All you need to know about the Chinese Year Of The Red Horse

San Gabriel hosts an annual Chinese Gala at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse in addition to its street festival. Neighboring Alhambra has also hosted a large festival since 1993 with many performances and street vendors. Monterey Park puts on the largest of such festivals, occupying 5 blocks in the city and attracting over 100,000 individuals. The Little Saigon area has hosted Tet celebrations since 1982 for its Chinese and Vietnamese communities.
We’ve mentioned a lot about the colour red in the celebrations and what it symbolises. The colour red is believed to bring positivity and happiness and also ward off evil spirits. The red envelopes are a token of good fortune and symbolise good luck. Another long‑standing tradition is passing red envelopes, known as Hóngbāo, to friends and family.
It is customary and polite for children to wish elders a happy new year and a year of happiness, health, and good fortune before accepting the red envelope. Red packets are generally given by married couples to the younger unmarried members of the family. In response, parents wrapped coins in red paper and placed them next to their children’s pillows. According to legend, a demon named Sui would pat a child on the head three times on New Year’s Eve, causing the child to have a fever.
The dates change every year because the festival is based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox. President Trump has warned of severe consequences if no nuclear deal is reached, while Iran demands sanctions relief as part of any agreement. US and Iranian officials are meeting in Geneva for a second round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman, amid rising tensions and military drills. The previous zodiac year, from January 29, 2025, to February 16, 2026, was the Year of the Wood Snake, representing a time to shed old habits, reassess what works, and trust inner wisdom.

Chinese New Year Traditions & Celebrations

There is Ringospin Casino a circle of 12 animals, including the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. While the date varies each year in the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year always occurs between January 21 and February 20. This festival is known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Seollal in Korea. Most of the world organises time through a solar year, in which time is measured by Earth’s revolution around the sun. Nearly a quarter of the world – across East Asian countries – pauses to celebrate the New Year, to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Today (February 17) marks Lunar New Year.

What animal is the Chinese New Year in 2026?

Word of the emperor’s gesture spread, and later it became the custom of people in general, who used Xuan paper instead of gold leaves. The poem describes people cleaning millet stacks, offering mijiu (rice wine) to guests, slaughtering lambs, visiting their master’s home, toasting him, and expressing wishes for longevity together. Before the new year celebration was established, ancient Chinese gathered and celebrated the end of the harvest in autumn.
This is also considered a propitious day to visit the temple of the God of Wealth and have one’s future told. Hakka villagers in rural Hong Kong in the 1960s called it the Day of the Poor Devil and believed everyone should stay at home. As this day is believed to be The Birthday of Che Kung, a deity worshipped in Hong Kong, worshippers go to Che Kung Temples to pray for his blessing.

What does the Year of the Horse mean?

Business people of the Cantonese dialect group will hold a Hoi Nin prayer to start their business on the second day of the Chinese New Year, blessing their business to thrive in the coming year. Some people do not offer a Buddhist prayer due to the influence of Christianity, with a Christian prayer offered instead. Confucianists take the opportunity to remember their ancestors, and those who had lived before them are revered. Any haircuts need to be completed before the New Year, as cutting hair on New Year is considered bad luck due to the homonymic nature of the word “hair” (fa) and the word for “prosperity”. Some people give their homes, doors, and window-frames a new coat of red paint; decorators and paper-hangers experience a year-end rush of business before the Chinese New Year.
The celebration attracts between 300,000 and 500,000 people yearly, according to the organisers. In London, celebrations take place in Chinatown, Leicester Square, and Trafalgar Square. Many people also celebrate by going to temples across Southern California, and the largest temple celebration is held at Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights. Starting in 2014, there are also larger celebrations at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa, which attract over 50,000 visitors.

Chinese New Year Calendar

Geomancy masters may interpret the data differently, but there is usually a consensus on what the year means for each zodiac animal based on the positions of the stars. Your personal zodiac animal sign is determined by your year of birth, meaning 2026 will welcome plenty of baby Horses. Whether you’re unfamiliar with the occasion or need a refresher, this guide to ushering in the Year of the Horse has you covered. Religious activities and preparations for Lunar New Year would begin on this day.

• Penang’s Chief Minister customarily hosts an “open house” for the public, while various other events take place across the city, including at the Chinese clan houses and the Snake Temple.
• The 15-day festival is about saying goodbye to the past year and, like the season of spring itself, symbolises renewal.
• In China, it is also common that on the 5th day people will shoot off firecrackers to get Guan Yu’s attention, thus ensuring his favour and good fortune for the new year.
• In the zodiac, they thrive in lively settings and are often seen as natural leaders and motivators.
• This story explains two important traditions—hanging red decorations and lighting firecrackers—representing victory over evil and a fresh start to the year.
• The preparation begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and the celebration lasts until the 15th of the first month.

