The Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. It is the most solemn festival of the year for every Chinese and has been celebrated in China for thousands of years, with various forms of activities among the diverse regions of China.
Chinese New Year
The New Year celebration is centered around removing the bad and the old, and welcoming the new and the good. It’s a time to worship ancestors, exorcise evil spirits and pray for good harvest.
Today it’s celebrated also by Chinese communities outside the country. Lion dance, dragon dance, temple fairs, flower market shopping and so on are just a few of these rich and colorful activities.
In the run-up to the new year people will clean their houses to get rid of dirt, rubbish and other unwanted items. They will redecorate them with red couplets, lanterns, new flowerpots and furniture, and will shop for foodstuffs for banquet specialties.
The New Year is an important family reunion occasion, so those who are living or working far away would return home prior to the holiday. In China this is now known as Chun Yun: tens of millions of people travel on the country’s vast public transport systems or via private means, coming home to be with their loved ones.
