The oldest and most important festival in
China is the Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival is an event comparable to
Christmas in the West, which marks the first day of the lunar calendar and
usually falls somewhere between late January and early February of the Gregorian
calendar.
Like all Chinese traditional festivals, the date of the New Year is
determined by the Chinese
lunar calendar, which is divided into 12 months, each with about 29.5 days.
One year has 24 solar terms in accordance with the changes of nature,
stipulating the proper time for planting and harvesting. The first day of the
first solar term is the Beginning of Spring, which cannot always fall on the
first day of the year as in the Western Gregorian Calendar. The Spring Festival
falls usually around the Beginning of Spring, heralding the beginning of spring;
thus it is also known as the "Spring Festival".
Besides celebrating the earth coming back to life and the start of ploughing
and sowing, this traditional festival is also a festival of reunions. No matter
how far people are from their homes they will try their best to come back home
for the reunion dinner.
Although the climax of the Spring Festival usually lasts three to five days,
including New Year's Eve, the New Year season extends from the mid-12th month of
the previous year to the middle of the first month of the lunar new year. The
Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season and life becomes routine
all over again.
