Lunar New Year
English
Etymology
Lunar + New Year
Noun
Lunar New Year (plural Lunar New Years)
- An annual holiday of several cultures that marks the beginning of a new year according to a lunar or lunisolar calendar, as opposed to a new year dictated by a solar calendar such as the Julian or Gregorian calendars.
- 2015 April 24, McKirdy, Euan, “What a send-off: China's funeral strippers told to cover up”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 April 2015:
- Photos obtained by CNN from an attendee at a village funeral in Cheng'an County in Hebei Province show mourners of all ages, including children, watching the performance.
The attendee, who asked not to be identified, said he was visiting family during the Lunar New Year holiday. While he was there, one of the elderly villagers died so he went to the funeral.
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Usage notes
- In the western world, this term is commonly used to refer to the start of a lunar/lunisolar calendar other than the traditional Chinese calendar, such as Babylonian, Hindu, Islamic, and various other Old World systems. When referring to an East Asian culture's new year (such as Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, or Vietnamese), "Chinese New Year" is colloquially used regardless of nationality due to the Chinese being the most commonly known practitioners of a lunar calendar. Exception are the Japanese, who replaced their lunar calendar with the Gregorian following the Meiji Restoration.
- In the 2010s and 2020s, "Lunar New Year" became used more often in English, particularly in the United States, to describe East Asian celebrations as it is considered more inclusive of various communities than "Chinese New Year".
Related terms
- Chinese New Year
Translations
Lunar new year — see Chinese New Year
See also
- Al Hijrah
- Chunjie
- Seollal
- Tet
- Tsagaan Sar