Chinese New Year in Singapore 2027 & 2028

Chinese New Year Dates for 2027 and 2028

The 2027 dates are confirmed in the official Ministry of Manpower public holiday announcement.

Next occurrence. The next Chinese New Year holiday is Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February 2027, with Monday 8 February gazetted as the holiday in lieu. Chinese New Year’s Eve, when the reunion dinner is held, falls on Friday 5 February 2027.

Last updated 26 October 2026.

Previous Chinese New Year Dates

The earlier dates can be compared with our complete Singapore public holidays 2026 calendar.

Is Chinese New Year a Public Holiday in Singapore?

Yes. The first and second days of Chinese New Year are gazetted public holidays in Singapore. The Ministry of Manpower lists both days separately among the country’s 11 paid public holidays.

Employees covered by the Employment Act are generally entitled to paid public holidays. When a public holiday falls on a rest day, the next working day becomes a paid holiday.

When it falls on a non-working day, an eligible employee should receive another day off or an extra day’s salary. The exact arrangement depends on the employee’s regular working schedule.

💼 For 2027: Saturday, 6 February may be a non-working day for employees on a standard five-day week. Sunday, 7 February is commonly the rest day, so Monday, 8 February becomes the paid public holiday.

Any additional day off for the Saturday holiday should be arranged with the employer. It is not automatically fixed on Tuesday. Employees can check the official MOM public holiday entitlement guide for the rules applying to their situation.

Does Chinese New Year Create a Long Weekend in 2027?

For many people, yes. The confirmed Monday holiday creates a three-day Chinese New Year weekend from Saturday, 6 February to Monday, 8 February 2027.

Employees who receive another day off because the first day falls on Saturday may be able to extend their break. The date of that additional day depends on the arrangement with their employer.

Check your company calendar before booking flights or accommodation. Families should also compare their plans with the Singapore school holidays, as school breaks do not always match public holiday dates.

Is Chinese New Year’s Eve a Public Holiday?

No. Chinese New Year’s Eve is not a gazetted public holiday in Singapore. There is also no statutory right to a half-day.

Some employers allow staff to finish early so they can attend reunion dinners. However, this is a workplace arrangement rather than a nationwide public holiday rule.

What Is Open or Closed During Chinese New Year?

Government offices, schools and many banks normally close during the two Chinese New Year public holidays.

Some family-run shops, hawker stalls and restaurants may also close or operate for shorter hours. Closures are more common on the first day, although every business makes its own decision.

Malls, supermarkets, hotels, attractions and larger food outlets may remain open. However, opening hours can vary between businesses and individual branches.

🛍️ Check directly with the restaurant, attraction, supermarket or outlet before visiting. Do not assume that every business follows the same Chinese New Year schedule.

Does Public Transport Operate During Chinese New Year?

Yes. Singapore’s public transport generally continues to operate during Chinese New Year.

Train and bus timings, last-service times and routes may be adjusted around Chinese New Year’s Eve, Chinatown celebrations and other major events.

Passengers should check announcements from the relevant transport operator before travelling. The 2027 transport arrangements should not be assumed from schedules published in previous years.

How Chinese New Year Is Celebrated in Singapore

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, centres on family reunion, good wishes and welcoming a fresh start.

Families commonly gather for a reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve. During the festive period, people visit relatives through a tradition known as bai nian, exchange mandarin oranges and give red packets to younger family members.

🧧 A particularly popular Singapore tradition is lo hei. Diners toss yusheng, a colourful raw-fish salad, while saying auspicious phrases connected with prosperity, togetherness and good fortune.

Popular festive foods also include bak kwa, pineapple tarts and love letters. These foods are commonly shared at home, given as gifts or served during visits.

Public celebrations usually include Chinatown decorations, River Hongbao and Chingay. Event dates, locations and programmes can change each year, so visitors should check the official Visit Singapore Chinese New Year guide before attending.

Chinese New Year Customs, Taboos and Greetings in Singapore

Most of the customs you will notice around CNY come down to one idea: start the year clean, and do not chase the luck away once it arrives. In the week before, families give the home a thorough spring clean and settle small debts, then put the broom away. Sweeping or throwing out rubbish on the first day is said to sweep good fortune out of the door. Haircuts are put off too, because the Chinese word for hair sounds like the word for prosperity, which is why neighbourhood barbers are packed in the days before the festival.

Homes are decorated in red and gold: couplets on the door, the character 福 (fu, meaning blessing) often hung upside down because “upside down” in Mandarin sounds like “arrived”, plus pussy willow, plum blossom and potted kumquat plants for prosperity. Visitors bring a pair of mandarin oranges, since the Cantonese word for them sounds like gold, and the host gives a pair back when they leave. Avoid giving clocks, gifts in sets of four or anything wrapped in white or black, and steer clear of words linked to death or bad luck during the first few days.

