Equating the Chinese New Year, which begins this Sunday, with a new lunar year, is a common misconception.
Actually, the Chinese calendar is lunisolar: a combination of properties from the solar and the lunar models, indicating the cycle of both the seasons and the phases of the moon.
The date of the so-called 'Lunar New Year', as celebrated in most East Asian civilisations, is always determined through a lunisolar calendar. The Hindu and Hebrew calendars are likewise lunisolar.
The only major lunar calendar system in use is the Islamic one.
An unofficial Chinese character,
combining a total of four characters 招財進寶 (zhāo cái jìn bǎo).
It is a greeting/wish for a prosperous new year.
The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring (春) Festival
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