What’s the difference : Chinese New Year and Ours

We all know about New Year. Most of us know about Chinese New Year. But why don’t we celebrate them together? What’s so different about our 2 celebrations? Let’s find out!

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year originates all the way back to the Zhou Dynasty.  The festival’s purpose was to worship gods, nature, and future harvests. In 1949, however, Mao Zedong outlawed Chinese New Year due to the government previously acknowledging that the year started on January 1st in 1912. By the end of the  20th century, the government better acknowledged Chinese traditions. The most important symbols of the New Year are the Zodiac signs. According to tradition, the Jade Emperor invited every animal on earth to a race. In the end, only 12  species showed up. The emperor promised each animal a place in the yearly zodiac, arranged by who came in what place in the race.  It will be celebrated from February 17th- March 3rd in 2026.

New Year in the U.S.A

Believe it or not, New Year’s  has an interesting background ,  too. It dates back to over 4,000 years to the times of Ancient Babylon. Ancient Babylonians believed that the first new moon after a certain day in late March where sunlight and darkness was equal (called the vernal equinox), sparked off the new year. They held a major religious festival called Atiku, and celebrated  a different ritual during each of the 11 days the festival was celebrated. An early Roman calendar had only 10 months and 304 days. As the sun and the calendar fell out of sync, Julius Caesar made a new calendar, with January 1st the start of the new year!  Nowadays we  celebrate with fireworks and late nights, but we owe it to Ancient Rome and Ancient Babylon, (and so many others) for the great big celebration.                                                                 

The Difference?

Other than timing, origins,and general beliefs, there isn’t much of a contrast between the two holidays. I know, that might sound like a lot of differences, but think about it! In both celebrations you spend time with your family, friends, and watch the same fancy celebrations, whether fireworks or a dragon dancing down the streets, as the rest of your community.

Websites used:

https://worldtreasures.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-chinese-new-year=

https://www.history.com/articles/new-years