page_title: Chinese New Year
section_title: India and Pakistan
hierarchical_section_title: Chinese New Year / Festivities outside Greater China / India and Pakistan
caption_attribution_description: English: Chinese New Year Kolkata
context_page_description: Chinese New Year is the Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar or lunar calendar. The festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival in China as the spring season in the lunisolar calendar traditionally starts with lichun, the first of the twenty-four solar terms which the festival celebrates around the time of. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season, observances traditionally take place from New Year’s Eve, the evening preceding the first day of the year to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February. In 2021, the first day of the Chinese New Year will be on Friday, 12 February, which is the Year of the Ox
  Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in China, and has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations such as the Losar of Tibet and of China's neighbouring cultures, including the Korean New Year, and the Tết of Vietnam.
context_section_description: Many celebrate the festival in Chinatown, Kolkata, India where a significant community of people of Chinese origin exists. In Kolkata, Chinese New Year is celebrated with lion and dragon dance.
  In Pakistan, the Chinese New Year is also celebrated among the sizable Chinese expatriate community that lives in the country. During the festival, the Chinese embassy in Islamabad arranges various cultural events in which Pakistani arts and cultural organizations and members of the civil society also participate.
caption: The Chinese New Year celebrated in Kolkata
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