Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year.mp4

A lunisolar calendar uses the sun and the moon to keep track of time.

How do calendars use the sun and the moon to keep track of time?

From Earth, it looks like the sun and moon move and change as time passes. Many calendars use these changes to keep track of time.

Solar calendars, such as the Gregorian calendar, use only the sun. But the Chinese calendar is lunisolar. It uses both types of changes.

Even though the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, people call a year in the Chinese calendar a lunar year.

Year Chinese lunar year begins

2018 February 16

2019 February 5

2020 January 25

2021 February 12

The date in each row of the table is different. On the Gregorian calendar, the first day of the Chinese lunar year changes each year. This day is always in January or February. The day changes because the two calendars do not match up.

Why don't the calendars match up?

A year in the Gregorian calendar is one solar year. A solar year is the time it takes for the earth to go around the sun. But the Chinese calendar is different. Each year is 12 or 13 lunar months. Look at the picture to learn more about lunar months.

As the moon moves around the earth, it looks different from night to night. A lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the moon to go through these changes.

How long is a lunar month?

A lunar month is usually 29 days. That's shorter than most months on the Gregorian calendar. So, most years in the Chinese calendar are shorter than the solar year. The Chinese calendar adds an extra month to some years to make up the difference.

The Chinese calendar in the pictures below show the 12 animals that years are named after. The animal names start over every 12 years. So, Chinese calendars often show the 12 animals in a circle.