According to the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, the first day of the new year comes when the new moon is at the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This places it between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 on the Gregorian calendar. Each year honors one of the 12 signs of the zodiac.

The occasion is marked with 15 days of observances and celebrations, including fireworks and firecrackers, dances, costumed parades and prayers. The last night of celebrations is the Lantern Festival, when people fill the street with lit paper lanterns.



The Chinese New Year is celebrated in communities worldwide, including New York’s Chinatown; the streets between Little Italy and the Financial District become a din of firecrackers, confetti and colorful revelry.

Here, New Yorkers celebrate the coming of the Year of the Rat in 1960.