Event
February
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, (simplified Chinese: 农历新年; traditional Chinese: 農曆新年; pinyin: nóng lì xīn nián)(simplified Chinese: 中国新年; traditional Chinese: 中國新年; pinyin: zhōng guó xīn nián) also known as the Spring Festival (simplified Chinese: 春节; traditional Chinese: 春節; pinyin: Chūn Jié) in modern China, and one of the Lunar New Years in Asia, is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of the New Year falls on the new moon between the 21st of January and 20th of February In 2018, the first day of the Lunar New Year was on Fri, 16 February, initiating the year of the Dog. It is one of the world's most prominent and celebrated festivals, with the largest annual mass human migration in the world. It is a major holiday in Greater China and has had strong influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia, and the Philippines and Russia The New Year festival is centuries old and associated with several myths and customs. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Lunar New Year vary widely. Often, the evening preceding Lunar New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly clean the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of 'good fortune' or 'happiness', 'wealth', and 'longevity'. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes. In about one third of the Mainland population, or 500 million Northerners, dumplings (especially those of vegetarian fillings) feature prominently in the meals celebrating the festival.
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