Frequently Asked Questions
What is CNYVSLNY?
An open-source project tracking how organizations refer to the holiday — whether they use "Chinese New Year," "Lunar New Year," "Spring Festival," or another term. Each entry is sourced from publicly observable material and linked to a URL.
Why does this matter?
Terminology choices reflect cultural, political, and institutional positions. This project doesn't advocate for any particular term — it documents how organizations actually use them.
What terms are tracked?
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year), Spring Festival, and other variants. The dataset records whichever term each organization uses in its public-facing material.
Where does the data come from?
Publicly observable sources: websites, social-media posts, press releases, product UIs, and event pages. Every entry includes a source URL so the claim can be verified independently.
Isn't "Lunar New Year" more inclusive?
The project doesn't take a position on which term is "correct." It records observable usage. For archival context on how the terminology shifted over time, see the History page.
What is the Chinese calendar — lunar or luni-solar?
The traditional Chinese calendar is luni-solar: it incorporates both lunar phases and the solar year through intercalary months. A purely lunar calendar — one that does not adjust for the solar year — is the Islamic Hijri calendar.
Did UNESCO weigh in?
In December 2024, UNESCO inscribed "Spring Festival" (Chunjie) — specifically the social practices of the Chinese people in celebrating the traditional new year — on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Is this a boycott list?
No. This project documents terminology choices — it does not endorse, encourage, or facilitate boycotts, harassment, or any targeted action against organisations. Organisations are free to use whatever term they consider appropriate. The dataset is intended for research, education, and informed discussion, not to pressure or shame any entity. Using this data to organise boycotts or targeted campaigns is a misuse of the project.
Do the blog posts represent the project's position?
No. Blog posts and opinion pieces hosted on this site are third-party contributions that represent the views of their individual authors. The project itself does not advocate for or against any particular term.
How can I contribute?
Submit entries via the project's GitHub repository following the data schema. Pull requests with a source URL and the term used by the organization are welcome.