Lunar new year 2020: When is the Chinese New Year? Why is the lunar calendar different?
CHINESE New Year celebrations will start weeks after the rest of the world. So when is the Chinese New Year 2020 and why is their lunar new year different?
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Chinese New Year dates vary slightly between years but the festival usually falls during the period from January 21 to February 20 in the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese New Year of 2020 falls on Saturday, January 25, and the festival will last to Saturday, February 8.
When is Chinese New Year 2020?
The 2020 Chinese New Year kicks-off the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac.
Chinese New Year officially begins this year on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month of the Chinese calendar.
This year’s celebration falls on Saturday, January 25, and lasts for a week of festivities, ending on Saturday, February 8.
As an official public holiday, Chinese people can receive seven days of absence from work, from January 24 to 30.
Some companies and institutions can enjoy an even longer holiday stretching up to 10 days or more because many Chinese people celebrate from the Lunar New Year’s Eve to the 15th day of the first lunar month, known as the Lantern Festival.
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The 12 Chinese zodiac signs:
Rat
Ox
Tiger
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Goat
Monkey
Roster
Dog
Pig
Why is the Chinese New Year different to a Western new year?
Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year shares both similarities and differences with Western celebrations.
The Chinese calendar is based on the movements of the Moon and is linked to the Chinese zodiac.
The lunar calendar sees 12 animals all ascribed to a new year.
Every new year is celebrated under the next consecutive sign and 12 years is considered a complete cycle.
This year the Year of the Rat replaces 2019’s the Year of the Pig.
Babies born in the current Year of the Rat, as well as those born in 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, all share the Rat as their Chinese zodiac sign.
What are lunar phases?
The Moon doesn't shine, it reflects – just like daytime here Earth, sunlight illuminates the Moon, but you simply cannot always see it.
When sunlight hits off the Moon's far side — the side we can't see without from Earth the aid of a spacecraft — it is called a New Moon.
When sunlight reflects off the near side, it is called a Full Moon.
The rest of the month we see parts of the daytime side of the Moon, or phases.
These eight phases are, in order, new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter and waning crescent.
The cycle repeats once a month, or more precisely every 29.5 days.