Why is the Chinese New Year different from the rest of the world?

No, not rest of world,You do not know

In Asian countries ,especially in Chinese community, the ceremony is quite similar.

@Mike, the Chinese New Year, like the Tet (Vietnamese), Korean, et al New Year, is based on the Lunar Calendar.  Because the Lunar Calendar is based on the moon and therefore not aligned with the western calendar (which has silly things like Leap Year), the date changes every year. 

Also, in China, they also celebrate western New Year on January 1 as well.  Its a national holiday in China in addition to Lunar New Year, which usually falls sometime in February.