Is Lunar New Year's Eve a Public Holiday?

Lunar New Year's Eve 2027 falls on Friday, February 5.

Lunar New Year's Eve is the reunion dinner — the single evening the whole holiday is built around. Whether you are legally free to attend it is a different question, and the answer splits our calendars neatly in half. Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and Indonesia count the eve as a day off. Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines expect you at work, at least on paper.

Also known as: Chinese New Year’s Eve · 除夕 · Giao thừa · Seotdal Geumeum

The short answer

5 countries and regions in our calendar mark it. Dates and days off below cover 2025–2028.

2025
Tuesday, January 28
2026
Monday, February 16
2027
Friday, February 5
2028
Tuesday, January 25

Dates year by year

YearDateDayPlaces observingLongest break
2025January 28, 2025Tuesday59 days
2026February 16, 2026Monday59 days
2027February 5, 2027Friday3+2 pending7 days
2028January 25, 2028Tuesday4+1 pending6 days

Who gets the day off

Every row is derived from that country’s official calendar on this site, so the day counts include substitute days and government bridge days exactly as gazetted.

Lunar New Year's Eve 2025

Country / regionCalledDateDays off
Taiwan
Lunar New Year (農曆春節)Jan 25 – Feb 29days
China
Spring Festival (春节)Jan 28 – Feb 48days
South Korea
Seollal (설날)Jan 28 – 303days
Vietnam
Tết Nguyên ĐánJanuary 28, 20251days
Indonesia
Tahun Baru ImlekJanuary 28, 20251days
Hong Kong
General holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆年初一至初三)January 28, 2025Working day
Macau
General holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆新年)January 28, 2025Working day
Singapore
Chinese New YearJanuary 28, 2025Working day
Malaysia
Chinese New Year (Tahun Baru Cina)January 28, 2025Working day
Philippines
Chinese New YearJanuary 28, 2025Working day

Lunar New Year's Eve 2026

Country / regionCalledDateDays off
Taiwan
Lunar New Year (農曆春節)Feb 14 – 229days
China
Spring Festival (春节)Feb 15 – 239days
South Korea
Seollal (설날)Feb 16 – 183days
Vietnam
Tết Nguyên ĐánFebruary 16, 20261days
Indonesia
Tahun Baru ImlekFebruary 16, 20261days
Hong Kong
General holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆年初一至初三)February 16, 2026Working day
Macau
General holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆新年)February 16, 2026Working day
Singapore
Chinese New YearFebruary 16, 2026Working day
Malaysia
Chinese New Year (Tahun Baru Cina)February 16, 2026Working day
Philippines
Chinese New YearFebruary 16, 2026Working day

Lunar New Year's Eve 2027

Country / regionCalledDateDays off
Taiwan
Lunar New Year (農曆春節)Feb 4 – 107days
South Korea
Seollal (설날)Feb 6 – 8Local date: February 6, 20273days
Vietnam
Provisional
Tết Nguyên ĐánFebruary 5, 20271days
China
Spring Festival (春节)Not announced yet
Indonesia
Tahun Baru ImlekNot announced yet
Hong Kong
General holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆年初一至初三)February 5, 2027Working day
Macau
ProvisionalGeneral holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆新年)February 5, 2027Working day
Singapore
Chinese New YearFebruary 5, 2027Working day
Malaysia
Provisional
Chinese New Year (Tahun Baru Cina)February 5, 2027Working day
Philippines
Provisional
Chinese New YearFebruary 5, 2027Working day

Rows marked provisional show only the dates already fixed. Where a government sets the length of the break by annual decree — mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia — the full arrangement has not been published for that year yet, so treat those day counts as a floor and any blank as "not announced", not as a working day.

