Lunar New Year: 2024

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, begins on the “first new moon of the lunar calendar” (Britannica, 2024). For many, the Lunar New Year is a time of spending with “75% of consumers planning to spend over £276 on gifts for either themselves or friends and family” (Vogue Business and Barclays, 2024). The festivities last 15 days, beginning with the gifting of red envelopes containing money to young people and ending with the Lantern festival, on the first full moon of the year (National Geographic, 2024). 2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon, as each year is represented by one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs and one of five material agents, with wood being a symbol of benevolence (De Guzman, 2024a). Symbolising power, unity, luck and prosperity, dragons are deeply embedded in Chinese culture and history and are even considered to be ancestors of Chinese people (Zhang Cziráková, 2023; De Guzman, 2024a).