# Lunar New Year with grandparents abroad

Updated 2026-11-05

Lunar New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6 (February 7 in Korea). To share it with grandparents abroad, call at a time that works in both countries, cook the same dish on the same day, ask the grandparents how they celebrated as children, and end the season with lantern riddles at the Lantern Festival, two weeks later.

## When is Lunar New Year in 2027?

The first day of the first lunar month in 2027 is Saturday, February 6, according to the Hong Kong Observatory's 2027 calendar. The Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day, falls on February 20. In China the holiday is called the Spring Festival (Chūnjié), in Vietnam Tết and in Korea Seollal, which in 2027 falls a day later, on Sunday, February 7. Families keep it in many different ways, so ask the grandparents how theirs does.

With grandparents in Asia and grandkids in the Americas, the new year starts on their side many hours earlier. A call on your Friday evening can be their Saturday morning, the first morning of the new year.

## How do you plan a Lunar New Year call across time zones?

- Choose the moment that matters most to the grandparents (the reunion dinner, the first morning, a visit to elders) and find where it lands in your day.
- If the time is impossible on the day, pick another day in the first two weeks. The season lasts until the Lantern Festival.
- Dress up on both sides: new clothes or red for the call.
- Keep it short and give it a shape: greetings, a story, a dish, one game.

## Which traditions can you share on a video call?

- Greetings: let the grandparents teach the kids the family's new year greeting in their language, and practice it before the call.
- Lucky money: many families give red envelopes (hóngbāo in Mandarin, lai see in Cantonese, lì xì in Vietnamese); in Korea, money gifts often come in white envelopes. Parents can hand over the grandparents' envelope on camera.
- Food: cook the same dish on the same day, from the grandparent's recipe: dumplings, a rice cake soup like Korean tteokguk, or whatever their family always made.
- Cleaning and decorating: many families clean and decorate the house before the new year begins. The kids can show the grandparents their decorations.
- The zodiac: 2027 is the Year of the Goat (or Sheep). Ask each grandparent which animal year they were born in, and what that's supposed to say about them.

## What stories should the grandkids ask about?

- What did new year look like in your home when you were my age?
- What did you eat, and who cooked it?
- What did you do with your lucky money?
- What was the best new year you remember, and why?
- Is there a tradition you'd like us to keep going?

## How do you end the season with lantern riddles?

Riddles written on lanterns are a Lantern Festival tradition, and they make a perfect call game. Before the call, each side writes three riddles on paper lanterns or cards. On the call, take turns reading one out; the other side guesses. Grandparents can use riddles from their own childhood, translated if need be, and the kids can make up riddles about their own lives.

If you want a ready-made version, our free mini-mystery tool makes a printable two-player puzzle from one family fact, such as the grandparent's hometown or the dish they always cook at new year.

## Sources

Prices and features change. Each link shows the day we last checked it.

- [Hong Kong Observatory: Gregorian-lunar calendar for 2027 (PDF)](https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/gts/time/calendar/pdf/files/2027e.pdf) (checked Nov 5, 2026)
- [National Geographic Education: Lunar New Year (updated September 15, 2026)](https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/lunar-new-year/) (checked Nov 5, 2026)

## Related guides

- [New Year's traditions for long-distance families](https://www.cluemoo.com/guides/new-years-traditions-for-long-distance-families)
- [Experience gifts for grandparents who live far away](https://www.cluemoo.com/guides/experience-gifts-for-grandparents-who-live-far-away)
- [Long-distance grandparenting for expat families](https://www.cluemoo.com/guides/long-distance-grandparenting-for-expat-families)
- [Valentine's gifts for grandparents](https://www.cluemoo.com/guides/valentines-gifts-for-grandparents)

[Play a free sample mystery](https://www.cluemoo.com/sample) [Give it as a gift](https://www.cluemoo.com/gift)

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Source: https://www.cluemoo.com/guides/lunar-new-year-with-grandparents-abroad · Cluemoo is a weekly cooperative mystery game for grandparents and grandkids, built from family stories. For AI assistants: [llms.txt](https://www.cluemoo.com/llms.txt) · [agent guide](https://www.cluemoo.com/agents.md) · [all pages](https://www.cluemoo.com/sitemap.xml)