Chinese New Year 2027

What this countdown tracks

Chinese New Year 2027 – the most important festival in the Chinese-speaking world – falls on Saturday February 6, 2027, marking the start of the Year of the Fire Goat (or Sheep, depending on translation). The fifteen-day Spring Festival runs from February 6 through the closing Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao) on February 20, 2027.

About Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival (Chunjie) in mainland China, is the most important annual celebration in the Chinese cultural sphere – observed in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam (as Tết), South Korea (as Seollal), Mongolia (as Tsagaan Sar), and across the global Chinese diaspora estimated at over 50 million people. It is the year's largest annual human migration: China's chunyun travel rush around Spring Festival regularly counts over 9 billion passenger trips in the 40-day window – more than the entire population of the planet.

The festival is at least 3,000 years old in some form, with origins in agricultural rituals and ancestral worship dating to the Shang dynasty. The modern festival's structure was largely codified during the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), and many of its central customs – the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, the red couplets at doorways, firecrackers to scare away evil spirits, and red envelopes (hongbao) of money for children – are documented in Chinese sources from at least the Tang and Song dynasties.

The festival is anchored to the twelve-year zodiac cycle (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, pig) and the five-element cycle (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), giving each year a unique sixty-year sexagenary designation. 2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat (Ding Wei) – associated in Chinese astrological tradition with creativity, peace-loving temperaments, and a softer, more artistic character than the preceding Year of the Horse.

How it's observed

Spring Festival opens on New Year's Eve (Chuxi) – February 5, 2027 – with the family reunion dinner (nianyefan), the year's most important meal. Families gather across distances; multiple generations sit at one table; the dishes are heavy with auspicious symbolism. Whole fish (yú, a homophone of "abundance") signals "may you have surplus year after year"; dumplings (jiaozi, shaped like ancient gold ingots) signal wealth; sweet rice cake (niangao, a homophone of "year by year higher") signals progress; long noodles (changshou mian) signal long life. After dinner, families stay up late watching the CCTV New Year Gala (Chunwan), the world's most-watched television broadcast, drawing over 1 billion viewers.

At midnight, fireworks explode across cities – though many Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou now restrict fireworks within urban limits. New Year's Day (February 6) is for visiting relatives and giving red envelopes (hongbao) of cash to children, traditionally containing amounts ending in even numbers and avoiding 4 (a homophone of "death"). Older relatives give to younger ones; married couples give to unmarried.

Each of the fifteen days has its own significance. Day 2 is for visiting the wife's family. Day 5 is for welcoming the God of Wealth (Caishen). Day 7 is the people's birthday (Renri), when everyone is considered to age by one year. Day 9 is the birthday of the Jade Emperor, especially celebrated by Hokkien Chinese. Day 15 closes the festival with the Lantern Festival – families gather to eat tangyuan (sweet glutinous rice balls), watch lantern displays in parks and city squares, and admire dragon and lion dances in the streets. The festival's signature decorations are red couplets (chunlian) pasted on doorways, paper-cut window decorations, and lucky-character papers turned upside down (to make fu dao, "luck arrives," a homophone of "luck upside down").

Why this date specifically

Chinese New Year falls on the first day of the first lunar month – the day of the new moon closest to the start of spring (lichun). The Chinese calendar is lunisolar: each month begins on the day of the astronomical new moon at 120°E (China Standard Time), and the year's twelve months are augmented by an intercalary thirteenth month in seven of every nineteen years to keep the calendar aligned with the solar year. In 2027, the new moon falls on February 6, making it Chinese New Year. The festival can fall as early as January 21 and as late as February 20 in different years – it fell on January 29 in 2025, February 17 in 2026, and now February 6 in 2027; January 26 in 2028.

What to watch for / notable observances in 2027

• February 5, evening – nianyefan (reunion dinner) and the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
• February 6 – first day of the Year of the Fire Goat; fireworks at midnight; lion-dance troupes
• February 7 – Day 2; married daughters return to their parents' home with husbands
• February 11 – Day 6; offices traditionally reopen after the long break
• February 14 – Day 9; Jade Emperor's birthday, marked especially in Hokkien communities
• February 20 – Day 15; Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao); tangyuan eaten; lantern displays in parks
• Public holiday: 7 days in mainland China; 3 days in Hong Kong; up to 7 days in Taiwan; 2 days each in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines
• chunyun travel rush: over 9 billion passenger trips in the 40-day window
• Major Chinese New Year parades in San Francisco, New York, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver

Related festivals to track

Chinese New Year 2027 is followed in the Chinese calendar by Qingming (April 5, 2027), the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival in September. Vietnamese Tết and Korean Seollal coincide with Chinese New Year on February 6, 2027. The family overview is at the Chinese festival hub. For comparable lunisolar-calendar new years in other traditions, see Rosh Hashanah 2026 and the Hindu Ugadi.

FAQ

When is Chinese New Year in 2027? Saturday February 6, 2027 – the start of the Year of the Fire Goat.

How is Chinese New Year observed? Through the family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, fireworks at midnight, red envelopes (hongbao) of money for children, family visits, lion and dragon dances, and the closing Lantern Festival on Day 15.

Is Chinese New Year a public holiday? Yes – seven days in mainland China; three days in Hong Kong; up to seven in Taiwan; two days each in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines.

What is the typical greeting? "Xin Nian Kuai Le" (新年快乐 – happy new year) in Mandarin; "San Nin Faai Lok" (新年快樂) in Cantonese; "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (恭喜发财 – wishing you prosperity) is the wish for wealth.