China celebrates Lunar New Year today

China is celebrating Lunar New Year today as it ushered into the Year of the Ox. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival.

Though the occasion is meant to be spent with family and friends, the ongoing Corona virus pandemic has made the celebrations little different. 

As China entered the year of Ox, people welcomed the spring, the good luck and new beginnings by staying up late after yesterday’s feast on the New Year’s Eve. It’s still very wintry, but the spring festival holiday marks the end of the coldest days.

In China, the festival lasts 15 days, starting with a feast the night of New Year's Eve and ending this year with the Spring Lantern Festival on 26th Feb. People wear special clothes, write Spring Festival couplets, make dumplings, hang up lanterns and the characters for luck. Festivities started in the last lunar month on Laba



Festival.

In addition to cleaning one's home and adorning it with red banners, artwork and flowers, preparing lot of food remains a priority during this holiday. This year Chinese people are celebrating the festival with a mixed feeling.

Celebrations are quiet due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and many are being held online. Many Chinese expats could not travel back to China to meet their families and around 100 million people did not travel within China as the government has called upon the public to avoid travel following new Corona virus outbreaks.

Famous temple fairs full of colour and culture could not take place this year. Nonetheless, people are celebrating in their own ways. Lunar New Year is celebrated not just in Chinese communities all over the world but other Asian nations such as Vietnam and South Korea. Countries that observe Lunar New Year often offer three to seven days of public holidays.