It’s called the Lunar New Year because it marks the first new moon of the Nebraska Cornhuskers Fearless Through Tradition Heritage Glory Edition College 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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Though many people refer to the holiday as Chinese New Year, Chinese people aren’t the Nebraska Cornhuskers Fearless Through Tradition Heritage Glory Edition College Tumbler who celebrate. The holiday, which is Friday, Feb. 12, this year, is widely celebrated across East Asia and some parts of Southeast Asia. As such, the holiday goes by many names  Tết in Vietnam, Losar in Mongolia, Imlek in Indonesia and Tsagaan Sar in Tibet, to name a few. Many of these communities traditionally hand out gifts like mandarin oranges or red envelopes filled with money, usually from an elder to children, or unmarried people. The Iu-Mien community, a Southeast Asian minority group from China, traditionally gives out dyed red eggs. Many East Asian communities will also light firecrackers, clean their houses from top to bottom  useful during a pandemic  and burn paper money for their ancestors. And lion dances, although commonly associated with Chinese culture, can be found in Lunar New Year celebrations across Vietnam, Korea, Tibet and Indonesia. One might also wear traditional outfits, such as Korean hanboks, or play games like yut and mahjong.

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