Chinese and Lunar New Year - which is which? Buy books in London and Celebrate in Singapore

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year Books  Books in Daunt's book shop in Hampstead featured Chinese new Year. 

A tall man, exclaimed, 'My wife is Korean and she wouldn't like that. She says, "It's not Chinese New Year, it's lunar New Year!" '

I thought it was time somebody wrote a book called lunar New Year. I looked around the bookshop and found several people had.

Also books on an assortment of festivals.

Lunar New Year

I read it up on Wikipedia. There's lunar new year, solar new year, and if that wasn't enough, there's lunisolar new year. 

If you want a simple explanation, go to Simple Wiki or look at a book for children.

Chinese New Year 

Chinese New Year is celebrated in China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, Chinatowns worldwide including London, England, the USA and Canada. 

Singapore Lion Dance

When I was in Singapore all year I would pass building which were the headquarters of Lion Dance groups. The week around Chinese New Year, lion dance groups would perform for free, often sponsored, in public places, outside railway stations, in shopping malls, utside and inside restaurants, at clubs, and in homes for weekend or midweek parties.  

In Singapore the lunisolar festival is also called the Spring Festival and although this year, 2025, it is celebrated at the start, the weekend 29 until the lantern festival. However, I saw orange lanterns all through Chinese New Year in Singapore in shopping malls and hotels.

Lo Hei - Singapore Style

Other features are the Chinese New Year dinner dish, invented in a hotel. In the centre of each round dinner table are placed vegetables of different colours sliced up on a large circular platter, with pink salmon or other fish, condiments, and it all tossed in the air with chopsticks, the higher the better for good luck, whilst shouting good luck messages in Chinese. Lo Hei. You can buy party sets of the vegetables in supermarkets. The price varies according to size, whether chopsticks for all and a platter are included, and whether the fish is included. Occasionally there's a deal such as a discount coupon for fresh fish bought with the vegetables.

Meanwhile, back in the bookshops in London, you can buy books as gifts so you and your family can read all about it.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_New_Year