Icecat Wishes You a Happy New Lunar Year

The Lunar New Year starts today. The Lunar New Year is an important holiday in most Asian countries; it is a spring festival and is seen as a new start. The festival is celebrated on the first to the fifteenth day of the first month of the Lunar calendar. The party is therefore celebrated on a different date each year, but never takes place before January 21 or after February 20.

The year of the rat

Just like in 1996 and 2008, according to the ancient Asian calendar, 2020 is the year of the rat. The Lunar calendar, a moon-sun calendar, is more than 4000 years old and determines all dates for the holidays. This means that the length of the months is determined by the moon and the length of the years by the sun. A leap month takes place every three years to compensate for the difference between the 365-day solar year and the 354-day lunar year.

A sign from the animal enclosure is assigned to every twelve years. These zodiac signs all represent character traits that relate to people born in that year. The zodiac sign changes every year during the celebration of the Lunar new year. Children born in that year automatically get the sign of that year as a constellation. All children born in 2020 therefore receive rat as a constellation.

How does Lunar new year affect e-commerce

Last year, during Lunar new year drop-shipping was only slightly impacted for most store owners. On average, we found that most suppliers only shut down for a week. However, most online retailers took the initiative to reach out to manufacturers to get exact dates for some of their most popular items. Lunar new year 2019 affected stores that rely on the Valentine’s Day niche the most such as lingerie, couple’s gifts, flowers, and stuffed animals.

When does business go back to normal after Lunar new year?

Business will go back to normal about a week or two after Lunar new year for most suppliers. Some suppliers might be off a bit longer but it depends on each one. You’ll need to contact your suppliers directly to find out more information.

Keep in mind, since Chinese suppliers were off for at least a week, they’ll have a backlog of orders they need to get to first which delays things a bit for them. You’ll want to keep an eye on orders and keep customers informed throughout the process.

Dominic van Waversveld