When is Chinese Spring Festival?
In 2026, Chinese Spring Festival falls on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. It is classified here as a paid public holiday.
History of Chinese Spring Festival
The Chinese Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, celebrates renewal, prosperity and family reunion in Sino-Mauritian communities whose histories include successive Cantonese and Hakka migration and the growth of commercial and community institutions around Port Louis. It is neither observed identically by every person of Chinese ancestry nor confined to Chinatown.
Mauritian practice includes the family reunion table, red decorations, niangao commonly called wax cake, and public lion or dragon dance programmes. National recognition reflects the long-standing place of Chinese Mauritians in the island's history, while the statutory day off belongs to workers of every background.
Its legal status comes from the Public Holidays Act as restructured in 2015 and the Government's annual date notice. Sundays are themselves public holidays under the First Schedule, but Mauritius does not automatically transfer a named festival that falls on Sunday to Monday. The Workers' Rights Act governs pay and work entitlements and expressly distinguishes a public holiday that is also Sunday from other public holidays.
How Chinese Spring Festival is observed
Nationwide on Tuesday, February 17 in 2026. Family reunion and temple or association programmes centre Sino-Mauritian observance, while the public closure is shared by the whole republic.
Traditions of Chinese Spring Festival
Family reunion meal
Sino-Mauritian households gather for an eve or festival meal, honouring elders and renewing family ties. Public countdowns and private gatherings welcome the new year, often with music, fireworks or other locally familiar forms of celebration.
Niangao sharing
Wax cake, the Mauritian name for a sticky rice New Year cake, is prepared or exchanged alongside other family-specific dishes.
Red and public performance
Red envelopes and decorations express good fortune, while lion or dragon dance and controlled firecrackers appear at community events, not in every home.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Mauritius official holiday calendar or legislation. Government, regional, school and employer schedules in Mauritius may differ; check the linked official source and current local notices before making time-sensitive plans.
History sources: Prime Minister's Office: Public Holidays 2026 (amended), Mauritius Public Holidays Act, Public Holidays (Amendment) Act 2015, Workers' Rights Act 2019 and current consolidations, Ministry of Arts and Culture: National Chinese New Year Banquet 2026, Encyclopaedia Britannica: New Year festival.
Continue exploring