Chinese New Year: Explained

Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. In 2018, Chinese New Year begins on February 16 and marks the beginning of the Year of the Dog. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting. With the popular adoption of the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese joined in celebrating January 1 as New Year’s Day. China, however, continues to celebrate Chinese New Year with the traditional greeting, “Kung hei fat choi.”