U.S. media extoll Chinese New Year as new page opens on lunar calender

The festival is celebrated differently throughout the world, predominantly in regions with larger Chinese populations, and traditionally focuses on themes of reunion and hope.

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- As Chinese New Year is fastly approaching, U.S. media and news portals have posted reports about the most important Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year in accordance with the Chinese lunar calendar.

TRADITIONS OBSERVED

Although modern-day China uses the Gregorian calendar, meaning it's the year 2022 there, just like in the United States, its holidays are governed by the traditional lunisolar calendar, reported Eyewitness News on Sunday.

The Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival in China, falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which is usually between mid-January and mid-February. This year, it falls on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

"The festival is celebrated differently throughout the world, predominantly in regions with larger Chinese populations, and traditionally focuses on themes of reunion and hope," said the report.

Lunar New Year normally sparks the world's busiest travel period, as hundreds of millions travel to their hometown. On the eve of the new year, families celebrate with massive dinners hosted by their most senior members.

People perform a lion dance during the Riverside Lunar Festival celebrations in Riverside County, California, the United States, on Jan. 29, 2022. (Xinhua)

RICH CULTURE

"We've got our eye on the Tiger this Lunar New Year," reported the People magazine. "The holiday that's celebrated by almost two billion people across the world, also known as Chinese New Year and Spring Festival, is upon us!"

Though the titles can be used interchangeably, the name Lunar New Year is inclusive to other countries that refer to new year celebrations by different names. Additionally, the holiday has a longstanding connection to the moon.

"Mainly observed in multiple countries in east Asia, the holiday is filled with rich culture and tradition that centers around the hope for good fortune and prosperity," said the magazine.

The Lunar New Year falls on a different date each year, but the celebration typically lasts 16 consecutive days. This year, it starts on Lunar New Year's Eve, beginning on Jan. 31, and ends on Feb. 15, 2022, it added.

Photo taken on Jan. 30, 2022 shows the Empire State Building lit up in red for the Chinese Lunar New Year, in New York, the United States. (Photo by Winston Zhou/Xinhua)

GLOBAL CELEBRATION

The Lunar New Year is an international holiday celebrated in many Asian countries but not all. People know similar holidays in China, Vietnam and South Korea. "The United States is also home to some celebrations," reported USA TODAY on Monday.

Overall, around 2 billion people across the world will take part in the festivities. Just like how people celebrate Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 each year, "Lunar New Year allows people to put the past behind and look forward to a fresh start," according to the report.

"We want to send away all the bad things, evil spirits," Xiaohua Yang, professor and director of the China Business Studies Initiative at the University of San Francisco, told the newspaper. "This is a new start, so now we welcome it with new energy."

"In this day, for many Asian countries, Lunar New Year is perhaps the equivalent of Thanksgiving or Christmas," Eddy Keming Chen, philosophy professor and faculty member of the Chinese Studies Program at University of California, San Diego, was quoted as saying.