[Image: Befunky]
January 29 marks the beginning of the Year of the Snake, which will last until February 16, 2026.
Chinese Lunar New Year kicks off more than two weeks of parties, customs and copious feasts. Also known as the Spring Festival, the holiday celebrates the arrival of spring and the start of a fresh year based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
While the snake may have a bad rep in the West, the slithery reptile is celebrated and revered across the Eastern hemisphere.
According to Jonathan H. X. Lee, an Asian and American professor at San Francisco State University, whose research focuses in part on Chinese folklore, the snake symbolises “inner work, whether releasing unrealistic expectations of loved ones or getting rid of bad habits”.
“It’s shedding the ego, letting go of the past, letting go of anger, letting go of love lost,” Lee said. “This is the year where that kind of growth — personal and macro, internal and external — is very much possible.”
“This is a year of deep reflection, intellectual development and thoughtful decisions.”
The 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar cycle is represented by 12 different animals, in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
The snake, which corresponds to the birth years of people born in 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025, is usually connected with intelligence, resilience, and love, Lee explained. People born during those years are said to do “whatever it takes to accomplish a goal.”
Astrologists agree with the Professor and believe this year will bring “renewal and regeneration”. For a change, most of the pseudos seem to share the optimism, with professional astrologer Xenia Basilenko saying “The snake symbolizes insight, strategy and intuition.” Vibes.
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The Lunar New Year is already trending on social media and according to the BBC, the “fashionable aunt” has become this year’s unofficial mascot among Chinese influencers.
A “fashionable aunt” is defined as someone who is poised, confident, and daring to defy conventional standards, such as the expectation to marry and have children early.
The term went viral recently with millions of views and discussions, according to data analytics firm Newrank. Unmarried women in their late twenties are often labelled as “leftover women”. For many, the fashionable aunt” offers a “refreshing symbol of independence and defiance of stereotypes”.
All this talk of independence and freedom has not gone unnoticed and The Cyberspace Administration of China has come up with a new list of phrases they will be targeting in online discussion over the coming weeks – with one item standing out.
You will be in trouble if you “deliberately exaggerate and advocate topics such as non-marriage and non-childbirth”.
The extent to which this will be policed remains to be seen though, but censorship in China is usually very vague, so anything besides “Happy New Year” and “Snakes Uwu” might cause trouble.
