Lunar New Year
Where can I find information about Lunar New Year?
(Years 7-10)
Image: Chinese New Year decorations and the Merlion statue, Sentosa, Singapore - 20150222 by C1815 on Wikimedia Commons.
Entry last updated: 29/07/25
Introduction
Lunar New Year is a festival celebrated in Asian cultures that marks the beginning of the new year. It is based on a lunar calendar and begins with the first new moon of the year, so the dates vary around January and February each year. This festival is celebrated by billions of people around the world and goes by different names depending on culture, such as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival.
Origin and history
Lunar New Year has been celebrated in different parts of the world for centuries. Have a look through these websites to find out more about the history of the festival and myths associated with it.
Britannica School is part of the EPIC databases that covers lots of different topics, and are put together especially for New Zealand school students. You will find here articles, images and videos on your topic. You may need login details to access Britannica.
Enter the keywords 'Lunar New Year' into the search box.
Choose the article Lunar New Year (festival) to find a short introduction to the history and customs of the festival.
Choose 'related' from the box near the top of the page to find related articles such as the Lantern Festival, and more about lunar calendars.
Tips: To get to the EPIC resources you will need a password from your school librarian first. Or you can chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6 pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online. Some EPIC databases may also be available through your public library.
You can find out about the festivities, food, calendars and colours of the Lunar New Year on National Geographic's website.
Start by doing a search using the keywords 'Lunar New Year'.
Choose the page Lunar New Year | Education.
There are three different tabs you can explore on this page, the article itself, vocabulary, and questions. Have a look through all three to see what you can learn.
Tips: Websites that have .org or .net in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the organisation’s mission and values are.
Articles on this website are written by literature writers and experienced instructors. It has a useful search feature at the top of the page.
Enter 'Lunar New Year' in the search box.
Now you can choose from a range of results like The History of Chinese New Year, and What Is Tet: All About Vietnamese New Year, and Nian - The Chinese Spring Festival.
Tips: Some websites have advertisements (or ads) which ask us to buy something or tell us to ‘click here’. It’s best to ignore these ads and focus on the information we’re looking for.
This website which is a guide for overseas tourists travelling to China, has a whole section on the history of the Chinese New Year festival, including how to celebrate it.
Look down the page to find the section on Chinese Culture.
Choose the link to Chinese New Year.
Find history from the menu bar on the left. This page has all the details of the evolution of this festival through the ages till 1948 when it became a nationwide public holiday.
Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are.
Customs and traditions
Lunar New Year is celebrated across many different cultures. Some of the traditions and customs will be similar between cultures and others may be quite different, so it is a good idea to be specific about which culture you are looking at. To do this, use keywords relating to the culture you are looking for, such as Chinese New Year, Seollal (Korean New Year), or Tết (Vietnamese Lunar New Year).
This EPIC database also has information about customs and traditions associated with different Lunar New Year festivities. Remember, you have to log in before you can use this, so ask your school librarian or chat with one of our AnyQuestions librarians between 1 and 6 pm Monday to Friday and they will help you online.
Enter your keywords, such as 'Chinese New Year' in the search box.
The Chinese New Year article is a good one to explore for this topic.
Remember to change your keywords to find different information, such as 'tet' which will lead you to the article Tết (Vietnamese Holiday).
This website from Wasai Digital Ventures is all about traditions and customs followed as a part of the celebrations.
Go to the menu for Traditions.
Explore links under Food & Drink and Celebration to find out about Food, Clothes and Decorations.
Under Customs find out about Taboos, Red Pockets and Myths.
Tips: Sometimes there is no 'About us' link on a website to tell us who owns the site. In that case we have to look for clues such as company ownership etc which we can then search on the internet to find out who they are and what are their values. Also dates on a website are useful signs that tells us if the site is current and up-to-date.
This Chinese travel website has useful information about China, its culture and Chinese New Year.
Go to Culture from the menu bar at the top of the page and select Chinese Festivals.
Look down the page and choose Chinese New Year.
This page has information on how to prepare for Chinese New Year and links to related articles on this festival.
Tips: Many web pages have links to further information or to other recommended sites. Following these links is a great way to find out more. This searching method is called “pearl growing” because you are picking up pieces of sand to make a beautiful pearl
Many libraries around New Zealand celebrate Lunar New Year, and you can find information about it on their websites. Check your local library to see if they have information for your area.
Look under What's On and choose Festivals, holidays and anniversaries.
Go down the page to find Lunar New Year, which has information about traditions and links to videos of librarians performing Lunar New Year songs.
There are also links to books and online resources on this page.
Tips: Websites that have .com or .co in the address can have good information, but you need to assess how reliable it is. Check the About us link on the website, if you can find one. That can tell you what the company’s mission and values are. We like this website because all the information is written by librarians.
Books
There are some great books on the celebration of Lunar New Year - check out your local public or school library to see what they have.
Some recommended titles are:
Lunar New Year by Natasha Yim
Lunar New Year around the world by Amanda Li
Chinese New Year : a celebration for everyone by Jen Sookfong Lee
Chinese New Year by Lisa J Amstutz.
SCIS no: 1908752
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