Chinese New Year Feb 17, 2026

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This calendar follows the phases of the moon and the rhythms of the seasons. Red lanterns—like the ones shown in today"s image—are widely associated with the celebration. The holiday falls on the new moon between January 21 and February 20 and has been observed for more than 2,000 years. In 2024, UNESCO added the Spring Festival to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, recognizing its cultural and historical importance.

© Gins Wang/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Feb 17, 2018Infant Sumatran orangutan, Indonesia
Feb 17, 2019Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
Feb 17, 2020Happy Presidents Day
Feb 17, 2021The persistence of Perito Moreno
Feb 17, 2022Flamenco dancers
Feb 17, 2023Great Backyard Bird Count
Feb 17, 2024Black History Month
Feb 17, 2025Presidents Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 21, 2020Where do those colors come from?
Aug 24, 2022Ukrainian Independence Day
Aug 9, 2021A tribute to the ancestors
Apr 24, 2022Dark Sky Week
Jan 13, 2022Tasiilaq, Greenland
Oct 9, 2021Birds of a feather
Aug 11, 2018Lace up your hiking boots for Mountain Day
Dec 8, 2018How lovely are your branches
Dec 5, 2023Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Bavaria, Germany
Aug 25, 2018Happy trails for the 21st century
Sep 1, 2019Bidding summer adieu
Dec 21, 2023Winter solstice
Jul 4, 2018Let’s celebrate
Dec 31, 2025New Years Eve
Apr 8, 2019Ready, set, read
May 21, 2023Pont dArcole over the Seine river, Paris, France
Nov 30, 2023Saint Andrews Day
Mar 9, 2024Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
May 4, 2025Star Wars Day
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah
May 12, 2025An iris garden in Tokyo, Japan
Feb 11, 2018Te Rewa Rewa Bridge near New Plymouth, New Zealand
Sep 15, 2019A light on National Hispanic Heritage Month
Apr 4, 2025National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC
Mar 11, 2019You re feeling sleepy
Sep 12, 2019Astrotourism at its finest
Nov 16, 202250 years of World Heritage Sites
Dec 15, 2020A bridge that rocks
Jan 14, 2018Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
Jun 1, 2024Pride Month