Question by Danielle Touchette: What is the difference between chinese new year and japanese new year?
I am doing a school project and i need to know the difference between chinese and japanese new year
most beneficial reaction:
Answer by James
well……ones chinese and ones japanese
Add your own answer in the comments!
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Well simply speaking, Japanese New Year is like the western culture. It’s celebrated on January 1st every year. But Chinese New Year follows the Chinese calendar and relates to the moon. In our calendar, it is usually somewhere between January 20 ~ February 21 (according to Wikipedia), but the dates are are different each year.
Oh, but Japan did used to follow the Chinese Calendar in ancient times. But they adopted our calendar later.
& you haven’t tried wikipedia have you? At least TRY to do your own work! It’s not that hard to read Wikipedia.
You can find out the difference in dates between the Chinese and Japanese New Year anywhere, but being a Chinese myself I’ll add a bit – the Chinese celebration is around January 20-30 (differs every year).
Since old times China used to follow the lunisolar calendar, which differs from the Georgian calendar we now commonly use. The lunisolar calendar does more than telling the dates – it clearly defines the seasons, and accurately projects the dates for good harvests and such so many farmers and traditional Chinese still refer to the lunisolar calendar. By the lunisolar calendar the year begins on the Chinese New Year, hence the name.
Translated literally, 春节, the proper Chinese name for “Chinese New Year”, means “Spring Festival”, which can also be understood to be a celebration to welcome spring.
Lastly note the Chinese New Year is the biggest festival/tradition/date in China, but Chinese also celebrate the Georgian New Year (January 1st).
Like above said, Japan used to follow Chinese traditions, now they follow the Georgian calendar completely.
Next year, our Chinese friends will celebrate Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger) on Feb.14, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as Chúxī. It literally means “Year-pass Eve”.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction.
As for Japanese New year, the Japanese celebrate New Year’s Day on January 1 each year on the Gregorian Calendar. Before 1873, the date of the Japanese New Year (正月, shōgatsu?) was based on the Chinese lunar calendar and celebrated at the beginning of spring, just as the contemporary Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese New Years are celebrated to this day. However, in 1873, five years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, so the first day of January is the official New Year’s Day in modern Japan. It is considered by most Japanese to be one of the most important annual festivals and has been celebrated for centuries with its own unique customs.
And speaking of Chinese New Year, check out: http://www.childbook.com/Chinese-New-Year-Events-Parades-and-Festivals-s/126.htm