Welcoming the 2026 Lunar New Year across Asia
There are dates in the travel calendar that feel more than the turning of a page, and the Lunar New Year is one of them.
Guided by the moon instead of the diary, it marks the arrival of spring across much of Asia. It’s a time for renewal, family and an exuberant resetting of the clock. While its roots lie in ancient agricultural traditions, today it is celebrated in beautifully distinct ways across Asia in countries from China and South Korea to Vietnam and Malaysia. For the curious traveller, it offers a glimpse into living culture at its most heartfelt.
China: Chūn Jié (Spring Festival)
In China, the new year is ushered in as the ‘Spring Festival ‘, also known as Chūn Jié, and it’s simply the most important date of the year. In the weeks leading up to it, homes are scrubbed clean to sweep away bad luck, windows bloom with scarlet paper cuttings and markets fill with the scent of mandarin oranges and incense.
On New Year’s Eve, families gather for a reunion dinner, a symbolic feast where dishes carry meaning as well as flavour, often chosen because their names sound like words for luck, wealth and abundance. Fish echoes abundance, dumplings resemble ancient gold ingots, and long noodles illustrate longevity. At midnight, fireworks crackle into the winter sky, once believed to scare away mythical beasts, now serving as a jubilant welcome to fresh beginnings.
In cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the celebrations are absolutely dazzling, while in smaller towns and villages, they feel deeply personal. Red envelopes (hóngbāo) are gifted to children with best wishes, elders are honoured and entire communities move in rhythm with the turning of the moon.
South Korea: Seollal
Across the Yellow Sea in South Korea, Lunar New Year, called Seollal, is a quieter, reflective counterpart to some of its regional neighbours. Here, the focus is on ancestry and respect. Although the day of Seollal itself is remarkably quiet, the lead-up to it is full of energy. In the days before, traditional markets and shops bustle as people stock up on food and gifts to take back to their hometowns.
Families don traditional hanbok and perform a ritual known as charye, laying out carefully prepared food as an offering to their forebears. A deep bow (sebae) follows, with younger generations kneeling before elders in a gesture that is both formal and profoundly moving.
No Seollal morning is complete without tteokguk, a comforting soup of sliced rice cakes in clear broth. It is said that eating a bowl adds a year to one’s age, a charming reminder that time is something to be marked with ceremony rather than haste. Afternoons are often spent playing traditional games such as yutnori, flying kites or strolling through palace grounds dusted with winter frost. The atmosphere is one of calm remembrance and pride.
Vietnam: Tết Nguyên Đán
In Vietnam, the festival becomes Tết, short for Tết Nguyên Đán, and if there were ever a celebration that embraced optimism, this is it. Weeks beforehand, markets brim with kumquat trees and branches of yellow apricot blossom in the south, pink peach blossom in the north. Homes are decorated with care, debts are settled and disputes gently resolved, as one is meant to enter the new year with a clean slate and a hopeful heart.
Food again takes centre stage. Bánh chưng, a square parcel of sticky rice, pork and mung beans wrapped in banana leaves, symbolises the earth. Families gather to prepare it together, a slow ritual that is as much about conversation as cuisine.
On the first morning of Tết, the identity of the first visitor to cross the threshold is considered crucial, as their character is believed to influence the household’s fortunes. Children receive lucky money, lion dances weave through streets, and cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City glow beneath lantern light. It is joyful but also tender. Ancestors are honoured as part of the celebration, where the past is remembered and the year ahead greeted with hope.
Malaysia: Tahun Baru Cina
In multicultural Malaysia, Lunar New Year is both a Chinese festival and a national celebration. The atmosphere is unmistakably festive: lion dances ripple through shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, and temples in Penang glow with candlelight; yet there is also a uniquely Malaysian warmth to proceedings.
The tradition of the “open house” sees families welcoming friends and neighbours of all backgrounds to share food and goodwill. Tables groan under the weight of moreish pineapple tarts, yee sang (a vibrant raw fish salad tossed high for prosperity) and sweet delicacies intended to ensure a harmonious year ahead.
It’s a reminder that Lunar New Year is not solely about heritage, but about community and making space at the table. The tradition of the open house reflects this beautifully, as families welcome neighbours, friends and other guests to share food and good fortune.
The spirit of renewal
What unites these celebrations is not uniformity, but intention. Across borders and languages, Lunar New Year speaks of renewal: of honouring where we have come from while stepping, with measured optimism, into what lies ahead.
For travellers, witnessing these festivities offers something far richer than spectacle. It is an invitation into kitchens, courtyards and candlelit temples; into conversations about family, fortune and the simple hope for health in the year to come.
And whether marked by fireworks over a skyline or a quiet bowl of soup shared at dawn, the sentiment remains beautifully consistent: a turning of the page, beneath the steady guidance of the moon.
