New Lunar Year Celebration 2020
Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/02/2020
11:30 am - 3:00 pm
Location
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre
Categories
Looking to experience a New Lunar Year Celebration in Metro Vancouver? Join in the fun and festivities on February 1st at the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby
The annual New Lunar Year Celebration is back for the third year. It’s presented by members of the British Columbia (B.C.) Legislative Assembly and members of the Parliament or House of Commons. Celebration starts at 11:30 a.m.
Participants include community groups across Metro Vancouver. 2020 ushers in the Year of the Rat.
There will be food and tons of performances including lion dancing and drumming to ring in the new year, according to an emailed statement from the office of MLA Burnaby-Deer Lake Anne Kang. Kang is also the B.C. Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors and Multiculturalism.

The Lunar New Year 2020 starts on January 25, 2020. It’s the Year of the Rat, according the Chinese 12-year animal zodiac cycle. (Office of MLA Burnaby-Deer Lake Anne Kang)
Is Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year and Spring Festival the same?
The Lunar Year, Chinese New Year and Spring Festival are related occasions, but differ slightly in context. The Lunar New Year is the first day of the New Year on the Chinese calendar which dates back to the Chinese year 4717.
Chinese New Year is based on this ancient lunar calendar, which “functioned as a religious, dynastic and social guide,” stated history.com.
The Spring Festival is a week-long holiday instituted in China in 1996 to provide workers the chance to travel home and celebrate the new year with their families.
Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration, which begins on appearance of the new moon. The dates fluctuate between the third week of January to end of February.
It’s the most important celebration on the Chinese calendar for those living in China, Taiwan and many Southeast Asian countries.
The auspicious occasion is also observed by many immigrants of Chinese heritage in Canada and worldwide. A time when extended families gather for a meal, especially on New Year’s eve.
The must have dishes on the menu is fish and long life noodles. The fish symbolizes abundance and noodles, long life.