Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival

The Chinese use the same calendar as us and most of the world (the Gregorian calendar), but it is mostly because of practical reasons. However, almost all holidays follow the old traditional lunar calendar. Therefore, New Year occurs on different dates each year, between late January and February.

The Chinese New Year was on January 26 2009. Then it became the year of the Ox.

The Spring Festival starts with New Year’s Eve on the last day of the year according to the traditional Chinese calendar. The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China and for Chinese people everywhere. The whole holiday is 15 days long and it is for most Chinese the longest continuous leave from work during the year.

Spring Festival is largely designed to meet the family and all relatives and also honor their ancestors. Everyone is off work, or at least almost everyone. In the past, hotels and restaurants were closed, but nowadays most are still open. It becomes more and more common to eat the New Year’s dinner at a restaurant instead of at home, but that usually requires that you book a couple of months in advance for the more popular places.

On New Year’s Day it is tradition to shoot fireworks all day, and the red paper from the firecrackers lying on the ground is considered to bring luck and happiness. On New Year’s Day it is the custom to visit the husband’s family’s relatives and celebrate with them. It is also common to make short visits to friends or colleagues to wish them a happy new year. It is customary to greet everyone you meet that you recognize, but perhaps usually do not talk to so often. The day after New Year’s Day it is the custom to visit the wife’s relatives.

They do not give gifts to each others in the same way as, for example, on our Christmas Day, but all children get a little money, and they are always in a red envelope.
To go to China as tourists during Spring Festival is a very bad idea, expect everything to be closed. However, if you are lucky enough to have Chinese friends and have the opportunity to celebrate New Year at the home of a Chinese family, it may be a very fun experience.