Happy Lunar New Year of the Wood Dragon

The Chinese lunar calendar is, despite its name, a lunisolar calendar. It counts the length of time it takes for the moon to go around the Earth as a month, while still counting the time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun as one year. The outcome is the Chinese lunar calendar having a variable amount of days every year, sometimes even including an extra month!  

According to the Chinese Astrology Calendar, 2024 is the year of the Yang Green Wood Dragon. The first day of the 2024 (or 4722 Chinese Astrology Year) is February 10, 2024.

While Lunar New Year is commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, the holiday – which spans the first 15 days of the first month of the lunar calendar – is also celebrated across Asia and Southeast Asia in countries like Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Tibet, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Here are a few new year greetings from different traditions.

新年快樂 !    Happy Lunar New Year

Mandarin:          Xīn Nián Kuài Lè!

Cantonese:         Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Vietnamese:       Chúc Mừng Năm Mới!

Korean:         새해 복 많이 받으세요! Saehae Bog Manh-i Bad-Euseyo!

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