UNESCO added China's Spring Festival to its intangible cultural heritage list in December. Photo: AFP
As Asian communities around the world celebrate the start of a new year, debate still rages about how to refer to this holiday in English.
In recent years, the holiday has increasingly been called Lunar New Year in recognition of the many Asian communities that celebrate the date.
But now it appears another name has been added to the mix.
In December, UNESCO added China's Spring Festival (春节, Chūn Jié) to its intangible cultural heritage list.
The festival joins other traditional Chinese cultural symbols on the list, including Peking opera, tai chi and paper cutting.
"In China, the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the new year," UNESCO said when making the announcement. "The Spring Festival promotes family values, social cohesion and peace while providing a sense of identity and continuity for the Chinese people."
Some believe the inclusion of Spring Festival in UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list settles a long-standing debate over the English term for this celebration.
And yet the debate shows little sign of abating.
Some call this holiday "Lunar New Year", as it reflects the start of an annual cycle determined by the moon's orbit of Earth.
Others call this celebration "Chinese New Year" based on an argument that the holiday originated in China under its lunisolar calendar.
However, other Asian cultures also celebrate holidays at this time of year.
Vietnam calls this annual celebration "Tết", while South Korea calls it "Seollal", with each nation celebrating the occasion with their own customs and traditions.
Name controversies
The rise of social media over the past decade or so appears to have amplified debate over the holiday's English name.
Meanwhile, the debate has dovetailed with the overall rise in national identity in China.
High-profile brands around the world have sometimes found themselves caught in the middle of a social media firestorm by choosing one reference over another.
In January 2023, Disneyland Resort used "Lunar New Year" in a promotional post on Twitter, prompting intense criticism on social media.
The same year, the British Museum found itself under similar criticism after using "Korean Lunar New Year" in publicity materials related to a South Korean art performance on Twitter.
The museum subsequently deleted its tweet.
Closer to home, a couple of community organisations in Auckland have received some criticism after including introductions to wider Asian new year celebrations in their promotional materials for the upcoming festivities this year.
Contextual awareness
The United Nations is renowned for taking cultural considerations into account when dealing with the different needs of staff who hail from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.
For example, the global organisation reportedly avoids scheduling meetings on significant holidays observed by certain cultures.
In December 2023, the United Nations General Assembly made Lunar New Year an official UN holiday.
In a post on its website, the organisation said Chinese staff had been advocating for the holiday for several years.
The Chinese staff at the UN had reportedly suggested using "Lunar New Year" as a way to include Asian cultures outside of China in their celebrations.
It's hard to conclude that UNESCO's inclusion of the Spring Festival in its intangible cultural heritage list means that Lunar New Year should be avoided.
Quite the opposite. The UN appears to use each term - "Chinese New Year", "Spring Festival" and "Lunar New Year" - in context where appropriate.
As such, "Chinese New Year" or "Spring Festival" has been used when it was important to recognise the specific cultural aspects of celebrations in China or by Chinese diaspora.
However, "Lunar New Year" has been used in an international context when it was important to recognise other cultures that celebrated the first day of their lunar calendars.
The organisers of a new year festival in San Francisco - home to one of the largest celebrations outside of Asia - follow a similar approach.
Such a multi-dimensional solution acknowledges that many communities celebrate the holiday with shared elements while also preserving the distinctiveness of certain Chinese traditions.
The jury is still out, however, on whether the issue has been resolved simply by including Spring Festival on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.
