The Collision of Two Ancient Traditions
Friends who follow the church calendar may have noticed that this year—2026—Lent overlaps with the Chinese New Year. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, which falls on a Wednesday, Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.
This is a collision between two ancient traditions. The universal tradition of Lent stretches back at least 1,700 years. The Chinese New Year, established according to the traditional calendar, dates back over 2,100 years.
Neither tradition follows the modern Gregorian calendar alone. Both are rooted in ancient natural rhythms. Lent begins forty days (excluding Sundays) before Easter, and Easter is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Thus, Ash Wednesday typically falls between early February and mid-March. The Chinese New Year begins on the first day of the lunar calendar, usually around the solar terms of Major Cold (Dàhán, 大寒) or the Beginning of Spring (Lìchūn, 立春), falling between January 21 and February 20.
Over the past century, these two observances have coincided only five times. In the twenty-first century, the most recent overlaps were in 2002 and 2013. Historically, such convergence occurs roughly every fifteen years.
What Does It Mean?
When these two traditions meet, they invite reflection and pose challenges for those of us who follow Christ. Their tones and moods differ greatly. How can the joy and festivity of the New Year blend with the sorrow and self-denial of Lent?
The New Year represents kinship, celebration, and fullness. Lent represents sacred connection, restraint, and emptying. Placed side by side, they seem strangely mismatched. At times, it may even feel as though heaven were playing a joke on Chinese Christians.
Yet God’s heart is good. If we are willing to accept the tension and conflict between the two, we may discover that this very tension draws our lives deeper—and our faith deeper still.
1. Facing Brokenness Amid Celebration
The dominant theme of the New Year is reunion and joyful fulfillment in family life. Yet often this remains superficial. We maintain outward harmony. We pretend to be happy. We avoid confronting the fractures and wounds within our families—the pressures and struggles beneath the surface.
Many young people now choose to “cut ties” and avoid returning home because, in their hearts, there is no longer a sense of “home.”
Lent provides an opportunity to weep amid the surrounding festivities—to face honestly the brokenness and pain in our lives.
2. Bright Sadness and Joyful Lament
The dominant theme of Lent is fasting and sorrow—but not without hope. It is sorrow grounded in deep assurance. Though we fall into the dark abyss of sin and death, his grace is greater than all of it. His light has already shone into the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Lenten sorrow is not dim—it is luminous. In the Orthodox tradition, it is called “bright sadness.” In the Western Church, it is sometimes described as “joyful lament.”
If we look beyond the flamboyant red decorations, the New Year’s celebration can actually remind us of the comforting hope embedded within Lent.
3. The Unity of Opposites
These two seasons appear contradictory. Yet reality itself is a unity of opposites. Good and evil intertwine. Joy and sorrow coexist. Light and darkness remain present together. Faith and doubt dance with one another.
Human beings themselves are such paradoxical unities—good and evil manifest within the same person.
What appears contradictory is often not truly so. The two opposing sides flow into each other, like yin and yang (yīn yáng, 阴阳). Without the sorrow, restraint, and emptying of Lent, there can be no true joy, freedom, or fullness.
If we allow Lenten discipline to shape our New Year celebrations, we will experience a deeper abundance of life. Is this not also a gift from heaven to the Chinese people?
There is another gift tied to the New Year.
For most of the world using the Gregorian calendar, the new year begins on January 1. But for Chinese people, January 1 is not yet the true New Year—we must wait for the Spring Festival. The time between January 1 and the Lunar New Year feels as if the new year has already arrived, yet not fully.
This mirrors the nature of the last days in which we live: the Kingdom of Heaven has already come, yet it has not fully come. As Chinese people living in this in-between time, we taste something of that “already and not yet.”
Spiritual Practices for New Year and Lent
So how can we genuinely embrace Lent while celebrating reunion and joy with family? What can we do concretely?
1. Pause
The New Year is busy—meeting people, handling many matters. Our hearts easily become restless.
Intentionally interrupt the busyness. Stop. Turn away from the world—from crowds, from noise—and turn inward, toward silence, toward him.
2. Fast
Some feel the New Year is the worst time to fast because it is a season of feasting. In fact, it may be the best time.
Physically, we often overeat during the New Year. Tell your family you have eaten enough and need rest. Intentionally fasting during this season—not only from regular meals but also from snacks—benefits both body and soul.
And not only food—consider fasting from entertainment. For many, this is the time of year when they consume the most shows and variety programs. Exercise deliberate restraint.
3. Pray
The previous two steps exist for this one: to lead us into prayer.
You may use “Pray & Read 365” for meditation, including:
- Morning prayer (Lectio Divina)
- Midday prayer (the Lord’s Prayer)
- Evening prayer (The Examen)
4. Repair Relationships
Jesus’s death and resurrection restore our relationship with the Father. Through his death, he prepared a place for us so that we may stand before the Father without fear.
Returning home during the New Year means encountering many people—some we wish to see, others not.
Take the initiative to repair damaged relationships. Reach out to those you have not contacted. Visit those you have not seen in a long time.
5. Practice Mercy
Lent is a season of mercy. We are dust, and to dust we shall return—yet he has stooped down to us, drawn near to us.
During the New Year, look for opportunities to show mercy. Visit those who are weak or sick. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Additional Resources
A few years ago, I began intentionally reflecting on traditional festivals and seasons, seeking to infuse them with the truth of the gospel as part of a process of contextualization. This became a beautiful journey of exploration and was later compiled into a book titled As Promised (《如约》 Rú Yuē).
The book includes two weeks of spiritual reflections for the New Year, gently engaging the cultural DNA of the Spring Festival, as well as a full forty-day Lenten guide. It is available on two major digital platforms.
Lenten Resources for Churches
This year, in addition to the daily morning, midday, and evening practices in the Chinese version of “Lectio 365,” we are launching companion resources designed for communities to journey together.
Created by the 24-7 Prayer team through on-site research in the Egyptian desert, this material draws from the fourth-century wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. It is designed for churches and believers longing to recover spiritual centeredness in today’s wilderness.
Resources include:
- A video series on the Desert Fathers and Mothers
- A preaching guide for pastors
- Small group discussion materials
This is a gift—freely shared with everyone. You are warmly invited to use, share, and support it.
This article was originally written in Chinese and is presented here in an English translation edited by the ChinaSource team with the author’s permission.
