Spring Festival: Welcoming The Year Of The Horse
Next week sees the start of the new Chinese New Year – The Year Of The Horse – Therefore, it’s time to share some facts and information about this annual celebration.
When
This year’s national holiday starts with Chinese New Year’s Day on Tuesday February 17th and finishes on Tuesday March 3rd. The celebrations last for two weeks and close with the Lantern Festival, which is the 15th Lunar day of the new year.
Chinese New Year’s Day marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, it is also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival.
Travel
The holiday period focuses very much around visiting family members. People often go to extraordinary lengths to be with their family during this period and travel back home from all corners of the globe. The days preceding Spring Festival sees the the largest migration of people on the planet.
Traditions
One tradition is for individuals to thoroughly clean their houses prior to the event to ward off bad spirits and bad luck. During the Lantern Festival people decorate their homes and businesses with red lanterns, and parades line streets, where dancers create long, brightly coloured dragons that are believed to bring good luck.
Zodiac Animals
Every Chinese Lunar Year is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals. According to folklore, your animal year determines your personality traits and characteristics.
2026 is the Year Of The Horse, and those born in a horse year are likely to be independent, enthusiastic, popular, cheerful, and quick to compliment others.
Ideal partners for dragons are people born in the year of the Tiger, Dog or Goat.
Your Animal
Your animal is determined by the lunar year you were born. However, those born in the calendar months January to March will need closer inspection, as they may fall in the previous lunar year.
Rat – 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Ox – 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Tiger – 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Rabbit – 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Dragon – 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake – 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse – 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Sheep – 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
Monkey – 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Rooster – 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Dog – 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Pig – 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
Supply Chain
Chinese export production during the holiday season usually suffers from a 2/3 week lag and exporters are traditionally clamouring to get urgent orders completed in factories prior to the break. Reports suggest that this year’s order rush has been somewhat muted so far.
Following the Spring Festival, it can take a little time for order production to ramp up to maximum capacity, which usually results in a drop in demand and a continuation of carrier blanked sailings.
