If you’re looking for a few more reasons to celebrate the New Year, settle in for a Lunar New Year celebration at home. January 22, 2023, marks the Lunar New Year and officially starts the Year of the Rabbit! Give yourself a reason to renew all those goals, indulge in a little Chinese Astrology, and add some new foods to our Disney Recipes lineup!
Things to Do for Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year in China actually covers 7 days. This year the Disneyland Lunar New Year celebrations run from January 20 to February 15, 2023. And the holiday is an opportunity to be with loved ones and wish each other well for the coming year. So there are activities, games, gift exchanges, food, and more that promote abundance in all forms. Well, wishes for prosperity, longevity, good health, and progress is all on the docket for New Year.
Lunar New Year at Disneyland Park
Since we can’t make it to Disneyland for Lunar New Year, we’re simply indulging in and whipping up some magic of our own. If you’re headed to the park, be sure to read up on everything that is coming to Disneyland for the Lunar New Year Celebration.
Grab Disney Lunar New Year Decorations
Each year shopDisney.com honors the Lunar New Year with a slew of new Disney products. Be sure to check out the Shop Disney Lunar New Year Collection for fun things to wear and to decorate your home!
Put Up Decorations
Anything Red and Gold will work! Both colors indicate riches and good luck. Paper lanterns, red animals, gold garlands, anything!
Have Dinner with your Family
The Lunar New Year “Family Reunion Dinner” is extra special and considered to be the most important meal of the year. So even if you have dinner with your family every night/ week/ month, make this one special. Choose traditional foods that are considered to be LUCKY. Here are some things to make for your Disney Chinese Lunar New Year at home.
- Fish: Increase prosperity
- Chinese Dumplings: Wealth
- Spring Rolls: Wealth
- Rice Cake: Higher Income or Position
- Sweet Rice Balls: Family Togetherness
- Longevity Noodles: Happiness & Longevity
- Good Fortune Fruit: Fullness & Wealth
Read more about the intricacies of eating Lucky Foods for the Chinese New Year.
Set off Firecrackers, Fireworks, Sparklers, and Lanterns
Such a tradition in Chinese culture, setting off fireworks is a national pastime, and starts the minute Chinese New Year arrives. If you’re looking for a little fireworks magic of your own you may be able to find festivities here in the US that celebrates with a fireworks display as well. We also love handheld sparklers to light up in the backyard for some nighttime magic. If you’re looking for a great way to ring in the New Year with some intentions then use paper lanterns that you can light and let go. This is a wonderful activity and is beautiful to watch
Give Red Envelopes filled with Money
Giving money is a surefire way to share your good fortune and receive it back tenfold! And of course, it’s the thought that counts and not the amount. So grab some red envelopes and share them at your family dinner, so that prosperity and good fortune can spread throughout the year!
Tea Time with Almond Cookies
One of our favorite ways to celebrate pretty much anything ( since you guys know we adore tea time) is to have a little tea. And no tea would be complete without a little snack. To honor the Chinese Lunar New Year we made Chinese Almond Cookies, which are super easy to whip up with a little almond flour and light enough to have any ‘ol time.
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit
Each year, which you can see on the chart below, corresponds to an important animal in Chinese culture. And every zodiac animal is affected by the overarching animal year. In this case, 2023 is the year of the Water Rabbit.
The Chinese Zodiac with Disney Characters
| Animal | Chinese Name | Disney Character | Year of Your Birth |
| Rat | Remy | 鼠 (shǔ) | 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032 |
| Ox | Babe the Blue Ox | 牛 (niú) | 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033 |
| Tiger | Tigger | 虎 (hǔ) | 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034 |
| Rabbit | Thumper | 兔 (tù) | 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035 |
| Dragon | Mushu | 龙 (lóng) | 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036 |
| Snake | Kaa | 蛇 (shé) | 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037 |
| Horse | Maximus | 马 (mǎ) | 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038 |
| Sheep | Jolly Holiday Lambs | 羊 (yáng) | 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039 |
| Monkey | Abu | 猴 (hóu) | 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040 |
| Rooster | Alan-A-Dale | 鸡 (jī) | 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041 |
| Dog | Pluto | 狗 (gǒu) | 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042 |
| Pig | Hamm | 猪 (zhū) | 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043 |
Shanghai Disneyland Garden of Twelve Friends
As part of the Garden of Twelve Friends at Shanghai Disneyland you’ll find these characters associated with their Chinese counterparts. Check out your Birth Year to see which Chinese Zodiac you match and which Disney Character shares your personality.
Animal Characteristics in Chinese Astrology
Fans of astrology know the most fun part is learning more about yourself. Check out your Chinese Animal and your corresponding birth year above. And then find what your animal’s dominating personality traits are below.
- Rat: quick-witted, smart, charming, and persuasive
- Ox: patient, kind, stubborn, and conservative
- Tiger: authoritative, emotional, courageous, and intense
- Rabbit: popular, compassionate, and sincere
- Dragon: energetic, fearless, warm-hearted, and charismatic
- Snake: charming, gregarious, introverted, generous, and smart
- Horse: energetic, independent, impatient, and enjoy traveling
- Sheep: mild-mannered, shy, kind, and peace-loving
- Monkey: fun, energetic, and active
- Rooster: independent, practical, hard-working, and observant
- Dog: patient, diligent, generous, faithful, and kind
- Pig: loving, tolerant, honest, and appreciative of luxury
Disney Lunar New Year
Hopefully, you’ve found lots of fun to help inspire your year in this post! Maybe you’re hoping to attend a Disney Lunar New Year Celebration of your very own! We enjoy this holiday every year, so will be sure to update this post as we find more amazing things to bake, cook and learn!
Rochelle Mariah is a writer, designer and photographer with an MLIS in Information Science and a B.S. in Arch and Design. Determined to make Planning a DIY Disney Vacation easier she makes lots of lists and drinks lots of coffee. When not designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she's watching old movies and planning the holidays. She has been traveling to Disney destinations since 2010.
Is the Disney Chinese Zodiac available to print anywhere? It would be cute to add as a decoration.
Hey Jennifer, if you right-click on the zodiac image in the post, it will open a pdf, that you can print on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, or send to a local print shop like office max or staples, for them to print at your desired size. Hope that helps.