chinese new year
A holiday celebrating the New Year in the old Chinese calendar, a lunar calendar, falling somewhere between January 21 and February 20. It is mainly celebrated in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, in countries with significant Chinese populations, and in Chinatowns elsewhere. It is broadly called "Lunar New Year" because several other "new year" holidays such as Seollal (Korean New Year) and Tet (Vietnamese New Year) are also celebrated around the same time.
Before 1873, Japanese celebrated Nengajou (New Year's festivities) around the same time as Chinese New Year. Since 1873, however, when Japan adopted the widely used Gregorian calendar, New Year's festivities are being held instead on January 1.