Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new yearon the traditional lunisolarChinese calendar. Marking the end of winterand the beginning of spring.
Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. It has in- fluenced similar celebrations in other cultures, commonly referred to collectively as Lunar New Year, such as the Losarof Tibet, the Te“tof Vietnam, the Seollalof Korea, the Shōgatsuof Japan and the Ryukyu New Year.
The Chinese New Year is associated with several myths and customs. The festival was traditionally a time to honour deitiesas well as ancestors. The evening preceding New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. Tra- ditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweep away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors may be decorated with red paper-cutsand coupletsrepresenting themes such as good fortune or happiness, wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.
