Chinese New Year’s Eve: Reunion and the Calendar

除夕 is the eve of the Chinese New Year, rather than a fixed Gregorian date.

A reunion setting#

UNESCO’s Spring Festival description includes families dining together on New Year’s Eve and staying up to welcome the year. It describes a practice, not an obligation followed by every household.

Avoid a date shortcut#

Look up the eve for the year you need. Do not assume that every Chinese calendar year ends on a day numbered 29, or that a date copied from one year applies to another.

If you are invited#

Ask your host when to arrive, what is being served and whether to bring anything. Keep the family’s arrangements separate from a generic festival description.

Source#

Heritage or dated event reference.

Naming reference: CC-CEDICT contributors / MDBG, 23 October 2026 release, CC BY-SA 4.0. Dictionary release.