Today Marks the Celebration of the Chinese New Year
Today, February 19, marks the celebration of the Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival) which is the most cherished of the Chinese holidays. The Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in many countries and regions where a considerable Chinese population live.
Chinese New Year celebrations run from Chinese New Year's Day itself, the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is sometimes referred to as the "Lunar New Year". The evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day, many families to gather for the annual reunion dinner and thoroughly cleanse their houses in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. The use of firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes is also popular on this occasion.
Chinese New Year celebrations run from Chinese New Year's Day itself, the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is sometimes referred to as the "Lunar New Year". The evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day, many families to gather for the annual reunion dinner and thoroughly cleanse their houses in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. The use of firecrackers and giving money in red paper envelopes is also popular on this occasion.