Lunar New Year
Compare Chinese New Year, Korean Seollal, Vietnamese Tết, and Mongolian Tsagaan Sar by year, with brief cultural notes and source links.
Chinese, Sat, February 6, 2027
Family reunion dinner, red envelopes, temple visits, and first-day greetings.
Lì xì lucky money, family altars, flower markets, and first-footing visits.
Buuz feast, formal elder greetings, family visits, and white foods for renewal.
Chinese New Year, Korean Seollal, and Vietnamese Tết usually fall on the same Gregorian date because each marks the first day of the first month in an East Asian lunisolar calendar. Months follow the moon, while leap months and solar terms keep the year tied to the seasons. That is why the holiday moves through late January and February instead of staying fixed like 1 January.
The cultural meaning is not identical even when the date is shared. Seollal centers on Sebae greetings to elders, Tết includes lì xì lucky money and first visits, and Chinese Spring Festival customs vary by region but often include reunion dinners and red envelopes. Vietnam also uses a related zodiac with local differences such as Cat instead of Rabbit.
Mongolian Tsagaan Sar follows the Mongolian Buddhist lunisolar calendar, so it can coincide with the same new moon or sit one or more days later, and in some years it is later by a lunar-month-style offset. Its first days are built around family visits, formal greetings, white foods, and a large Buuz feast. For long-range planning, treat Mongolian dates as calendar dates to recheck close to travel or official holiday publication.