🏮 Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival?

Welcome to this week’s edition of China Decoded. Every year, as late January or February rolls around, a familiar debate sparks across international media, corporate PR departments, and online forums: Should we call it Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year?

What seems like a simple question of translation actually sits at a fascinating intersection of astronomy, historical copyright, and modern multiculturalism. Let’s decode the science and the sociology behind the biggest holiday in Asia.

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1. The Astronomical Flaw of “Lunar New Year”

If we look at this strictly through the lens of science, the popular English term “Lunar New Year” is actually a misnomer.

If the Chinese calendar were a purely lunar calendar (strictly following the moon’s phases without adjusting for the earth’s orbit around the sun)—like the Islamic Hijri calendar—its new year would shift backward by about 11 days every year. Eventually, the festival would drift into summer, and you’d be eating hot dumplings in June!

But that never happens. Why?

• The Lunisolar Reality: The traditional Chinese calendar is not a lunar calendar; it is a Lunisolar Calendar.

• The Moon (The Lunar part): Dictates the months (the 1st is a new moon, the 15th is a full moon).

• The Sun (The Solar part): Dictates the years and the 24 Solar Terms (guiding agriculture).

• The Leap Month: To align the moon’s cycles with the solar year, ancient Chinese astronomers invented an intercalary system. Roughly every three years, a “leap month” (闰月) is added.

This brilliant mathematical fix anchors the new year permanently between January 21 and February 20. It is scientifically impossible for it to drift into June. Therefore, the most scientifically accurate translation in English would be “Lunisolar New Year”—but that’s a bit too academic for a greeting card!

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2. Historical Copyright vs. Local Adaptation

If the calendar is fundamentally Chinese, shouldn’t it just be called Chinese New Year?

“If the language from England is called ‘English’ everywhere, shouldn’t the calendar invented in China be called ‘Chinese New Year’?” This is a brilliant linguistic analogy. It highlights the concept of Historical Copyright. Ancient China absolutely invented the mathematical and astronomical foundation of this calendar. Using “Chinese New Year” is entirely accurate, especially when referring to the specific cultural practices (red envelopes, dragon dances) that originated in China.

However, culture spreads differently than language. When this calendar system spread across Asia centuries ago, neighboring countries adopted the timing but completely localized the traditions.

• Vietnam celebrates Tết with square sticky rice cakes (Bánh chưng) and traditional Áo dài dresses.

• South Korea celebrates Seollal by eating sliced rice cake soup (Tteokguk) to symbolize growing a year older.

To these communities, it is a deeply authentic, local holiday—not a “Chinese” one. In Western countries with diverse Asian diasporas, the term Lunar New Year was popularized as an “umbrella term” by local governments and corporations to be inclusive of all these distinct cultures celebrating on the same day.

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3. The Friction Point: Erasure vs. Appropriation

This is where the debate becomes politically charged, involving concepts of cultural erasure and appropriation.

• The Fear of Erasure: For many Chinese, the aggressive push in the West to replace “Chinese New Year” with the generic “Lunar New Year”—especially when referring to specifically Chinese customs like red couplets or lion dances—feels like cultural erasure (去中国化). It is seen as a deliberate attempt to de-sinicize the festival and hide its origins to make it more palatable to a Western audience.

• The Avoidance of Appropriation: Conversely, insisting that a Vietnamese or Korean person is celebrating “Chinese New Year” can be viewed as a form of cultural insensitivity, forcing their unique national traditions under a foreign banner.

This tension makes the choice of words a potential minefield in international communication.

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4. The Ultimate Solution: The “Spring Festival”

Given that CNY can be exclusionary to other Asians, and LNY is scientifically inaccurate and offensive to some Chinese, what is the best path forward?

We recommend the most authentic, literal, and poetic translation of the modern Chinese name (春节): The Spring Festival.

• It’s Scientifically Sound: It honors the “solar” aspect of the calendar, as the date is tied to the solar term Li Chun (立春 - the Beginning of Spring).

• It’s Culturally Rich: It captures the true spirit of the holiday: bidding farewell to winter and welcoming the agricultural renewal of spring.

• It’s Neutral ground: It describes the essence of the festival without getting trapped in the “China vs. Lunar” political crossfire.

✅ Final Recommendation for our Readers

Context is everything. There is no single “correct” answer, but there are smarter choices:

• The Safest Bet for China Focus: When engaging specifically with Chinese counterparts or discussing Chinese traditions, use “The Spring Festival” or “Chinese New Year.” They are accurate and appreciated.

• The Most Respectful Approach: If you know someone is Vietnamese, wish them a "Happy Tết." If they are Korean, "Happy Seollal." Acknowledging specific cultural identities is always the highest form of respect.