Lunar New Year
English
Pronunciation
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Noun
Lunar New Year (countable and uncountable, plural Lunar New Years)
- An annual holiday of several cultures that marks the beginning of a new year according to a lunar or lunisolar calendar, as opposed to a new year dictated by a solar calendar such as the Julian or Gregorian calendars.
- 2015 April 24, Euan McKirdy, “What a send-off: China's funeral strippers told to cover up”, in CNN[1], archived from the original on 24 April 2015:
- Photos obtained by CNN from an attendee at a village funeral in Cheng'an County in Hebei Province show mourners of all ages, including children, watching the performance.
The attendee, who asked not to be identified, said he was visiting family during the Lunar New Year holiday. While he was there, one of the elderly villagers died so he went to the funeral.
Usage notes
- In the western world, this term was commonly used to refer to the start of a lunar/lunisolar calendar other than the traditional Chinese calendar, such as Babylonian, Hindu, Islamic, and various other Old World systems. When referring to an East Asian culture's new year (such as Chinese, Mongolian, Korean, or Vietnamese), "Chinese New Year" is sometimes colloquially used (although this usage is often proscribed) regardless of nationality due to the Chinese being the most commonly known practitioners of a lunar calendar. (The Japanese replaced their lunar calendar with the Gregorian following the Meiji Restoration).
- In the 2010s and 2020s, "Lunar New Year" became used more often in English to describe East Asian celebrations as it is considered more inclusive of various communities than "Chinese New Year"; this push grew in popularity in the United States, then spread elsewhere in the English-speaking world, including in non-Chinese East Asian Englishes.
- By contrast, Chinese nationalists often prescribe the use of "Chinese New Year" regardless of nationality in accordance with their claim that the celebration of this holiday is rooted in Chinese culture and was only adopted because of Chinese influence in the region.
Related terms
- Chinese New Year
- Vietnamese New Year
Translations
Lunar New Year
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