come from which calendar tradition is being referenced and which timezone is used for astronomical calculations; some holiday lists explicitly calculate dates using the local time of the country or region shown.
What’s the best way to publish an evergreen answer to “when is lunar new year”?
For evergreen accuracy, answer when is lunar new year with the fixed range and rule explanation, then add a small “next years” table sourced from a reputable holiday calendar so readers get both understanding and immediate planning value.
