We extend best wishes to our friends around the globe celebrating Chinese New Year, a festival based on the Chinese luni/solar calendar that is celebrated by 1/5th of the world’s population on the first new moon of the Chinese lunar year. Factories throughout Asia including those in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam have holiday closures and slowdowns affecting the production of goods in the month of February.
This year, the festival begins on January 28th, and official national holidays in most Asian countries extend through January 31st. The festival includes fifteen consecutive days following the new moon and concludes on February 12th with the Lantern Festival. In keeping with ancient custom, the year is named by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac Cycle. 2017 is the year of the Rooster, or Fire Chicken.
Celebration of Chinese New Year is marked by traditional foods, fireworks, parades, dances, vacation travel, and family gatherings that culminate in a festival of lights. For some, it is also a religious holiday marked by prayers and devotional activities. Traditionally, the festival was a time to honor deities as well as ancestors.
To all our friends of Chinese ancestry we say 新年快乐 / 新年快樂 Xīnnián kuàilè.
