On Tuesday, people in many Asian countries began celebrating the Lunar New Year. It’s an important holiday in these countries, and many people travel to be with their families. This year, several religions also celebrate important holidays in the same week, and there’s even a solar eclipse.
The Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries, including China, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The holiday is based on the cycles of the moon, so the date changes every year. But it always falls between January 21 and February 20.
(Source: Cygz [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
In China, the holiday is sometimes called the Spring Festival. It’s the most important holiday of the year. People travel from all around China to be with their families. The Chinese government says that this year it expects roughly 9.5 billion trips will be made during the holiday. If so, that would set a new record.
The Lunar New Year is connected to the Chinese zodiac – a cycle of 12 years, with each year represented by an animal. The animals are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. This year is the Year of the Horse.
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During Lunar New Year, people travel from all around China to be with their families. The Chinese government says that this year it expects roughly 9.5 billion trips will be made during the holiday. If so, that would set a new record. Above, travelers at a train station in Shanghai, China on February 12.
But there’s a little more to it than that. The Chinese zodiac also has five “elements” – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The element changes every two years. This year’s element is fire, which makes this the Year of the Fire Horse. The last time there was a Year of the Fire Horse was 60 years ago.
This is a busy week for religious holidays. In addition to the Lunar New Year, the week also includes Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Ramadan.
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Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is the last day of the Carnival season, which is a period of celebration held in many countries around the world. Above, an alligator display during a Mardi Gras parade Sunday in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is the last day of the Carnival season, which is a period of celebration held in many countries around the world. Carnival is followed by Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent for Catholics. Lent is a period of fasting (not eating) and prayer. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 18.
Ramadan is a special month-long period of daytime fasting and prayer for Muslims. Like Lunar New Year, the start of Ramadan depends on the moon. This year, the start of Ramadan falls in the same week as the Lunar New Year. Muslims will begin observing Ramadan on either February 18 or 19 this year, depending on where they live and when the moon is first seen in that area.
It’s clear that the moon is playing a big part in special events this week. February 17 was the date for another one of those events. It wasn’t a holiday, but a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse happens when the moon comes between the sun and the Earth, blocking the sun’s light. Unfortunately, most people weren’t able to see yesterday’s eclipse, since the best spot for viewing it was in Antarctica.
