This year Lunar New Year begins on January 29th, 2025, and this time it’s the Year of the Snake!
There are twelve zodiac animals in total, and the snake is the sixth of them. Zodiac signs are an important part of Chinese culture and can help individuals make important life decisions throughout the year.
Here are a few more facts about the Year of the Snake to help you celebrate the occasion:
The snake represents wisdom and quick thinking
In Chinese culture, people born in the Year of the Snake are thought to share certain characteristics such as intelligence and charm. The snake is one of the most mysterious of the zodiac animals and is said to have a calm and cautious nature.
To bring luck and positive energy, the positive symbols for those born in the Year of the Snake include the lucky colours black, red and yellow and the numbers 2, 8 and 9.
2025 is the year of the Wood Snake
Each year of the zodiac is also associated with one of five elements: fire, earth, gold, water and wood. The last year of the Wood Snake was 1966. People born in this year are thought to be hard-working and good communicators with friends and family. This is good news for those born in the Year of the Ox and Rooster as they are good friends of the Snake.
The snake came sixth in the Great Race
When the Jade Emperor said that the order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which the animals arrived at his party, the clever snake quickly thought of a way to cross the river without having to swim. The snake’s surprising plan involved climbing onto the Horse’s leg and waiting patiently for exactly the right moment. As all the animals crossed the river and approached the finish line, the Snake jumped off first to beat the Horse, who arrived in seventh place.
This festival is called the Lunar New Year because of the calendar it is based on.
It starts with a new moon and ends on the following full moon. This year, Chinese New Year falls on January 28th 2025, but the date changes every year because it’s based on the lunar calendar.
Chinese New Year has been celebrated for over 3000 years
Chinese New Year is the most important of all traditional festivals for the people in China. It has its roots deep in antiquity and has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years.
The Lunar New Year is celebrated worldwide
Because Chinese New Year is celebrated worldwide, many people refer to it as the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is celebrated in many different places, including Vietnam, the United States, and South Korea. Each country celebrates slightly differently, but the festival is always a holiday for family, fun, and friendship.
Taboos and superstitions
There are several taboos and superstitions about gifts and what you can and can’t do during Chinese New Year. One is that you can’t give pears as a gift for Chinese New Year, as the word for pear (lee) sounds the same as the word for leaving (lí). Another is that you can’t wash your hair on the first day of the Lunar New Year, as this is seen as washing all the good luck away.
Sending away evil demons with bamboo
Before fireworks were invented, bamboo was burned to send away evil demons. Once fireworks and firecrackers were invented, they replaced the burning bamboo as fireworks are much louder and scare demons away much more easily!
Always give in sets of 8…
Money and gifts are given in sets of 8. Another superstition, the number 8 is considered to be the luckiest number. If your gifts are given in sets of 8, you get extra luck for the year!
But never in sets of 4!
Contrastingly, you should never give gifts or money in sets of 4! This is extremely unlucky as the number ‘4’ in Chinese sounds like the word for death.
For more fun facts, check out our free Lunar New Year Pack for 2025 including a beautiful range of illustrations for children to colour in, representing the animals of the Chinese zodiac and a guide on how to count to 10 in Chinese.
Are you celebrating the Lunar New Year? Share your ideas and activities with us on social media by tagging us and by using the hashtag #ExploreWithEYR.
