Lead
On 17 February 2026 communities across East and Southeast Asia marked the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Fire Horse. Public events ranged from lion dances outside Sydney Town Hall to temple visits in Beijing and incense offerings at cemeteries in Vietnam. China expected a record 9.5 billion cross-regional journeys during the holiday, while South Korea anticipated 720,000 outbound passengers at Incheon over five days. The day combined celebration with economic hopes and social tensions, and a mix of exuberant and muted observances around the region.
Key Takeaways
- Record movement: China forecast 9.5 billion cross-regional journeys during the New Year travel rush, described as the world’s largest human migration this holiday.
- Airport pressure: South Korea’s Incheon International Airport expected about 720,000 outbound passengers during the five-day period.
- Sydney celebrations: Multiple lion dances were staged at Darling Harbour and Town Hall; families such as Christina Yuen and Frank Bui brought their sons for a cultural day.
- Workplace language shift: Dr Christian Yao of Victoria University of Wellington noted horse imagery is prevalent in corporate communications in 2026, reflecting both aspiration and burnout.
- Regional variety: Festivals ranged from spirited lohei tossing in Singapore and Malaysia to subdued observances in Bangkok during Thailand’s mourning period.
- Cultural continuity: In Vietnam the first day remains for family and ancestor remembrance, with incense and food offerings seen across regions.
- Commercial stakes: Vendors in Manila’s Binondo reported mixed sales; many brands are using zodiac motifs in marketing campaigns this Year of the Horse.
Background
The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year in a 12-year cycle; 2026 is the Fire Horse, an iteration that carries connotations of speed, energy and mobility. The zodiac has both ancient ritual meaning and modern cultural currency: cities and brands deploy horse imagery in public art, packaging and advertising. Lunar New Year remains the largest seasonal occasion for family reunions across China and the wider region, triggering massive internal migration and concentrated consumer spending.
Over time the holiday has become a barometer of social and economic conditions. Governments and businesses often monitor travel and retail figures to gauge consumer confidence, and in 2026 officials in Beijing signalled support for the services sector to stimulate demand. At the same time, younger generations navigate shifting norms: some embrace traditional observances, others avoid tense family encounters, and many face workplace pressures tied to modern corporate culture.
Main Event
In Sydney, Hong Kong-born Australian Christina Yuen, 42, and her husband Frank Bui, 45, took their sons Harrison (4) and Oliver (6) out of school for what Christina called a ‘culture day.’ On the Town Hall steps the boys were in the front row and gently stroked the lion’s nose, a customary gesture believed to bring good luck. After the performance the family planned a trip to a toy shop, emblematic of how public rituals blend with everyday family routines.
In workplaces, horse imagery surfaced prominently. Dr Christian Yao, a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Management, told reporters that phrases invoking the horse—speed, momentum, ‘success at a gallop’—are likely to appear in speeches, presentations and email subject lines in 2026. He described this language as a form of ‘soft governance’ that encourages employees to adopt proactive attributes, even while many privately report burnout and feelings of powerlessness.
Across Southeast Asia, customs varied. In Vietnam the first day traditionally centers on family visits to temples and cemeteries, where incense and food offerings honor ancestors; some communities even offer incense at unrelated graves as a sign of respect. In Manila’s historic Binondo, crowds sought festive foods like sticky rice cakes and yusheng, while charm and souvenir vendors hoped for steady sales despite mixed reports from early trading this year.
Not all celebrations were unrestrained. Thailand’s Bangkok observed a muted atmosphere in Chinatown due to a one-year mourning period for Queen Sirikit; public decorations were limited though private festivities continued. Meanwhile in Singapore a viral video showed about 100 people at Nanyang Technological University engaging in a noisy lohei event that some viewers condemned as wasteful, prompting the university to announce counselling for those involved.
Analysis & Implications
The expectation of 9.5 billion journeys places enormous stress on transport infrastructure and underscores the holiday’s economic significance. For consumer-facing businesses the travel rush is a crucial seasonal test: tourism, retail and food services rely on concentrated spending to boost quarterly receipts. Chinese authorities have signalled efforts to pivot toward services to stimulate domestic demand, but analysts warn that without stronger wage growth and job security, households may remain cautious and favour saving over discretionary spending.
Symbolically, the Fire Horse year has been repurposed in corporate and commercial language to signal dynamism and advantage. That rebranding can inspire marketing campaigns and workplace slogans, but it also highlights tensions between public optimism and private strain. Dr Yao’s observation that animal metaphors coexist with slang for overwork reflects broader debates about contemporary work culture in Chinese-speaking communities.
Regionally, the holiday’s patchwork of observances shows how national circumstances shape ritual life: mourning in Thailand, post-coup changes in Yangon’s Latha district, and long-standing multicultural rituals in Indonesia’s Sumenep all affected how people marked the day. Media and social platforms amplified these differences, and viral moments—both celebratory and controversial—shaped public conversation about waste, tradition and identity.
Comparison & Data
| Indicator | 2026 Figure |
|---|---|
| China cross-regional journeys (expected) | 9.5 billion |
| Incheon outbound passengers (five days) | ~720,000 |
These headline figures highlight the scale and logistical challenge of the holiday. The 9.5 billion journeys reflect repeated short-distance trips across administrative lines rather than unique individuals; the Incheon projection shows concentrated international departures from a single hub. Both numbers are commonly used by authorities and media to assess travel demand and transport system performance during the Spring Festival period.
Reactions & Quotes
Families and participants expressed a blend of pride and nostalgia. Many brought children to public performances to transmit cultural knowledge in diaspora contexts, while on social media younger people voiced ambivalence about family reunions.
It’s a culture day — it’s important for them to learn about their roots and understand Lunar New Year while growing up in Australia.
Christina Yuen, attendee in Sydney
Academics and commentators highlighted how zodiac language functions beyond folklore, seeping into corporate rhetoric.
Expressions using horse imagery act as a form of soft governance encouraging staff to reflect proactive, speedy attributes in public settings.
Dr Christian Yao, Victoria University of Wellington (academic)
Some young people described family gatherings as fraught, signalling wider social tensions around expectations, careers and privacy.
I no longer understand the concept of family reunion; this isn’t a gathering, it’s an annual humiliation.
Interviewee in China (reported)
Unconfirmed
- The exact number of people involved in the viral lohei video and whether all participants were enrolled students remains unclear and under inquiry.
- Reports that charm sales in Binondo are significantly lower than last year are preliminary and may not reflect later-day trading patterns.
- Social-media claims about who benefits from the Fire Horse rhetoric in workplaces are largely anecdotal and not supported by systematic survey data at this time.
Bottom Line
The first day of Lunar New Year 2026 combined vivid public performances with significant logistical and social pressures. Record travel figures and concentrated spending create both opportunities for businesses and strains on transport networks; authorities will watch holiday data for signs of consumer recovery. Simultaneously, the spread of zodiac imagery into workplaces and marketing highlights how tradition is repurposed in modern life, for both morale and messaging.
In the days ahead attention will focus on whether travel and retail figures translate into sustained economic momentum, how institutions respond to public concerns such as wasteful behaviour or transport stress, and whether younger generations find new ways to negotiate family and cultural expectations. The Year of the Fire Horse thus opened with celebration, complication and a series of questions that will shape coverage and policy in the weeks to come.
Sources
- BBC News live coverage – media: live regional reporting and aggregated dispatches