February 1 marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendars used in traditional East Asian countries.
Commonly known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year is a fifteen-day celebration marked by many traditions. At home, families decorate windows with red paper cuttings and adorn doors with couplets expressing auspicious wishes for the new year. People often shop for holiday sundries in open-air markets, and clean the house in preparation for the beginning of the new year, which are also beloved traditions. The Lunar New Year’s Eve reunion dinner is the highlight of the festivities that kicks off the holiday, and features a feast with a spread of symbolic dishes like a whole fish representing abundance, and bringing good luck and fortune. The fifteenth and final day of the holiday is the Lantern Festival, during which people have tangyuan, or sweet glutinous rice balls, and children carry lanterns around the neighborhood at night to mark the end of the celebration.
Read more about the holiday at Chinese New Year 2022.
