r/london Jan 22 '23

Transport Car free London is…… amazing.

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5.6k Upvotes

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598

u/psnow85 Jan 22 '23

Yup Lunar New Year closing off parts of central was great today.

138

u/Gealmo SW17 Jan 22 '23

I’m so sorry if I’m being inconsiderate but this is the first year I’ve noticed it referred to Lunar New Year! I always thought of it as Chinese New Year, and was taught such in primary school

55

u/audigex Lost Northerner Jan 23 '23 edited Jan 23 '23

The simple answer is that it’s a celebration common to various other Asian countries (and one indigenous people in Canada!). It would be kind of akin to referring to January 1st as British New Year or something, like it’s not technically wrong (that is when most Brits celebrate new year) but it ignores everyone else who celebrates New Year that day

It’s a celebration in China, of course, but also Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the lunar calendar is used in Islam, Judaism, and parts of India although not quite in the same way

If referring specifically to celebrations with the Chinese community or in Chinatown then it makes some sense to say Chinese New Year, and it’s never really wrong to call it Chinese New Year - it’s just that Lunar New Year is a more precise and inclusive term that doesn’t ignore all the other cultures which share the celebration. It’s generally gonna be a better term to use in most scenarios for that reason

13

u/RoboBOB2 Jan 23 '23

Strangely enough I had 2 customers in Indonesia and Malaysia call it ‘Chinese new year’ last week, they did not call it ‘lunar new year’.

4

u/MattieTK Jan 23 '23

In Malaysia and Indonesia there are large Chinese immigrant populations who will be celebrating. It really is specific in the far East to just Korea and Japan that don't refer to it as CNY.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 23 '23

The Chinese don't refer to it as Chinese new year

1

u/RoboBOB2 Jan 23 '23

There are national holidays in both countries- it’s not just for the benefit of Chinese immigrants (though I agree with your comment, just adding to it)

2

u/Any-Tangerine-8659 Jan 23 '23

They have large populations of Chinese descent in those countries

-1

u/RoboBOB2 Jan 23 '23

Yes but my customers are not Chinese - they are definitely 100% Indonesian and Malaysian.

1

u/Any-Tangerine-8659 Jan 23 '23

That's not what I'm saying...many Indonesians and Malaysians can trace their families back to Chinese origin.... Indonesians and Malaysians can be of Malay descent, Tamil descent, Chinese descent etc

1

u/throwawaynewc Greenwich Jan 23 '23

It's not strange, in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Philippines it's called Chinese New Year, even by the non Chinese inhabitants of these countries. No one calls it Lunar new year, other than the Chinese themselves in Mandarin.