Let us warmly welcome the 2026 Chinese Lunar New Year of the Horse. This millennia-old cultural feast not only carries the ancient traditions of the Chinese nation but also exudes a vibrant New Year atmosphere. The sound of lion dance drums echoes through the streets, red lanterns light up cities and villages, and the lively scene of the New Year greets us, filling every corner with joy and harmony.

In traditional Chinese culture, the horse symbolizes the spirit of forging ahead with determination and advancing courageously. The Year of the Horse is also regarded as a year full of drive and opportunities. People born in the Year of the Horse are often considered to possess traits such as courage, wisdom, and strong execution. Saying goodbye to the calm and introspective Year of the Snake, we stride forward into the dynamic Year of the Horse, embracing changes and embarking on a new journey in the coming year.

2026 Chinese Lunar New Year Holiday Calendar (Practical Guide)

This holiday calendar is applicable to all groups of people—students, travelers, professionals, and friends from all walks of life who have connections with China. For the 2026 Spring Festival, China’s national statutory holiday will be from February 15 to February 23, totaling 9 days, with February 14 and February 28 as make-up workdays.

However, in reality, the shutdown and holiday period for Chinese factories will be significantly longer—most factories will stop accepting orders and production around February 10 and gradually resume full-capacity operation in early March. Frontline workers will enjoy a holiday of nearly one month. Every Spring Festival, it is also the peak passenger flow period of China’s Spring Festival Travel Rush, with an unprecedented scale of population movement. The upsurge of returning home and traveling interweaves, depicting a unique New Year picture.

I. Historical Origin and Cultural Significance of the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year, is a cultural celebration with a profound historical heritage spanning thousands of years. The Chinese lunar calendar, which combines the changes of the moon phases and the laws of solar terms, has guided the agricultural schedules, living rhythms, and social interactions of generations of Chinese people. It is not only a time for family reunion but also a crucial juncture for people to review their annual lives and map out new year plans.

For people from all walks of life planning to enter and understand China, mastering the time nodes of the 2026 Spring Festival is particularly important. The first day of the 2026 Chinese lunar year falls on February 17. During the Spring Festival, Chinese enterprises generally suspend work for a week or even longer. Therefore, it is essential to plan travel, production, and business communication in advance to avoid potential delays.

II. Zodiac Meaning and Symbolic Connotation of the Year of the Horse

In traditional Chinese zodiac culture, 2026 is the Year of the Bingwu Fire Horse. The “Fire” element adds fuel to the vitality of the zodiac horse, symbolizing the spirit of passionate enthusiasm, courage to break through, and innovative initiative. Different from the calm and introverted Year of the Snake, the spiritual core of the Year of the Horse is “action” and “progress”, making 2026 a golden year to try new things, expand new fields, and embrace a new life.

Historically, the Year of the Fire Horse has often been accompanied by industrial innovation and model breakthroughs, spawning many new development opportunities. The “speed” and “reliability” represented by the horse are the core traits pursued by people in life and career, and also inject vigorous motivation into the struggle of the new year.

III. Traditional Customs and Folk Activities of the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival customs are rich and diverse, with distinct regional characteristics, carrying people’s beautiful expectations for the new year. The New Year’s Eve family reunion dinner is the highlight of family gatherings, symbolizing family harmony and prosperity in the coming year; giving red envelopes (hongbao) is a way to send New Year blessings to children and unmarried young people, implying attracting wealth and treasures in the new year. Visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year calls is also an important way for people to maintain family and friendship ties.

During the Spring Festival, most enterprises suspend business and factories fully stop production. If you have travel or business plans, be sure to make arrangements in advance to avoid interruptions to your itinerary or affairs. In addition, sending New Year blessings or an appropriate small gift to relatives, friends, and partners during the festival is an excellent way to convey your sincere feelings. Gifts can be high-quality tea, imported fruits, etc. Remember to avoid taboo items such as clocks, sharp tools, and gifts wrapped in white paper.

IV. Traditional Spring Festival Decorations and Their Auspicious Meanings

Decorations are an important part of the Spring Festival celebrations. For the 2026 Year of the Horse Spring Festival, various horse-themed decorations will become mainstream. Red lanterns and spring couplets symbolizing auspiciousness and joy, as well as golden oranges and Buddha’s hands implying attracting wealth and blessings, will all be popular choices for decorating homes and shops. In Chinese culture, the color red is considered auspicious, signifying warding off evil spirits and welcoming good fortune; dragon and phoenix patterns symbolize power, prosperity, and good luck.

When the streets and buildings are decorated with Spring Festival decorations, it means the festival is approaching. When planning new year affairs, you may wish to take this holiday factor into account and make preparations in advance to ensure a smooth start to the new year.

