Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year based on the Chinese calendar and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. Chinese New Year is a time when families and friends get together to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. Chinese New Year is called " Spring Festival" (" Chun Jie" or "Nian" in Chinese) in China. According to the Chinese calendar, spring coincides with the new year.

The Chinese Calendar follows the lunar cycle, so Chinese New Year's day falls on a different date every year in the Western calendar. January 26th 2009 marks the start of the Year of the Ox.