Chinese New Year and the Legend of Nian Millions of people across China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and other countries around the world are today celebrating the Lunar New Year and welcoming in the Year of the Ox as part of an ancient custom that dates back at least 3,400 years. The date of Chinese New Year, which is also called Spring Festival, changes every year as it is based on the lunar calendar. While the western Gregorian calendar is based on the earth’s orbit around the sun, China and most Asian countries use the lunar calendar that is based on the moon’s orbit around the earth. Chinese New Year always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice.