A Lunar New Year video message names the incoming zodiac year — 2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat, starting 6 February 2027 — adds one real detail about the recipient, and signs off in the greeting that family actually uses, whether the request is for Chinese New Year, Seollal, or Tết. A plain "Happy New Year" does none of that. Personalized Videos let a follower pay upfront for one personalized video for themselves or someone they care about: you set the price and the delivery time, then record it on your schedule.
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Three things separate a Lunar New Year video from every other holiday greeting a creator records: the year has an animal and an element that have to be named correctly, the official date differs by country — Hong Kong gazettes Lunar New Year's Day 2027 as Saturday 6 February (Hong Kong government 2027 general holidays) while South Korea's Korea AeroSpace Administration puts Seollal 2027 on Sunday 7 February (KASA, 「2027년 월력요항」) — and a short list of words is traditionally bad luck to say out loud in the first days of the year. Get those right and a 30-second clip reads as written for one household. Get them wrong and the recipient hears a template.
What Zodiac Year Is 2027, and How Do You Say It on Camera?
2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat, beginning February 6, 2027, according to the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian, Lunar Year of the Goat). The animal is also rendered as sheep or ram in English, so a requester who writes "Year of the Sheep" is describing the same year.
Naming "the Year of the Fire Goat" on camera is the single line that dates the recording to 2027, where "wishing you a great new year" would work in any year on any calendar.
The Congressional Research Service states that the Chinese calendar runs on a 60-year sexagenary cycle that began in 1984 and ends in 2043, pairing 10 heavenly stems with 12 earthly branches, with each stem associated with one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The 2027 pairing is commonly written 丁未 (Dīng Wèi), which is where "Fire" comes from.
The Congressional Research Service notes that the Vietnamese zodiac uses the buffalo, cat, and goat in place of the Chinese ox, hare, and sheep. For 2027 both zodiacs land on the goat, so this particular year is safe — but a creator who memorises "just say the Chinese animal" will be wrong the next time a rabbit year comes around and a Vietnamese family is celebrating the Year of the Cat.
UNESCO inscribed "Spring festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional new year" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024, at the 19th session of the intergovernmental committee (element 02126), and states that the festival "falls on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar".
Is the Request Chinese New Year, Seollal, or Tết?
Ask, because the three differ in length and in sign-off. The Congressional Research Service describes Chinese New Year as a 15-day festival, Seollal as a three-day festival, and Tết Nguyên Đán as a three-day festival, and the spoken greeting changes with each. Ask on the request form whether the greeting is for Chinese New Year, Seollal, or Tết before the follower pays.
| Tradition | Local name | Festival length | Spoken sign-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Chinese New Year / Spring Festival (Chūn Jié) | 15 days, per Congressional Research Service R46674 | "Xīnnián kuàilè" |
| Korean | Seollal | 3 days, per Congressional Research Service R46674 | "Saehae bok mani badeuseyo" |
| Vietnamese | Tết Nguyên Đán (Tết) | 3 days, per Congressional Research Service R46674 | "Chúc mừng năm mới" |
The Congressional Research Service describes Seollal as a three-day festival that includes the day before and the day after New Year's Day, and Tết Nguyên Đán as a three-day festival marking the start of the traditional Vietnamese calendar. Columbia University's Asia for Educators identifies the 15th day of the first lunar month as the Lantern Festival (Columbia University, Asia for Educators, "The Lunar New Year: Rituals and Legends"), the day that closes the 15-day Chinese celebration and the outer edge of the window a Chinese New Year video can still land in.
The audience for each is large enough that guessing is a real risk. US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2022 one-year estimates (Table B02018) count 5.4 million people of Chinese descent plus 320,000 people of Taiwanese descent, 2.3 million Vietnamese Americans, and 2 million Korean Americans in the United States, as compiled in Congressional Research Service report R46674. A creator taking requests from a general audience will get all three.
Which Days Does Each Tradition Actually Celebrate in 2027?
The dates are not identical across countries. Hong Kong gazettes Lunar New Year's Day 2027 as Saturday, 6 February 2027, while South Korea's Korea AeroSpace Administration puts Seollal on Sunday, 7 February 2027 (KASA) — a day apart.
| Jurisdiction | Official 2027 dates | Primary source |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | Lunar New Year's Day Saturday 6 February; third day Monday 8 February; fourth day Tuesday 9 February | GovHK 2027 general holidays |
| Singapore | Chinese New Year 6 and 7 February; Monday 8 February a public holiday because the second day falls on a Sunday | Singapore Ministry of Manpower, 18 June 2026 |
| South Korea | Seollal Sunday 7 February; Seollal break 6–9 February, four days including the Saturday and a substitute holiday | KASA, 「2027년 월력요항」 |
| Vietnam | Two Tết Đinh Mùi options out for consultation: 4–10 February (7 days) or 5–14 February (10 days) | Báo Chính phủ, 5 August 2026 |
South Korea's Korea AeroSpace Administration announced in its 「2027년 월력요항」 of 29 June 2026 that Seollal 2027 falls on Sunday 7 February and that the Seollal break runs 6–9 February 2027, four consecutive days made up of the Saturday, Seollal itself, and a substitute holiday (KASA).
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower listed Chinese New Year 2027 as 6 and 7 February 2027 and confirmed that Monday, 8 February 2027 will be a public holiday because the second day falls on a Sunday.
Vietnam's Ministry of Home Affairs put two 2027 Tết Đinh Mùi options out for consultation on 5 August 2026 — a seven-day break from Thursday 4 February to Wednesday 10 February 2027, or a ten-day break from Friday 5 February to Sunday 14 February 2027, each built on five statutory Tết days (Báo Chính phủ), with the ministry recommending the seven-day option.
The date moves every year because the two calendars are different lengths: Columbia University's Asia for Educators sets 12 revolutions of the moon at 354 days against the 365¼ days the earth takes to circle the sun, which is why 6 February 2027 is not the date any adjacent year uses.
"The Lunar New Year starts on the second new moon after the winter solstice and falls between January 21 and February 19 on the Gregorian calendar used in the United States." — Congressional Research Service, Lunar New Year: Fact Sheet (R46674)
A Hong Kong government spokesman announced on 15 May 2026 that because the second day of Lunar New Year in 2027 falls on a Sunday, the fourth day of Lunar New Year will be designated a general holiday in substitution, which is why Hong Kong's 2027 list gazettes 8 and 9 February rather than 7 and 8 February.
The run-up is longer than the holiday itself. Columbia University's Asia for Educators records housecleaning beginning on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month in South China and the 24th in the North, when the Kitchen God was said to depart to report to the Jade Emperor, which puts households in new-year mode roughly two weeks before the date a follower will name on the request form.
That spread matters for delivery. Hitting the exact first morning is a nice touch, not a requirement — a message that arrives on day three still lands mid-festival for a Chinese, Korean, or Vietnamese recipient, and a video delivered on or just before 6 February 2027 lands inside every one of those national windows at once.
How Do You Script One That Uses the Family's Own Greeting?
A workable Lunar New Year script runs 20 to 40 seconds and does four things in order: greet in the recipient's language, say the recipient's name, name the Year of the Fire Goat that Hong Kong gazettes as beginning Saturday 6 February 2027, then tie one supplied detail to a concrete wish. The four samples below are organised by which greeting the request calls for, not by relationship. Square brackets mark what a request form has to supply.
Mandarin sign-off, for a family elder
"Māma, xīnnián kuàilè. [Daughter's name] asked me to record this because she cannot be at the table this year. She told me you kept the whole family fed through [specific event]. Wishing you health right through the Year of the Fire Goat — and see you at the next reunion."
Vietnamese sign-off, for a Tết request
"[Name], chúc mừng năm mới. [Requester's name] wanted you to hear this on the first morning of Tết: he says this past year you [specific thing they did]. Here's to the Year of the Goat, and to [shared plan for the year]."
Korean sign-off, for a Seollal request
"[Recipient name] — [follower's name] asked me to record this for Seollal. She told me [specific detail from the request form]. So: saehae bok mani badeuseyo. Wishing you a healthy, lucky Year of the Goat, and thank you for [detail]."
For a shop or small business, where prosperity is the point
"[Name], happy Lunar New Year to you and everyone at [business name]. Congratulations on [recent win]. Wishing you a prosperous Year of the Fire Goat — 恭喜发财, and may the busiest table always be yours."
Every one of those four collapses without its bracketed details, which is the argument for collecting them before recording rather than improvising on camera. A creator who is not confident pronouncing a sign-off should ask the requester to spell it phonetically, or confirm that delivering the message in English alone is fine.
Who Is the Video For — an Elder, a Shop Owner, or Someone Who Could Not Travel Home?
Four recipient types dominate this holiday, and each wants a different sentence: the elder receiving new-year respect, the child expecting a red envelope, the business owner who wants a prosperity line, and the family member who did not make it home for the reunion dinner. The Congressional Research Service lists seven commonalities of Lunar New Year observance, from honoring elders and ancestors to exchanging gifts of money, and each recipient maps to one of them.
Elders are the highest-value recipient for this holiday specifically. Columbia University's Asia for Educators describes younger family members performing ketou to each generation above them in order, beginning with the eldest, and being rewarded with red envelopes (hongbao) containing New Year's money (yasui qian). A video addressed to a grandparent by name sits inside a tradition that already ranks elders first.
The absent-family angle is also specific to this festival. Columbia University's Asia for Educators writes of the New Year's Eve meal that "often, a place was set for those members who could not return home" — which is exactly the gap a recorded message from someone stuck at work or abroad is being asked to fill.
| Who the video is for | What this holiday specifically asks for | Ask the requester for |
|---|---|---|
| A parent or grandparent | New-year respect paid to the eldest first, per Columbia University's account of ketou and hongbao | Their name, how it is pronounced, and the tradition their household keeps |
| A child in the family | The red-envelope moment — Columbia University describes hongbao containing New Year's money (yasui qian) | Their age and what the family is hoping for them this year |
| A shop or small business owner | A prosperity line, the point of the "恭喜发财" sign-off | The business name and one concrete win from the past year |
| Someone who could not travel home | Standing in for the empty seat Columbia University describes being set at the New Year's Eve meal | Where they are, who is missing them, and the meal they are missing |
| A friend who cleared their debts before the year turned | The settled-debts custom Congressional Research Service R46674 lists among Lunar New Year commonalities | What they finished or paid off, in their words |
Age is the one number to double-check before recording for a child. Columbia University's Asia for Educators states that "a Chinese person counts his or her age by starting on the day of birth with 'one'" and adds another year at every new year observed after that, so a "you're turning eight" line written from a Gregorian birthday can be a year out of step with how the household counts.
The Congressional Research Service lists the commonalities of Lunar New Year observance as cleaning the house, settling debts and disputes, gathering with family and friends, eating auspicious foods, honoring elders and ancestors, exchanging gifts of money, and watching or taking part in traditional dances and games, and a wish tied to one of those seven is worth asking about before you record. If the follower's real subject is a goal for the coming twelve months rather than the festival itself, scripts for holding a follower accountable to their resolutions cover that reflective angle in more depth, and a shop owner whose launch merely happens to land near the date may be better served by a new business launch video message.
Which Words Are Unlucky to Say on Camera?
Avoid the number "four" and any word touching death, illness, poverty or bankruptcy. Columbia University's Asia for Educators states that the number "four" (si) sounds like the word for death and that words and homonyms related to death, illness, or bankruptcy are inauspicious. Boston University adds cursing, swearing and arguing to the list.
Columbia University's Asia for Educators states that "it is important, for instance, to avoid the number 'four' (si), because it sounds like the word for death; any words and their homonyms related to death, illness, or bankruptcy are inauspicious".
Boston University's guide to the holiday gives the same guidance in plainer terms, advising readers to "avoid using negative words in conversations to protect yourself from misfortune, especially words associated with death, poverty, sickness, or killing," and adding that cursing, swearing, or arguing during the celebration is believed to set the tone for the year ahead.
Practical consequences for a recorded message:
- Skip the number four where you would otherwise use it — "four great things this year" is a phrasing to rewrite, because Columbia University's Asia for Educators states the number "four" (si) sounds like the word for death.
- Do not build the message around a loss. A condolence-shaped line — "I know this year has been brutal since we lost…" — collides directly with the death, illness, and bankruptcy homonyms Columbia University's Asia for Educators calls inauspicious. Reframe toward the year ahead.
- Keep the tone free of complaint or argument, which Boston University describes as believed to set the tone for the year ahead.
- Do not guess the zodiac animal when the recipient is Vietnamese. The Congressional Research Service records the Vietnamese zodiac substituting buffalo, cat, and goat for the Chinese ox, hare, and sheep.
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How Does the Spring Festival Travel Rush Change Delivery Timing?
Request a Lunar New Year video a few days to a week ahead, because the recipient is likely to be travelling. China's State Council reported a forecast record of 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips over the 40-day 2026 Spring Festival rush from February 2 to March 13 (State Council of China, english.www.gov.cn), so schedules move for weeks around the date.
"It is expected to see a record 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips during the 40-day rush from Feb. 2 to March 13 this year." — China's State Council official portal, english.www.gov.cn
China's Ministry of Transport recorded 352.999 million cross-regional passenger trips on February 20, 2026, a 12.3 percent increase over the same day of the 2025 Spring Festival travel season (State Council of China). The same State Council release records that the official 2026 Spring Festival holiday lasted nine days, so schedules are disrupted well beyond the single date on the calendar.
China State Railway Group expected 540 million of those 9.5 billion 2026 Spring Festival trips to be handled by the country's railways alone, across a 40-day rush ending on March 13. The State Council also reports that domestic trips during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday reached 596 million and tourism spending exceeded 800 billion yuan, both record highs. A recipient inside that number is on a train, not at a desk.
For the requester, the mirror image applies. The Congressional Research Service reports that Lunar New Year is not a federal holiday in the United States, that California, Colorado, and New Jersey have passed legislation declaring it an official holiday, that Washington recognizes it legislatively, and that New York recognizes it as a public-school holiday. A US-based follower may be at their desk on the sixth while the recipient is mid-reunion halfway around the world.
You choose how long you need to record and deliver the video, from 1 hour to 5 days. Booking a week out therefore clears even the longest window a creator can select, with room for a travel day at either end.
What Should a Lunar New Year Request Form Collect?
Five fields: the recipient's name with a phonetic spelling, the tradition, the zodiac year as the follower writes it, the relationship, and one real detail from the past year. A follower chooses Personalized Videos, adds the names, pronunciation, tradition, and personal detail, and pays your fixed price upfront without creating an account. You set a delivery time from 1 hour to 5 days, then record and deliver one video within that window; if you decline, the request closes and the follower keeps their money.
- The recipient's name, plus a phonetic spelling if it is one the creator may stumble on.
- Which tradition it is for — Chinese New Year, Seollal, or Tết — since the sign-off changes with the answer, and since Hong Kong's gazetted Lunar New Year's Day of 6 February 2027 and Korea's Seollal of 7 February 2027 are not the same day (GovHK 2027 general holidays and KASA, 「2027년 월력요항」).
- The zodiac year as the follower understands it, so a "Year of the Sheep" request and a "Year of the Fire Goat" request are recognisably the same year.
- The relationship, which decides whether the message is respect paid to an elder, a prosperity line, or a stand-in for an empty seat.
- One real detail from the past year — the milestone, the move, the debt cleared, the flight that was not booked.
Not every follower wants a Personalized Video. Tips let a supporter send a one-time thank-you with nothing owed back, which suits a follower who wants to send holiday appreciation to a creator without asking for anything back, while Personalized Videos are built for a recorded message and Paid Questions return one written reply privately instead. Each is configured by the creator rather than by the occasion.
Collect the tradition, pronunciation, zodiac wording, and personal detail in the original request so each order stays one defined video, not a round of follow-up DMs.
What Does a Lunar New Year Personalized Video Cost?
You set one clear price for the finished video—for example, $50 for a personalized Lunar New Year greeting—so the follower knows the full cost before requesting it.
Stripe's published pricing lists typical US domestic online-card processing at 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge (Stripe pricing). Stripe's pricing page also lists additional fees for international cards, currency conversion, and manually entered cards. That international-card line is worth noting for this holiday in particular, since a Lunar New Year request is often paid by a follower in one country for a recipient in another. Any price example on this page is illustrative and is not a guarantee of what a given creator will charge or earn.
Frequently asked questions
What zodiac year is Lunar New Year 2027?
2027 is the Year of the Fire Goat, beginning February 6, 2027, according to the Smithsonian Institution. The animal is also rendered as sheep or ram in English. The "Fire" comes from the stem-branch system the Congressional Research Service describes as a 60-year sexagenary cycle pairing 10 heavenly stems, each tied to one of five elements, with 12 earthly branches.
When is Lunar New Year 2027, and how long does the celebration run?
Hong Kong gazettes Lunar New Year's Day 2027 as Saturday 6 February, with the third and fourth days, 8 and 9 February, also general holidays (GovHK 2027 general holidays), and Singapore's Ministry of Manpower lists Chinese New Year 2027 as 6 and 7 February with Monday 8 February a public holiday. The Congressional Research Service describes Chinese New Year as a 15-day festival and both Seollal and Tết as three-day festivals.
Is Korean Seollal on the same day as Chinese New Year in 2027?
No. South Korea's Korea AeroSpace Administration places Seollal 2027 on Sunday, 7 February 2027, with the Seollal break running 6–9 February 2027 (KASA), while the Hong Kong government gazettes Lunar New Year's Day 2027 as Saturday, 6 February 2027 (GovHK 2027 general holidays) — one day apart.
Is Lunar New Year the same as Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year is one tradition within the broader holiday, alongside Tết in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea. The Congressional Research Service describes Chinese New Year as a 15-day festival and both Seollal and Tết as three-day festivals, so the customs, the length, and the spoken greeting all differ even when the date is close.
Which greeting should a Lunar New Year video use?
The one that matches the recipient's tradition: "Xīnnián kuàilè" for Chinese New Year, "Saehae bok mani badeuseyo" for Seollal, "Chúc mừng năm mới" for Tết. Ask the requester which applies rather than defaulting to Mandarin — US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2022 one-year estimates (Table B02018) count 5.4 million people of Chinese descent, 2.3 million Vietnamese Americans, and 2 million Korean Americans in the United States, as compiled in Congressional Research Service report R46674.
What should you avoid saying in a Lunar New Year video?
Columbia University's Asia for Educators advises avoiding the number "four" (si) because it sounds like the word for death, and notes that words and homonyms related to death, illness, or bankruptcy are inauspicious. Boston University similarly advises avoiding negative words associated with death, poverty, sickness, or killing, and notes that arguing during the celebration is believed to set the tone for the year ahead.
How far in advance should a Lunar New Year video be requested?
A few days to a week ahead. Brillay's delivery-time setting lets you choose from 1 hour to 5 days, and China's State Council reported a forecast record 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips across the 40-day 2026 Spring Festival rush, so recipients are frequently travelling around the date.
What does Brillay charge for a Lunar New Year Personalized Video?
Brillay charges only the platform fee stated at the top of this page and on the pricing page; there is no monthly fee. Stripe lists typical US domestic online-card processing at 2.9% + $0.30 per successful charge as a separate cost, with further fees for international cards and currency conversion.
Create your free Brillay page with no follower minimum, put Personalized Videos beside your other offers in one link, and let followers request a one-time Lunar New Year greeting without creating an account.
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