Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar.  Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. The festival is traditionally a time to honor deities as well as ancestors.

January 29, 2025 through February 16, 2026 is known as The Year of the Snake, more specifically the Wood Snake. The Snake represents wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, intuition and creativity. Snakes are also associated with good luck, prosperity, fertility and longevity. The Lunar New Year begins on the new moon closest to the midpoint of the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which this year occurs on January 29 and ushers in a year of rebirth, an opportunity to move away from old ways and habits that no longer serve us well.   

The Wood Snake is a combination of the snake, the sixth animal in the Chinese zodiac, and the wood element. This unique pairing of the snake, known for its wisdom and transformative energy, with the wood element, symbolizes growth, stability, and creativity. This Wood Snake year will likely be more creative and innovative than previous Snake years, which include 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, and 2013.  Those born in the Years of the Rat, Monkey, Rooster, Horse and Dragon should experience good luck in 2025.

Ideas for celebrating the Year of the Wood Snake:

• Cleaning and Family Reunions: The evening preceding New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweep away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. Chinese New Year is a time for families to come together. Celebrate with special meals, offering prayers to ancestors, and bonding over traditional dishes like dumplings and fish, symbolizing wealth and prosperity.
• Windows and doors may be decorated with red paper-cuts and couplets representing themes such as good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity.
• Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.
• Wear snake gaiters to protect your lower legs when working, hiking, hunting or recreating in the desert or woods where rattlesnakes, copperheads and other venomous snakes are known to live.

The Year of the Wood Snake is a time for steady growth, creativity, and transformation. Whether you’re born in this year or are simply under its influence, 2025 offers a chance to reflect on your goals and nurture both your personal and professional lives. With patience, strategic thinking, and a willingness to embrace change, you can harness the positive energy of the Wood Snake and achieve new heights of success and happiness!