How many days do the Chinese celebrate the New Year?

Chinese New Year is celebrated for fifteen days (from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival). Chinese people believe that what they do on the first day of the lunar year will affect their luck during that year. The fifteenth day of the new year is celebrated as the Lantern Festival. Candles are lit outside houses as a way to guide wayward spirits home. This day often marks the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.