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Why does the Lunar New Year Start on a Different Day Every Year?
Christmas Day is always on December 25, Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November, and Valentine’s Day is always on February 14. Why does the Lunar New Year start on a different day every year?
Growing up, I did not give much thought the exact day Lunar New Year was celebrated. I just knew it came shortly after January 1 every year, because that was the time I received red envelopes with money inside them from my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
The Lunar New Year is based upon cycles of the moon. It begins on the first new moon and celebrated for multiples days. This can be some time between January 21 and February 20.
Although the Lunar New Year is based off of the Chinese lunar calendar, Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other Asian communities. It is based on a 12-year cycle with each year honoring 1 of 12 animals. These 12 animals include the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
The order of the lunar calendar was determined by the outcome of a race. The ox would have been first, but the rat jumped in front of the ox after the ox helped carry the rat across the river. The horse would have came after the dragon if it weren’t for the snake hiding behind the horse’s foot and scaring the…
