Happy Lunar New Year ft. Semantics :)
In recent years, in the hopes of being “politically correct,” many people have suggested using the term “Lunar New Year” instead of “Chinese New Year.” A bunch of different style guides including AP Stylebook recommend calling it "Lunar New Year" rather than "Chinese New Year." I have talked before about how I feel like “political correctness” has been given a bad rep, and how I do think it is important to try and use as inclusive language as possible. However, some people seem hellbent on using the terms they are used to (insert ticked-off fake smile). To be fair, sometimes the reasons for saying “Chinese New Year” come from a place of confusion, but other times, it comes from a place of straight-up nationalism. So. Let’s unpack some of these reasons, shall we?
One of the “confused” reasons is usually that “Lunar New Year” is not a technically correct term. The calendar used in ancient China is technically a lunisolar calendar and not a lunar calendar. Still, all of the East Asian countries that celebrate "Lunar New Year" celebrate it according to the same lunisolar calendar—this includes China, Taiwan, South Korea, and others. Additionally, "Lunar New Year" is the English term for both the first new moon of a lunar calendar year OR a lunisolar calendar year as in the case of “Chinese New Year” (regardless of whether or not it is a misnomer).
Another argument is that different cultures have different ways of celebrating their new years, and so therefore perhaps we should stick to “Chinese New Year,” “Korean New Year,” etc. This again seems to me like an excuse not to be inclusive. While it is true that different places celebrate the new year differently, this can also be said of other holidays. Christmas in the US is seen as a family holiday, whereas in Korea, it’s mainly for couples. That said, we don’t distinguish between “American Christmas” and “Korean Christmas.” Also, many Taiwanese families celebrate the Lunar New Year in the same ways as Chinese families, but might prefer not to call it “Chinese New Year.” Differing cultural traditions do not make an inherently separate holiday.
To argue that “China invented Chinese New Year” is simply politically ignorant and harmful to both Taiwanese and Koreans especially. Given the political context of how China has propagandized and perpetuates the idea of being the “sole inventor” of all East Asian culture—especially against Korea, which also celebrates Lunar New Year albeit with different traditions—it doesn’t sit right with me to play into what seems nationalistic and unnecessary. There’s no reason NOT to be more inclusive. We also don't call the "regular new year" "Italian New Year" just because the Gregorian calendar was invented in Italy. If anything, we’d call it Gregorian new year, since it’s based on the Gregorian calendar. Doesn’t it then make sense that we’d call “Chinese/Korean/Taiwanese/Vietnamese/etc New Year” “Lunar New Year”?
Regardless of what culture you are from, or how you celebrate this holiday, I think we can agree that it’s a time of coming together to celebrate, rather than point out differences and divide.
