When is Lunar New Year Holiday?
In 2026, Lunar New Year Holiday falls on Sunday, February 15, 2026. It is classified here as a Taiwan public holiday.
History of Lunar New Year Holiday
Lunar New Year is Taiwan’s most important family festival. The current law provides a five-day public holiday beginning on the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve and continuing through the third day of the first lunar month. The extended time reflects the practical reality of the season: people need room to travel, prepare food, honour elders and make several family visits.
The public holiday combines older Chinese and Taiwanese traditions with a modern nationwide travel rush. Families clean and decorate homes, gather for reunion meals, give red envelopes and visit temples or relatives. In 2026, the statutory period begins February 15 and includes Lunar New Year’s Eve on February 16 and New Year’s Day on February 17; the broader nine-day break also includes weekend days.
Lunar New Year Holiday must be read through Taiwan’s current Memorial Days and Festivals framework and the legally relevant work calendar, not through a generic list of “public holidays.” The DGPA’s 2026 calendar directly governs central government administrative agencies; state-run enterprises generally follow it, while schools and police, fire, coast-guard and military bodies may adjust schedules under their competent authorities. Employees covered by the Labor Standards Act receive the applicable statutory holiday and wage treatment under Ministry of Labor rules, but banks, transport, hospitals and individual businesses publish operational hours separately. Revised scheduling rules no longer create compensatory Saturday work merely to manufacture a long weekend; a substitute rest day follows the applicable collision rule instead.
How Lunar New Year Holiday is observed
A nationwide statutory public holiday within the five-day Lunar New Year period. Its Gregorian date follows the Chinese lunisolar calendar. The annual DGPA calendar and applicable labour rules are the authority for the exact public break. Institution-specific hours and private-sector rosters should be checked separately from the government-office calendar.
Traditions of Lunar New Year Holiday
Reunion dinner
Families gather before the new year for a carefully prepared meal, often one of the year’s most important shared occasions. Practice for Lunar New Year Holiday differs among communities, households, schools and workplaces across Taiwan.
Red envelopes and visiting
Adults give red envelopes and relatives exchange new-year greetings during calls on family and friends. Practice for Lunar New Year Holiday differs among communities, households, schools and workplaces across Taiwan.
Temple and neighbourhood life
Some people visit temples, while markets and neighbourhoods fill with seasonal food, decorations and performances. Practice for Lunar New Year Holiday differs among communities, households, schools and workplaces across Taiwan.
Dates and observance rules are checked against the official Taiwan official and legal guidance. Annual Directorate-General of Personnel Administration notices set final holiday and make-up workday schedules.
History sources: Directorate-General of Personnel Administration: 2026 Work Calendar, DGPA: 2026 government-agency calendar announcement, Ministry of Labor: national holidays and substitute holidays.
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