Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

The Chinese New Year day is on January 22nd, 2004. Because this is a new moon day, it is the first day of the first Chinese lunar month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar system. The new moon time is at 05:05 on 22-Jan-04 in China time zone. However, the new moon time is at 13:05 of 21-Jan-04 in the US Pacific Standard Time and also at 10:05 of 21-Jan-04 in the US Eastern Standard Time, so the Chinese New Year day is on January 21st, 2004 for USA time zones.

In China, the first day of the Green Monkey Year is February 4th, 2004 in the Fortune-Telling Calendar system, because February 4th, 2004 is the first day of Tiger month and the Tiger month is the first month of a year in Chinese Fortune-Telling Calendar system.

In the Chinese Fortune-Telling calendar, the first day of the first month, Tiger month, is called "Start of Spring", which is when the sun enters the 315th degree on the tropical zodiac. In the China time zone, the time of Start of Spring is at 02-04 19:56. So the first day of the Green Monkey year 2004 is on 04-Feb-03. For USA, the time of Start of Spring is on 02-03 at 03:56 PST, therefore the first day of 2004 Chinese astrology calendar in USA is same to China time zone. If a baby was born on or after the Start of Spring, then she or he is a Green Monkey in the family.

The Year 2004 (Green Monkey) is the 4701st Chinese year. The Chinese believe that the first king of China was the Yellow King (he was not the first emperor of China). The Yellow King became king in 2697 B.C., therefore China will enter the 4701st year on February 4th, 2004. Also, the Chinese Year uses the cycle of 60 Stem-Branch counting systems and the Green Monkey is the 21st Stem-Branch in the cycle. Since 4700 = (60 *78) + 21, therefore this Green Monkey Year is the 4701st Chinese Year.

Whew! This calendar stuff is confusing. : )