This festival is celebrated by a quarter of the world's population, and today we're going to deep dive into how China celebrates it, the origins of it, and the controversy surrounding it now.
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Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:41 How the Ancient Chinese viewed time + myths
7:26 Ty Talk2me!
9:02 Chinese New Year superstitions + fooood
16:03 The Lunar New Year vs Chinese New Year debate
20:04 Conclusion
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References + my thoughts
80% of this video came from one absolute goldmine of a paper, and that is from Professor Haiwang Yuan's 2016 paper on the origins of the new year. It's an amazinggg read!! I couldn't cover everything from his paper but I loved it so much so definitely check it out!
If you want more info on the lunisolar calendar, check out 李永乐老师 (linked below) if you're a mandarin speaker for a more maths-based dissection of how the calendar works. If you're an english speaker, check out the channel 'Five Thousand Years', the creator (Ally) breaks down the lunisolar calendar in such a visually intuitive and beautiful way!
afe.easia.columbia.edu. (n.d.). The Lunar New Year: Rituals and Legends | Asia for Educators | Columbia University. [online] Available at: https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_general_lunar.htm.
Cindy (2024). Chinese New Year 2025: Traditions, Snake Year Celebration Calendar [online] China Highlights. Available at: https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/special-report/chinese-new-year/.
Globaltimes.cn. (2025). Chunyun kicks off across China with more convenient transportation, efficient service - Global Times. [online] Available at: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1327099.shtml
Xue, C. (2020). Chinese New Year: The Importance of Tradition and Impact of Governmental Regulation . [online] https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/1022
Yuan, H. (2016). The Origin of Chinese New Year. SMS-I-Media Tourism Express. [online] (1), p.1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1114&context=dlps_fac_pub.
YouTube references
Five Thousand Years: This 4,700-Year-Old Calendar System is Still in Use Today! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvZXxu0PftQ
李永乐老师: 农历就是阴历吗？二十四节气和闰月咋回事？李永乐老师讲中国历法 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXFeQmb2gU8
Yanyan Go Around In China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um4vNCWVquY
Visual sources:
Beijing 2022: Beijing 2022 opening ceremony Solar Terms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CleppoJOEv8
FrostedMonster: Zodiac animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KI06Jmu7uE
Shan Nong Xiao Huang Ren: Fireworks in the countryside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ODERjS06uA
Thanks for watching! Hope you have a great day today and here's your excuse to go eat some yummy food!! 🍤🥟🧧
Tags:
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