When is Chinese New Year · Day 2?
In 2026, Chinese New Year · Day 2 falls on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. It is classified here as a Malaysian public holiday.
History of Chinese New Year · Day 2
Chinese New Year Day 2 continues the lunar-new-year holiday with family visiting, hospitality and religious or ancestral customs according to each household. It is a second listed civil date, not a substitute day created because the opening holiday met a weekend.
Malaysia’s state schedule matters on this day. The second Chinese New Year holiday applies widely, but Kelantan and Terengganu list only the first day. Businesses also choose their own reopening timetable, so a two-day public schedule does not mean every shop or family follows an identical programme.
Chinese New Year Day 2 is a separate civil holiday on Wednesday, February 18 in the 2026 schedule, not an observed substitute for Day 1. Kelantan and Terengganu do not list the second day, demonstrating why the state columns must be read rather than relying on a simplified national label. Family visiting often continues, but business reopening varies by sector, ownership and locality. The guide records a second leave date while keeping it within the same lunar-new-year sequence.
How Chinese New Year · Day 2 is observed
The second Chinese New Year date fell on Wednesday, February 18, 2026; Kelantan and Terengganu do not list this second day.
Traditions of Chinese New Year · Day 2
Family visiting
On Chinese New Year Day 2, Malaysian families visit relatives, honour elders and adapt visiting sequences to household and regional custom.
Ang pow and festive foods
Red packets, mandarin oranges, biscuits and carefully chosen reunion dishes express generosity, good wishes and family continuity across generations.
Temples, dances and open houses
Temple worship, lion dances and Malaysian open houses bring religious, cultural and cross-community dimensions into different public settings.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Malaysian official and legal guidance. State and territory schedules can differ; annual federal and state official notices should be confirmed for final dates.
History sources: Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia: 2026 national public-holiday list, Prime Minister's Department: Federal and State Public Holidays 2026, Prime Minister's Department: Holidays Act 1951 (Act 369), Prime Minister's Department: federal and state public-holiday gazettes, Government of Malaysia: official calendar, Employment Act 1955: paid public-holiday entitlement, JAKIM: Malaysian Hijri calendar and important Islamic dates.
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