V. Traditional Spring Festival Food and Festival Feasts

Food is an indispensable part of Spring Festival culture, and each dish carries people’s beautiful expectations for the new year. Jiaozi (dumplings), loved by people in northern China, are given the meaning of attracting wealth and treasures because their shape resembles ancient Chinese ingots; nian gao (glutinous rice cake) is a homophone for “nian gao” (yearly progress), symbolizing steady progress in career and life; the whole fish served on the table takes the homophone of “yu” (surplus), implying surplus year after year.

During the Spring Festival, there will be obvious changes in the supply and demand of the catering market: on the one hand, a large number of catering enterprises and food processing factories will suspend production, which may lead to shortages of some categories; on the other hand, the demand for New Year goods procurement of every household is strong, spawning a lively pre-holiday consumer market. If you plan to purchase New Year goods, it is recommended to prepare in advance to welcome a rich and prosperous Spring Festival.

VI. Spring Festival Celebrations and Festival Grand Occasions

The Spring Festival celebrations last for 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival (February 29, 2026). Activities such as lion dance parades, fireworks displays, and family gatherings are staged in turn, creating a lively atmosphere. The setting off of fireworks and firecrackers, in traditional culture, symbolizes driving away the Nian beast and welcoming good luck in the new year.

During this period, the vast majority of Chinese enterprises either suspend business or operate at a minimum. Key links such as ports and logistics will also experience reduced efficiency—for hub ports such as Shanghai Port, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, and Guangzhou Port, there may be 5-7 days of delays in container stacking and loading/unloading before the holiday. If you have logistics and transportation needs, you need to plan the shipping schedule in advance. It is recommended to complete the booking before mid-January to ensure the smooth shipment of goods. At the same time, confirm the logistics provider’s holiday duty arrangement in advance and keep emergency contact information.

VII. Recommended New Year Greetings for the Year of the Horse

Exchanging New Year greetings is an effective way to convey warmth and maintain friendship. The following are several groups of appropriate and festive New Year greetings suitable for sending to relatives, friends, and partners:

1.May success come at your command and everything go smoothly!

2.May you be full of vitality and have abundant wealth flowing in!

3.Happy New Year and may your career gallop forward!

4.Wishing you boundless good luck in the 2026 Bingwu Year of the Horse!

You can send these greetings via text message or WeChat, or send greeting cards printed with horse zodiac patterns. This not only conveys your sincere feelings but also lays a good foundation for life and friendship in the new year.

VIII. Folk Taboos and Traditional Beliefs During the Spring Festival

Understanding the folk taboos during the Spring Festival can help people avoid unintentional mistakes and better integrate into the festival atmosphere:

1.Avoid talking about negative topics such as failures and losses, so as not to be considered bringing bad luck for the new year;

2.Try to avoid the number “4” (its pronunciation in Chinese is similar to “death”) in daily affairs;

3.It is not advisable to arrange important negotiations or signing matters before the third day of the first lunar month, as people pay more attention to family reunion at this time;

4.When giving gifts, do not use white or black wrapping paper. These two colors are associated with funerals in Chinese culture.

Although these customs seem trivial, respecting them can fully reflect the understanding of traditional culture and make the Spring Festival more smooth and pleasant.

IX. Welcoming the 2026 Year of the Horse: Embracing New Opportunities in the New Spring

The 2026 Bingwu Year of the Horse calls on people to learn from the spirit of horses striving for excellence and being flexible and agile, and to seize the beautiful opportunities throughout the year. Specifically, we can start from the following four aspects:

1.Plan affairs in advance: Be sure to finalize new year plans by the end of December 2025, and reserve sufficient time to deal with various pre-holiday preparations;

2.Optimize travel and logistics plans: Book transportation and logistics space as early as possible, and prioritize direct routes to reduce transshipment delays; for time-sensitive needs, consider expedited transportation, especially taking into account the special period when the Spring Festival overlaps with Ramadan (February 18 to March 20);

3.Deepen friendship connections: Take the opportunity of the Spring Festival to send customized blessings or small gifts to relatives, friends, and partners, and plan meetings and gatherings in the new year to discuss new directions for life and cooperation;

4.Keep up with the trend of the times: Relying on the “innovative breakthrough” characteristic of the Year of the Fire Horse, pay attention to growth-oriented fields such as new energy, science and technology, and cultural and creative industries, and inject new vitality into life and career in the new year.

For everyone looking forward to a new look in the new year, the 2026 Spring Festival is not only a cultural feast but also the beginning of a better life in the new year. Only by respecting traditional customs and making forward-looking plans can we gallop forward in the Year of the Horse and march towards a more wonderful future. On the occasion of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, all employees of Sourcingyuan extend their most sincere New Year blessings to friends from all walks of life. We wish you full of vitality, everything goes smoothly, family happiness and health, and career prosperity in the Bingwu Year of the Horse!