Chinese New Year Holidays

Chinese New Year Public Holiday Observations

Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories with large populations of ethnic Chinese.  Chinese New Year customs also has had a strong influence on the New Year celebrations of its neighbors, such as Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, etc. 

Since Chinese New Year falls on different dates on the Gregorian calendar and on different days of the week, some of these countries opt to shift working days in order to accommodate a longer public holiday. Also like many other countries in the world, a statutory holiday is added on the following work day when the New Year falls on the weekend.

China - The first seven days of Chinese New Year

Taiwan - The first five days of Chinese New Year

Hong Kong and Macau - The first three days of Chinese New Year

Malaysia - The first two days of Chinese New Year

Singapore – The first three days of Chinese New Year

Brunei and Indonesia - The first day of Chinese New Year

Other countries

Vietnam - Vietnamese celebrate their New Year or Tết on the same day as they follow the Chinese lunar calendar.  It’s a 3-day public holiday. However, because of the time difference between Hanoi and Beijing (China), Vietnamese New Year or Tết may differ from the Chinese lunar calendar by a day every 22nd or 23rd year.

Korea – Korean now follow the Gregorian calendar for business and academic purposes, but lunar new year is still marked with a 3-day holiday, compared to a single day of holiday on January 1st.

Other Official Acknowledgements

Some countries around the world regularly issue postage stamps and/or numismatic coins to commemorate Chinese New Year to recognize the significant number of their citizens who are of Chinese origin.  Some of these countries include Australia, Canada, Christmas Island, El Salvador, France, United States, Philippines.