Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.
Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. It is celebrated worldwide in regions and countries with significant Overseas Chinese or Sinophone populations, especially in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand. It is also prominent beyond Asia, especially in Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as in many European countries. Chinese New Year has influenced celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year, such as the Losar of Tibet, the Tết of Vietnam, the Seollal of Korea, the Shōgatsu of Japan and the Ryukyu New Year.
The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the New Year vary widely. The evening preceding New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweep away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors may be decorated with red paper-cuts and couplets representing themes such as good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.
According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. The Nian would eat villagers, especially children in the middle of the night. One year, all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put up red papers and set off firecrackers. The day after, the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that Yanhuang had discovered that the Nian was afraid of the color red and loud noises. The tradition grew as New Year approached, and the villagers would wear red clothes, hang red lanterns, and red spring scrolls on windows and doors, and use firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on, the Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk.
(Photo left: By Alice-astro - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The snake (蛇) is the sixth of the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Snake is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 巳
According to one legend, there is a reason for the order of the animals in the cycle. A race was held to cross a great river, and the order of the animals in the cycle was based upon their order in finishing the race. In this story, the snake compensated for not being the best swimmer by hitching a hidden ride on the Horse's hoof. When the horse was about to cross the finish line, the snake jumped out, scaring the horse, and thus edging it out for sixth place.
The same twelve animals are also used to symbolize the cycle of hours in the day, each being associated with a two-hour time period. The hour of the snake is 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., the time when the Sun warms up the Earth, and snakes are said to slither out of their holes. The month of the snake is the 4th month of the Chinese lunar calendar and it usually falls within the months of May through June depending on the Chinese to Gregorian calendar conversion. The reason the animal signs are referred to as zodiacal is that one's personality is said to be influenced by the animal signs ruling the time of birth, together with elemental aspects of the animal signs within the sexagenary cycle. Similarly, the year governed by a particular animal sign is supposed to be characterized by it, with the effects particularly strong for people who were born in any year governed by the same animal sign.
In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent, with a tendency to lack scruples.
The Year of the Snake Signals Radical Transformation for These 4 Chinese Zodiac Signs
Chinese astrology and Feng Shui expert Vicki Iskandar tells PEOPLE what the Year of the Snake means for each Chinese zodiac sign
Say farewell to the Year of the Wood Dragon because the Year of the Wood Snake is upon us, officially beginning when the new moon enters Aquarius at 4:36 a.m. PT on Jan. 29, 2025.
While every Lunar New Year prompts joyous gatherings and festivities, this year marks an especially exciting year to celebrate since the last time it was a Wood Snake year was in 1965. The year of the Snake, meanwhile, comes every 12 years.
These calculations are according to the Chinese calendar, which is based on a 60-year cycle made of the 60 possible combinations of the five elements and the 12 animal signs (comparable to Western astrology's zodiac signs based on constellations relative to Earth).
"Each of these 60 pillars contains unique qualities and characteristics that can provide us with insights into a particular year," Chinese astrology and Feng Shui expert Vicki Iskandar tells PEOPLE exclusively. The "Wood" in the Wood Snake is categorized as Yin Wood, which differs from last year.
2024's Wood Dragon was Yang Wood, which is symbolized by "a sturdy tree" and associated with a "rigid, divisive and often angry nature," explains Iskandar. 2025's Yin Wood is associated with "flowers, leaves and grass," she says, and described as "easygoing, flexible and diplomatic."
A Yang year will always be followed by a Yin year. The order of the elements — which follows the cycle of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in the Chinese Five Elements theory — starts with Yang Wood followed by Yin Wood, and so on.
The Wood Snake has Yin Wood in the heavenly frequency and Yin Fire in the Snake, making it "quick and full of surprises," says Iskandar. "Yin Wood is artistic, imaginative, and curious... Yin Fire illustrates how ideas, inspiration, and trends can form in an instant and spread quickly."
Combine the qualities of Yin Wood and Yin Fire in the Wood Snake year and she predicts "a highly creative, collaborative and exciting year — but also unpredictable and surprising, too." Iskandar, who is also author of The Chinese Five Elements Oracle, adds, "This is a year to explore, get inspired, and share your light."
The year of the Wood Snake is likely to benefit everyone in different ways. "It will have many of us on the move, while some of us may finally have the chance to take a break after a challenging Dragon year," says Iskandar.
Read on below for what to expect in the Wood Snake year for your animal sign, based on Vicki Iskandar's predictions!
Snake's 2025 Lunar New Year Horoscope (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025)
For those born during the year of the Snake, get excited! When the year falls in the animal sign of your birth year (known as the Grand Duke Jupiter return which happens every 12 years), Iskandar says it's "usually a year of turning points," noting snakes specifically "thrive" in times of change.
"Be prepared to grab life-changing opportunities coming your way," she puts forth. "Challenges will also abound, but you have the positive mindset needed to rise above them. Keep that positive mindset and your Snake return year can be one of the best years of your life."
You might even achieve "major milestones," Iskandar predicts, noting to "hold your cards close to the heart until you're ready" as you "aim high" in an attempt to reach your dreams. "You move fast as a Snake, so remember to practice mindfulness and stay present at all times."
As a Yin Fire sign, Iskandar says "your energy can be up and down." She suggests, "Slow down and rest when needed to restore the Fire within, especially in February, May, August and November when life becomes even more fast-paced."