What is the Lunar New Year? How Asian communities celebrate across the world

On Tuesday 17 February, Asian communities around the world will ring in the Year of the Horse with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks and, other festivities. In many Asian countries, it is a festival that is celebrated for several days. In diaspora communities, particularly in cultural enclaves, Lunar New Year is visibly and joyfully celebrated.

In the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Horse. Different countries across Asia celebrate the new year in many ways and may follow a different zodiac.

The Lunar New Year — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated in several Asian countries. In Indonesia, it is celebrated with dragon puppets and drum displays. It is also widely observed by diaspora communities around the world.

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It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. Because the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the dates of the holiday vary slightly each year, falling between late January and mid-February.

Each year honours an animal based on the Chinese zodiac. The circle of 12 animals — the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig — measure the cycles of time. Legend has it that a god beckoned all animals to bid him farewell before his departure from Earth and only 12 of them showed up. The Vietnamese zodiac is slightly different, honouring the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox.

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In Chinese culture, the horse stands as a revered symbol of freedom, vitality, and unbridled ambition. These creatures, celebrated for their speed and independent spirit, are seen to resent any form of restraint. For the year 2026, this powerful symbolism points towards a period ripe for channelling new opportunities and embracing significant transformation.

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One well-known ancient legend speaks of Nian, a hideous monster that feasted on human flesh on New Year’s Day. Because the beast feared the colour red, loud noises and fire, people put up red paper dragons on their doors, burned red lanterns all night and set off firecrackers to frighten and chase away the monster.

To this day, the Lunar New Year celebration is centred around removing bad luck and welcoming all that is good and prosperous. Red is considered an auspicious colour to ring in the new year. In many Asian cultures, the colour symbolises good fortune and joy. People dress in red attire, decorate their homes with red paper lanterns and use red envelopes to give loved ones and friends money for the new year. Gambling and playing traditional games is common during this time across cultures.

Ancestor worship is also common. Many Korean families participate in a ritual called “charye,” where female family members prepare food and males serve it to ancestors. The final step of the ceremony, called “eumbok,” involves the entire family partaking the food and seeking blessings from their ancestors for the coming year. Vietnamese people cook traditional dishes and place them on a home altar as a mark of respect to their ancestors.

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Some Indigenous people also celebrate Lunar New Year this time of year, including members of Mexico’s Purepecha Indigenous group.

Members of Asian American communities around the U.S. also organise parades, carnivals and festivities around the Lunar New Year featuring lion and dragon dances, fireworks, traditional food and cultural performances. In addition to cleaning their homes, many buy new things for their home such as furniture and decorate using orchids and other brightly coloured flowers.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated as a cultural event by some Asian American Christians and is observed by several Catholic dioceses across the U.S. as well as other churches.

Each culture has its own list of special foods during the new year, including dumplings, rice cakes, spring rolls, tangerines, fish and meats. In the Chinese culture, for example, “changshou mian” or “long-life noodles” are consumed with a wish for a long, healthy and happy life. In Vietnamese culture, banh chung and banh tet — traditional dishes made from glutinous rice — are a must. To make a banh tet, banana leaves are lined with rice, soft mung beans and pork belly and rolled into a tight log, which is then wrapped in the leaves and tied up with strings. Koreans celebrate with tteokguk, a brothy soup that contains thinly sliced rice cakes. Warm bowls of snake soup are also on the menu in some Hong Kong snake shops, as the Lunar New Year approaches.