Lunar New Year's Eve 2028

Country / regionCalledDateDays off
Taiwan
Provisional
Lunar New Year (農曆春節)Jan 25 – 306days
China
Provisional
Spring Festival (春节)Jan 25 – 284days
South Korea
Provisional
Seollal (설날)Jan 26 – 28Local date: January 26, 20283days
Vietnam
Provisional
Tết Nguyên ĐánJanuary 25, 20281days
Indonesia
Tahun Baru ImlekNot announced yet
Hong Kong
ProvisionalGeneral holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆年初一至初三)January 25, 2028Working day
Macau
ProvisionalGeneral holiday only
Lunar New Year (農曆新年)January 25, 2028Working day
Singapore
Provisional
Chinese New YearJanuary 25, 2028Working day
Malaysia
Provisional
Chinese New Year (Tahun Baru Cina)January 25, 2028Working day
Philippines
Provisional
Chinese New YearJanuary 25, 2028Working day

Rows marked provisional show only the dates already fixed. Where a government sets the length of the break by annual decree — mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia — the full arrangement has not been published for that year yet, so treat those day counts as a floor and any blank as "not announced", not as a working day.

Where the eve is a real day off

In mainland China and Taiwan the eve is not a standalone holiday — it is simply inside the multi-day Spring Festival block, which is why the table above shows it wrapped in a longer range. Vietnam lists it explicitly as Tết Eve. South Korea’s three-day Seollal opens on the eve by statute. Indonesia usually reaches it through a cuti bersama bridge day rather than the holiday itself.

One consequence of that design: in a year whose official arrangement has not been published yet, the eve shows as a working day in the table simply because the block that would cover it does not exist on paper. Mainland China publishes its arrangement in November for the following year, so the most distant year here is the one to re-check.

Where you are officially at work

Hong Kong and Macau start counting from the first day of the new year, so the eve is a normal working day — in practice many offices close at lunchtime and the stock exchange runs a half session, but there is no statutory entitlement. Singapore and Malaysia are the same. In the Philippines the eve is not marked at all; only the new year itself is a special non-working day.

The eve is not the same date in every country

Because the eve is defined as the day before the lunar new year, it inherits any disagreement about when the lunar new year is. Korea files the new moon under a date using KST and China uses CST, so in 2027 Korean Seollal is 7 February while Chinese New Year is the 6th — which makes the Korean eve the 6th and everyone else’s the 5th. Each row in the table above is dated from that country’s own calendar, so a reader in Seoul sees the Korean eve rather than a date imported from Beijing.

A blank in the table is not always a "no", either. Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia set the length of the break by an annual government notice rather than by standing law, so in a year whose notice has not been issued yet the eve simply has no arrangement. Those rows are marked as not announced, not as working days.

Go deeper

Frequently asked questions

What date is Lunar New Year's Eve in 2026 and 2027?+

It is Monday 16 February 2026 and Friday 5 February 2027 — always the day immediately before Chinese New Year.

Is Chinese New Year’s Eve a public holiday in China?+

Yes in practice. The eve is not named as a standalone statutory holiday, but the State Council’s Spring Festival arrangement begins on or before it in the years published here, so it falls inside the official break.

Do banks and stock exchanges close on the eve?+

Mainland China and Taiwan close fully. Hong Kong runs a shortened half-day session and settles as normal. Singapore and Malaysia trade a full day. Always check the specific exchange calendar, which can differ from the public holiday list.

Why do Hong Kong and Singapore work on the eve?+

Both statutes define the holiday as the first days *of* the lunar year, not the transition into it. The custom of the reunion dinner is fully alive there — it simply happens after work, which is why so many offices release staff early by convention rather than by law.

Is the eve the same day everywhere?+

Not always. The eve is the day before the lunar new year, so it splits whenever the new year does. In 2027 the Korean eve is 6 February and everyone else’s is the 5th, because Korea files the new moon under a KST date and China under a CST one.

Why does the table say "not announced" instead of yes or no?+

Because in mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia the length of the Lunar New Year break is fixed by a government notice issued each year, usually only a few months ahead. Until that notice appears we know the festival date but not whether the eve is inside the break, and saying "working day" would be a guess presented as a fact.

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