The clever Snake coiled around the Horse’s hoof, managing to finish the race ahead of the Horse and causing the Horse to fall into the seventh place. According to Chinese mythology, the order of the zodiac animals was decided by a Great Race held by the Jade Emperor. The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle, with each year represented by a different animal. This story explains two important traditions—hanging red decorations and lighting firecrackers—representing victory over evil and a fresh start to the year.

• The seventh day of the Lunar New Year (February 23) is when followers believe the Chinese mother goddess, Nuwa, created humanity.
• It is still served as a special breakfast on this day in some Chinese homes.
• Since then, on every New Year’s Eve, parents have wrapped coins in red paper to protect their children.
• In 1928, the ruling Kuomintang party decreed that Chinese New Year would fall on 1 January of the Gregorian calendar, but this was abandoned due to overwhelming opposition.
• During Chinese New Year day, work at most establishments stops, and a favourite pastime is playing Mahjong with family or friends.
• Modern people set the Spring Festival on the first day of the first lunar month, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month (Lantern Festival), with New Year’s Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax.

The main parade, which sees over 100,000 spectators and involves more than 3,500 performers, is a notable highlight of the celebrations. With one of the largest Chinese populations outside of Asia, Sydney also boasts the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia, annually attracting over 600,000 attendees to the festivities in Chinatown. The Dragon dance and the Southern Lion dance are customarily performed on that day. The main events typically take place in the Chinatown area in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. During the week before New Year’s Day, spring cleaning in homes is performed.

Each flower has a symbolic meaning, and many Chinese people believe that it may usher in the values that it represents. During Chinese New Year day, work at most establishments stops, and a favourite pastime is playing Mahjong with family or friends. In some places, the taking of a family portrait is an important ceremony after the relatives are gathered. The colour red is commonly worn throughout Chinese New Year; traditional beliefs held that red could scare away evil spirits. In mainland China, the New Year’s Gala is broadcast by every TV station, featuring traditional performances and a message by the president. It is customary for gifts to be wrapped in red or golden paper, symbolizing good luck.
According to Chinese metaphysics consultant Vicki Iskandar, the Year of the Horse comes every 12 years and the last time “we had the Fire Horse as the ‘pillar’ of the year was in 1966”. The Chinese zodiac system combines a 12-year animal cycle with a 60-year elemental cycle created by pairing the five elements with yin and yang. The Vietnamese zodiac is slightly different, as it honours the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox. According to legend, as God prepared to depart from Earth, he invited all the animals to bid him farewell.
Chinese New Year, annual 15-day festival in China and Chinese communities around the world that begins with the new moon occurring sometime between January 21 and February 20, according to Western calendars. In Paris, since the 1980s, month-long celebrations have been held in several districts with many performances. Signed into law in 2022 and effective in 2023, California declared the Lunar New Year a state government holiday.
Rescued by humans, the horse later repaid their kindness by assisting in agriculture and warfare, earning distinction and ultimately being chosen as one of the twelve zodiac animals. The pairing of the twelve Earthly Branches with twelve symbolic animals created the well-known zodiac cycle that continues to influence cultural life today. Known as Yuan Xiao Jie in Chinese, this festival is famous for its Yuan Xiao (sweet rice balls), whose round shape symbolizes family unity and togetherness. The Lunar New Year celebrations conclude with the Lantern Festival, falling on March 3rd, 2026, which marks the first full moon of the lunar year. The third day of the new year, February 19th, 2026, is traditionally a day for visiting temples. Nowadays, unfortunately, the focus has shifted more toward the amount rather than the goodwill it represents.
On the sixth day, known as Horse’s Day, people drive away the Ghost of Poverty by discarding the garbage accumulated during the festival. In other regions with a longer Chinese New Year holiday, celebrations include welcoming back the gods who were previously sent off on this day. In communities that celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days, the fourth day marks the beginning of corporate “spring dinners” and the return to normal business operations.
According to legend, due to arrogance and misbehaviour, the horse’s wings were cut off and it was banished beneath Mount Kunlun. One popular narrative tells of the celestial horse, originally the Jade Emperor’s imperial steed. Beyond cosmological explanations, rich folk legends also recount the origin of the zodiac animals.
The first three days are filled with tributes to ancestors, festive games and foods such as rice cakes (tteokguk) and pancakes (jeon). In South Korea, for instance, the Lunar New Year festival is called Seollal. It’s believed these envelopes — known as hongbao/lai see — can protect children by warding off evil spirits, called sui. In many families, married people are expected to give out red packets filled with money to those who haven’t yet tied the knot — both children and unmarried juniors. For many followers, the Lunar New Year is an ideal time to visit a temple to make blessings depending on what the stars have to say about their particular zodiac sign for the coming months.