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Red lanterns

5 February 2024

It’s Lunar New Year: Happy Year of the Dragon!

Did you know Saturday 10 February 2024 is the start of the Lunar New Year? It’s the first day of the traditional lunar calendar, a calendar determined by the position of the moon. It’s also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival and has been celebrated for centuries around the world by millions of people of Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and other Asian heritages.

This year is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac – every year is assigned one of twelve animals. The Dragon is the fifth sign of the zodiac. According to folklore, the order of the zodiac was determined by the order in which the animals arrived at the Jade Emperor’s party, with the Dragon having come fifth. In some versions of the story, when asked why they didn’t arrive first even though the Dragon can fly, the Dragon replies that they stopped to help others along the way, showing their generous nature.

Dragons are said to be confident, generous, idealistic and ambitious. You can find out which animal you are here.

Traditionally the festival was an opportunity to honour deities and ancestors, but today, Lunar New Year is all about spending time with friends and family, giving gifts and good wishes, and feasting on symbolic foods. 

How to celebrate Lunar New Year



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