Ever wondered if we should be using the term ‘Chinese New Year’ or ‘Lunar New Year’?
Well, a Xiaohongshu user has entered the discussion in hopes of answering that question once and for all.
In their post “Chinese New Year, not Lunar New Year”, they wrote: “I encourage everyone to not replace the name CNY with ‘Lunar New Year’.”
They then provided three reasons as to why CNY is the correct term.
The first: CNY is not New Year’s Day in the Lunar Calendar. The Chinese calendar is actually a lunisolar calendar, and traditional holidays are determined by this instead of the lunar calendar. They are different.
For those who don’t know, the lunar calendar generally begins a month with a new moon, or the first visible crescent moon after the new moon.
Lunisolar calendars, on the other hand, are simultaneous with both the solar year (basically, the 365 days) and moon phases. The latter takes into consideration leap years, and is often used to check Chinese birthdays and holidays.
Secondly, the XHS user states that “calling it CNY is not being exclusive”.
“Many people celebrate Christmas without being Christian even if the name of that holiday is religious. Likewise, calling it CNY is not in any way “excluding” the others who celebrate it,” they wrote.
Lastly, they add that “removing ‘Chinese’ can be disrespectful”.
They argue that replacing ‘Chinese’ with ‘Lunar’ “diminishes its cultural significance”. The holiday and practices, such as the Chinese zodiac, eating dumplings and decorations in red, originate from China, so “calling it CNY is a respect to its cultural root”.
The beginning of Chinese New Year celebrations, according to some studies, trace back to the Shang Dynasty, where people of that time organised sacrificial ceremonies to honour their gods and ancestors at the start of each year.
Many have chimed in on the post, saying they were not aware that using the term ‘Lunar New Year’ was an erasure of the influence the Chinese have on the holiday.
In fact, some were explicitly told to use LNY as it was “disrespectful to other Asian cultures” who celebrate the same holiday.
There were also some who explained that the removal of the word ‘Chinese’ only serves to promote Sinophobia.
Netizens thanked the XHS user for “educating them” on the right term to use and promised to use CNY going forward.
Meanwhile, on a separate Reddit thread discussing the CNY vs LNY terms, people were more chill when it comes to using ‘the right term’.
“This is like Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays… I’m fine with whichever but don’t try to make a war out of it,” asserted one netizen.
We know we’ll be saying “Happy Chinese New Year”. What about you?
Photos: 爱喝卡布奇诺的momo/ Xiaohongshu, Unsplash/ bady abbas