Lunar New Year is celebrated each year for 15 days across Asian countries with their own cultural dress and costumes to begin the New Year with good luck. In 2026, the Lunar New Year falls from February 17 to 31. While the Dos and Don’ts of the auspicious occasion differ from household to household, people have started to bring in their own new spin to the traditions as well!
For example, we all know the classic Red Envelope Traditions of giving good wishes and money to kids, but did you know what the Lunar New Year tree is that children decorate alongside their families? Well, get ready to read about the classics and the modern traditions of Lunar New Year to help you celebrate the bright festival in your home!
10 Lunar New Year Traditions (+ Modern Rituals)
1. Presenting/Receiving Red Envelopes
The ritual of the Red Envelope is among the most popular Lunar New Year traditions for good luck, where the elders or parents present the children with some crisp bills of money in a decorative red envelope, and the young are supposed to open it in private. Though it can be given to friends and acquaintances as well. This process represents love and hierarchy.
Modern Tradition: Digital Red Envelopes
Tech giants are not far behind when it comes to seizing an opportunity. That’s why, from the 2010s, platforms such as WeChat and Alibaba have introduced the option to send virtual red envelopes, “Hongbao,” to others!
2. House Cleansing
Falling in February, Lunar New Year traditions like the thorough house cleaning before its inception come a month or two earlier than the general spring cleaning frenzy. But that’s okay; it’s also a Spring Festival! It makes your home ready, all prepped and polished during the start of the year as an extra advantage! Ritualistically, it is said to take away all the bad luck from the last year with it and start the new year afresh.
Dr. Jianguo Chen, an associate professor of Chinese at the University of Delaware, comments on the ritual:
“It is customary for people to completely clean their houses to get rid of bad fortune from the old year.”
Modern Habit: Crocheting Lunar New Year Symbols
The modern way for Lunar New Year for kids and creatives has to be creating beautiful elements or symbols of the auspicious occasion, such as the Red Envelope, Lantern, or the Lion! People may actually get the pattern and create the craft themselves or buy the crafted piece to decorate the house.
People may actually get the pattern and create the craft themselves or buy the crafted piece to decorate the house.
3. Bathing in Floral Water
On New Year’s Eve, you can infuse your tub with fragrance or medicinal herbs/ plants such as ginger or pomelo leaves, which are supposed to cleanse both the body and the mind.
Modern Tradition: Lunar New Year Christmas Tree
Another decorating trend that first took over social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok. Now, the homes of many people and diaspora are an addition to keeping your Christmas Tree from December through February-March.
The activity of Lunar New Year for kids gives opportunities to the whole family to come together and see the Christmas tree in a new light, with red envelopes and golden ornaments replacing the common baubles and trinkets we usually put on our December trees!
4. Wearing Red And Golden
The bright colors of the Lunar New Year, which you’ll find in most households in China, Vietnam, and Korea, symbolize luck and prosperity.
Modern Update: Lunar New Year Nails
From clothes to another pretty feature of fashion, most probably applied by women, Lunar New Year Nails take over social media during February! Women post different designs in the aforementioned shades and the Lunar New Year Zodiac on each nail for depth and design!
5. Wishing on a Wishing Tree
You can go to temples, popular forest areas, or set up one houseplant in your home for this fun activity, where you tie up your wish or throw up your lantern or red envelope decor, or to see if it sticks up in the wishing tree. It means your wish will come true this year!
Modern Alternative: DIY Lunar New Year Money Tree
The money tree placed inside your house can mean literal incoming money or prosperity! Decorate the small plant any way you want, with DIY banners or store-bought decor!
6. Lunar New Year Tablescape
Usually, the grandest meal with authentic dishes and gold and red decor will be set on day one to offset Lunar New Year traditions around the world, with all the family members for a beautiful year, but it can be arranged on any day.
Gen Z Habit: Lunar New Year Legos
Lunar New Year Legos have been a big hit in the market for the past few years, where not only kids but also enthusiasts of any age get the special Festival set to commemorate the year!
7. Setting A Table Of Fruit For Elders
Just like the parents hand out the red envelope filled with money to their children, children are traditionally said to set aside a tray of fruit. The elders or the parents choose from the variety, including mango, mandarin, and apple, each symbolizing something about their life.
Modern: Lunar New Year Photoshoots
Family portraits across the years can change, and it’s always exciting to look back and see your love’s phases, especially captured with the most important relationships on an auspicious occasion.
8. The Lion Dance
The ritualistic lion dance usually seen in parades is a symbol of good luck in a community! Nancy Yao Maasbach, assistant dean at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale and former president of MOCA, the Museum of Chinese in America, quotes on the importance of the Lunar New Year traditions around the globe:
“It’s a very traditional southern Chinese Cantonese dance. It is supposed to ward off devil spirits and to really welcome a new, prosperous, and healthy year.”
Modern Choice: Sustainable Decor
Environmentally friendly and biodegradable paper decorations for the lanterns and red envelopes have been attracting a lot of people. Once gifted, you can recycle the paper, and some even transform it into plants. Now, that’s a real example of growth and renewal.
9. Lighting Firecrackers
Lunar New Year 2026, just like every year, started with bright firecrackers lighting up the sky, metaphorically warding off evil spirits lurking!
10. Cooking and Eating Lucky Foods
Every region has its own set of traditional Lunar New Year foods, which are said to bring prosperity. The most common ones included mandrine, dumplings, and long noodles (which are avoided being cut.)
FAQs
Q. What do Lunar New Year zodiac animals mean?
2026 is the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac sign. But what does it mean? Every Lunar New Year is the year of a particular animal, like Snake (last year), Dragon, or Rabbit, out of the 12, which people receive according to their birth year. And the year of the animal seems to be lucky for those!
Q. What should you avoid doing during the Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year traditions for good luck come with a big set of dos and don’ts that vary, but some common superstitions/beliefs include a ban on book buying, cleaning, using harsh language, and cutting hair for the period of the Lunar New Year.
We started our list with the preparation that people do before Lunar New Year celebrations around the world, with spring cleaning. But, once the 15-day period begins, a 360° turn takes place, and you are not supposed to clean your house or even wash or cut your hair! It’ll symbolize sweeping your luck away.
