Red lanterns, fireworks and family feasts. This is how millions of families around the world will be ringing in the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday in the Chinese zodiac calendar.
This Wednesday, January 29, marks the beginning of the 15-day celebration, also known as the Spring Festival, when the Year of the Snake is ushered in.
In many families, the new year is marked by exchanging red envelopes filled with money, seeing family and friends, and eating auspicious treats such as turnip cake. It is also China’s busiest travel period of the year.
‘Chunyun’ – the name for the 40-day period when Chinese people go home to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families – is often referred to as one of the world’s biggest human migrations. This year, it’s expected that 9 billion journeys will be made during chunyun, or spring rush, from January 14 to February 22, state media reported.
