Chinese is the most important Chinese festival in China and they have many festivals. Chinese New Year is not the same as the New Year that is celebrated in 1st of January.
Chinese New Year 2016 begins on Monday 8 February, and end on 22 February. It is day one month one of the Chinese lunar calendar, and its date in January or February varies from year to year.
It starts on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements.
This is the time for family reunion, watching traditional Chinese shows, launch fireworks and many other things.
The celebration will sometimes be highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of heaven, earth, the family ancestors and other gods. In modern China, working professionals will normally have 7 days of holiday including the weekend to celebrate. After the family reunion, some modern Chinese families may take the chance to visit tourist destinations.
On New Year Chinese family eat a vegetarian dish called jai. Although the carious ingredients in jai are root vegetables or fibrous vegetables, many people attribute various superstitious aspects to them- lotus seed, ginkgo nut, bamboo shoots.
2016 is a year of the Monkey according to the Chinese animal zodiac cycle.
This is the longest public holiday in China. The Spring Festival has a history of more than 4,000 years. It is said that it originated from a belief in deities that had to be sacrificed to every year.
Every street, building, and house is decorated with red. “Red” is the main color for the festival, as it is believed to be an auspicious color.
There are Lion dances, Dragon dances, fireworks, giving red envelopes and decoration with duilian.
It seems the whole nation is on the move during the festival. The festival is the busiest travel season in China, when trains and buses are fully packed. Even flight tickets are hard to get. So if you want to enjoy this amazing festival make sure you book your trip on time.
