Today’s New Moon Kicks Off Chinese Lunar New Year And Sets Up Ramadan

Today is a new moon, the first of 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. However, it also signals the beginning of Chinese Lunar New Year, ushering in the Year of the Snake. Is Chinese New Year same as Lunar New Year? Yes, it is — and it’s also called Spring Festival in China, a 15-day celebration marked by many traditions.

Lunar calendars are everywhere. The following new moon, on Feb. 28 — exactly one lunation from today — will be pivotal in determining the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in the Islamic faith. The moon’s phases also dictate the date of Easter in Christianity, with the date of the first full moon following the spring equinox vitally important.

When Is Chinese Lunar New Year?

The Lunar New Year 2025 dates this year are Wednesday, Jan. 29 (new moon), to Wednesday, Feb. 12 (full Snow Moon). The final day of the holiday is the Lantern Festival, during which people have sweet glutinous rice balls called tangyuan and children carry lanterns around the neighborhood, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. As well as China, it’s also celebrated in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

How Does Chinese Lunar New Year Work?

It’s based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, with Chinese Lunar New Year always beginning on the day of the second new moon after the December solstice (the first new moon this year occurred on Dec. 30, 2024). The 15-day celebration concludes with the Lantern Festival, which takes place on the following full moon.

What Date Is Chinese New Year 2026?

In 2026, Chinese New Year will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 17, marking the Year of the Horse.

Chinese Lunar New Year: What Animal Am I?

The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle of animals, each paired with one of five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal or water — resulting in a distinctive 60-year cycle. So although in the last century, the Year of the Snake has occurred in 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 and 2013, a Year of the Wood Snake last occurred in 1965. The next Year of the Snake, in 2038, will be the Year of the Fire Snake.

If you were born between March and December, it’s easy to see what animal you are — you just need to look at a list. However, if you were born in January or February, you also need to know the exact dates of Chinese Lunar New Year for that specific year.

ForbesWhen Is Ramadan 2025? When It Starts And When It Ends With A Solar EclipseBy Jamie Carter

When Is Ramadan?

The Ramadan 2025 dates this year are Friday, Feb.28, to Sunday, March 30. However, these dates are subject to something special — sighting of a slim crescent moon, the Ramadan Moon, which ends the Islamic month of Shaban and begins the month of Ramadan. In practice, Ramadan could begin 24 hours later and end 24 hours later — meaning it could start on Friday, Feb. 28, or Saturday, March 1, and end with Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, March 30 — hours after the first solar eclipse of the year — or Monday, March 31.

How Does Ramadan Work?

Islam operates on a lunar calendar, with months beginning and ending with the first sighting of a crescent moon. That means each month lasts 29.5 days, and a year — 12 lunations — lasts 354 days, which is 11 days shorter than the solar year. Ramadan therefore occurs 11 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar, cycling through all seasons over 33 years.

What Date Is Ramadan 2026?

Ramadan in 2026 will thus be even earlier, beginning on (or after) the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 17, and ending on the evening of Wednesday, March 18.

When Is Easter And Passover In 2025?

Easter Sunday will fall on April 20 in 2025. Like Chinese Lunar New Year and Ramadan, Easter is determined by the phases of the moon. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox, which in 2025 takes place on March 21. The next full moon is the Pink Moon on April 13, with Easter therefore observed on the following Sunday. The full moon is called the Paschal Moon and is linked to the Jewish month of Nisan — the first month of the Jewish calendar — which begins with the new moon on Saturday, March 29. The Jewish festival of Passover begins on the 15th day of the Nisan.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.