When is Chinese New Year 2026?
Chinese New Year 2026 falls on Tuesday, 17 February 2026. It begins the Year of the Horse (马年, mǎ nián). The date moves each year because the festival — also called the Spring Festival, 春节 (chūnjié) — follows the lunar calendar, falling on the second new moon after the winter solstice, so it lands between late January and mid-February.
The celebration is not a single day: it runs for about fifteen days, ending with the Lantern Festival, 元宵节 (yuánxiāo jié). It is the most important holiday in the Chinese year, and the world’s largest annual human migration as people travel home to family.
How to say Happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin
Happy New Year — the all-purpose greeting, literally “new year happy”.
Happy Spring Festival — 春节 (chūnjié) is the Chinese name for the holiday.
Wishing you prosperity — the classic festive greeting, especially in the south. Children who say it are often given a red envelope in reply.
Great luck in the Year of the Horse — 马 (mǎ) is horse, the 2026 zodiac animal.
The customs, and what they mean
The reunion dinner
On New Year’s Eve, families gather for 年夜饭 (nián yè fàn), the reunion dinner — the most important meal of the year. Dishes are chosen for what their names sound like: fish, 鱼 (yú), sounds like 余 “surplus”, so a whole fish means abundance for the year ahead.
Red envelopes
Elders give children and unmarried younger relatives 红包 (hóngbāo) — red envelopes containing money — for good luck. Red is the colour of the festival everywhere: on couplets pasted by the door, on lanterns, and on clothes.
Cleaning, then not cleaning
Homes are cleaned thoroughly before the New Year to sweep out the old year’s bad luck — but sweeping on New Year’s Day itself is avoided, because you might sweep the fresh good fortune straight out the door.
Fireworks and the lion dance
Firecrackers and the lion and dragon dances are meant to drive off 年 (nián), a mythical beast, and welcome a loud, bright, lucky start to the year.
From the greetings to a real conversation — study Mandarin with a teacher at MOON Academy.