Chinese New Year 2012 Spring Festival

Monday, January 23, 2012

Gong Hey Fat Choy means "wishing you to be prosperous in the coming year."

Chinese New Year (also called the Spring Festival) is China's major traditional holiday and is one of the most popular festivals in China and in other parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam (where New Year's Day is called "Tet"), Malaysia, Taiwan, and of course, Hong Kong. It is also known as the Lunar New Year.

Officially, Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (all months begin with a new moon). But Chinese New Year doesn't actually begin and end on a single day. Instead, it runs from the middle of the last month of the previous year (based on the Chinese calendar) to the middle of the first month of the new year. By the time the New Year arrives, families have already spent several days preparing for the big event; cleaning the house, buying gifts, and cooking festive foods.