Reunion dinner menus vary from family to family, but steamboat (hot pot) is a classic Singapore choice: a simmering pot in the middle of the table, with sliced meat, seafood, fishballs and vegetables cooked as you go. If you plan to eat out on CNY Eve, book weeks ahead, as many restaurants only serve set menus that night. Over the first fifteen days, lion dance troupes visit offices, shops and homes, ending each performance by “plucking the green” (cai qing), usually a head of lettuce tied to a red packet, for luck.

The greetings you will hear most are “Gong xi fa cai” (wishing you prosperity) and “Xin nian kuai le” (happy new year). Around the lo hei table, everyone shouts “Huat ah!”, Hokkien for “prosper!”, as the yusheng is tossed as high as possible.

Ang Bao Etiquette

Red packets, called ang bao in Hokkien and hongbao in Mandarin, are given by married couples to children and unmarried relatives, and often by bosses to staff. Amounts are usually even numbers, and many people avoid anything with a 4, which sounds like the word for death. Crisp new notes are traditional, but Singapore’s banks and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have encouraged “good-as-new” notes and e-hongbao by PayNow in recent years to cut waste, so do not be surprised if a younger relative sends theirs by phone. Hand red packets over with both hands, and do not open them in front of the giver.

A Short History of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year marks the beginning of a new year in the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. Its date changes each year on the Gregorian calendar, usually falling in January or February.

The wider festive period lasts for 15 days, although Singapore’s statutory public holiday covers only the first two days.

Reunion dinners, red packets, home visits and auspicious greetings remain central to the celebration. Over generations, traditions brought by different Chinese communities have also developed a distinctly Singaporean character.

The communal tossing of yusheng has become particularly associated with Singapore and Malaysia. More information is available from the National Heritage Board’s Chinese New Year cultural resource.

When Is CNY 2027 in Singapore?

CNY 2027 falls on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February 2027. Because both days land on the weekend, Monday 8 February 2027 is gazetted as the holiday in lieu, so employees on a Monday-to-Friday week get a three-day weekend. Chinese New Year’s Eve, when the reunion dinner is held, is Friday 5 February 2027 — a normal working day, though many offices release staff early.

2027 is the Year of the Goat (also called the Sheep or Ram). The following year, CNY 2028, moves earlier to Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 January 2028, the Year of the Monkey — a midweek pair that splits the week rather than extending the weekend.

Only the first two days of Chinese New Year are gazetted public holidays in Singapore. The festival itself runs for fifteen days, ending with Chap Goh Meh — Saturday 20 February 2027 — but those later days are ordinary working days.

Do Schools Close for Chinese New Year?

MOE schools close on the gazetted public holidays, which for 2027 means Monday 8 February. Because 6 and 7 February fall on a Saturday and Sunday, there is no extra weekday closure beyond that Monday. Chinese New Year sits inside Term 1, so it is not part of a scheduled school break — see the Singapore school holidays page and the 2027 MOE term dates for the full calendar.

Many schools hold their own Chinese New Year celebration assembly on the last school day before the holiday, usually with a lion dance and a shortened timetable. That is a school decision, not a closure.

River Hongbao, Chingay and the Chinatown Light-Up

Three events anchor the Chinese New Year season in Singapore, and they are what most visitors plan around.

The Chinatown Chinese New Year Light-Up switches on roughly four to six weeks before the festival and runs past Chap Goh Meh. Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road carry the zodiac lanterns, and the street market along Pagoda, Trengganu and Smith Streets opens in the evenings for bak kwa, pussy willow and festive snacks.

River Hongbao opens on Chinese New Year’s Eve and runs for about a week, with giant god-of-fortune lanterns, nightly stage performances and a food street. It has been held at Gardens by the Bay in recent years.

The Chingay Parade is the finale — a floats-and-performers street parade usually staged on the weekend after Chinese New Year. Tickets are sold in advance and the grandstand seats go quickly.

Exact 2027 dates for all three are confirmed closer to the time by the organisers, so treat the windows above as the pattern rather than a booking schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

After Chinese New Year: What to Plan For

Once the reunion dinners are over, the next public holiday is Hari Raya Puasa on Wednesday 10 March 2027. It falls midweek, so two days of leave on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 March turn it into a five-day break. Good Friday follows on 26 March, giving a natural three-day weekend. Both appear on the 2027 public holiday calendar, and if a holiday lands on your non-working Saturday, as Chinese New Year does on 6 February, the off-in-lieu rules are explained in our Saturday public holiday guide.