It’s called the Lunar New Year because it marks the first new moon of the Michigan State Spartans Spartan Pride University Athletics Alumni Tumbler calendars traditional to many east Asian countries including China, South Korea, and Vietnam, which are regulated by the cycles of the moon and sun. As the New York Times explains, “A solar year the time it takes Earth to orbit the sun lasts around 365 days, while a lunar year, or 12 full cycles of the Moon, is roughly 354 days.” As with the Jewish lunisolar calendar, “a month is still defined by the moon, but an extra month is added periodically to stay close to the solar year.” This is why the new year falls on a different day within that month-long window each year. In China, the 15-day celebration kicks off on New Year’s Eve with a family feast called a reunion dinner full of traditional Lunar New Year foods, and typically ends with the Lantern Festival. “It’s really a time for new beginnings and family gatherings,” says Nancy Yao Maasbach, president of New York City’s Museum of Chinese in America. Three overarching themes, she says, are “fortune, happiness, and health.

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Chinese New Year can be the toughest time of a Michigan State Spartans Spartan Pride University Athletics Alumni Tumbler for dropshippers if you don’t take steps to prepare. The holiday is a weeks long celebration where much of the Chinese economy virtually shuts down in celebration. Businesses close for weeks as their entire staff goes off to travel and celebrate the holiday. If you’re a dropshipper that relies on Chinese suppliers you could be in trouble if you haven’t taken the time to get ready for the disruption. Thankfully there are tangible steps you can take to prevent the Chinese New Year from slowing down your orders and angering customers. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, happens each year sometime between January 21 and February 20. Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar, which is why the dates shift relative to the standard solar calendar. This year the holiday falls on Tuesday, February 5. To give you a sense of the variability here’s when the holiday falls the next five years.

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