What year do the Chinese celebrate January 1st?
Traditionally, Chinese New Year is celebrated according to the lunar calendar. Till this day, most Chinese people feel that the new year really begins only after the lunar New Year. Chinese people only started integrating the western calendar year a little over a century ago, recognizing January 1 as the start of the New Year. This is because when the Republic of China was founded, China began to use the Gregorian calendar, and "New Year's Day" literally means "the day of the beginning" in Chinese.
Editorial note: This distinction concerns calendar naming and public observance. Individual feelings and family practices around 'the real new year' vary and should not be generalized to all Chinese people.
Authoritative source: China Agricultural Museum: calendar naming history. Accessed August 5, 2026.
传统意义上的中国新年是按农历过的，现在人们也依然认为过了农历新年才是真正的一年的开始。中国人把1月1号作为新年来庆祝的历史刚刚过百年。这是因为当中华民国成立后，中国才开始用公历， “元旦”在中文里的字面意思就是“初始之日”的意思。
Frequently Asked Questions
What is January 1 called in Chinese?
January 1 is 元旦 (Yuándàn), the Gregorian New Year's Day.
Is 元旦 the same as Chinese New Year?
No. The traditional lunar New Year is normally called 春节 (Chūnjié), Spring Festival, and its Gregorian date changes each year.
When did the modern naming distinction begin?
An official cultural-history account places the distinction in 1912, when Gregorian January 1 was called 元旦 and lunar New Year was renamed 春节.
Scope: These answers summarize this article. Language and cultural usage can vary by context, speaker, region and time.
