Chinese New Year 2027: Saturday, February 6

Lunar New Year from 2026 to 2032

The dates jump between late January and mid-February. The pattern follows the leap months of the Chinese calendar: in a year that contains a thirteenth month, the next new year comes late; in the years without one, it comes about eleven days earlier than the year before. The mini-tool under the summary gives the date and animal for any year from 2026 to 2032.

The rule, in astronomical terms

Each Chinese month begins on the day of a new moon, the moment the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, reckoned in the time zone of Beijing. The winter solstice, described on the first day of winter page, must fall in the eleventh month. Counting forward from the month that contains the solstice, the new year starts with the second new moon after it, except in the rare years when a leap eleventh or twelfth month intervenes. In the years shown here, 2026 to 2032, that exception does not occur, so the two-new-moon rule gives every date in the table.

The program calculates new moons with the method of Jean Meeus, which is precise to within a minute for these years, converts each one to China Standard Time and takes its calendar day. A new moon that falls shortly before midnight in Beijing could in principle land on the wrong day with a cruder method; the dates here are checked against the published holiday lists for that reason.

Lunar New Year in the United States

The day is not one of the eleven federal holidays, so federal offices, banks and post offices work normally, and the New York Stock Exchange trades a full day. The 2027 new year falls on a Saturday in any case. Several states and large school districts with significant Asian American populations recognize the day, either as a school holiday or as an optional day off for state employees, and the rules vary; check your state or district calendar.

Celebrations spread over about two weeks, from the new year's eve family dinner to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, which in 2027 falls on February 20. Parades in large cities are often held on a weekend near that period rather than on the day itself.

Other calendars around the same time

Lunar New Year in 2027 falls two days before the estimated start of Ramadan, a month that also begins with a new moon but whose start depends on sighting the crescent; the Ramadan page explains the difference. It also comes eight days before Valentine's Day, which in 2027 falls on a Sunday.