Next month China will shut down as the country celebrates the Spring Festival, known to English speakers as Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year marks the first day of the lunar year and according to the Gregorian calendar will fall upon February 19^th. Not only is the calendar based upon the moon, rather than the sun, it follows a twelve year cycle with each year represented by a different animal. The upcoming year will be the year of the Ram (alternatively the Goat). People born in the Year of the Ram/Goat are known to be “gentle mild-mannered, shy, stable, sympathetic, amicable, and brimming with a strong sense of kindheartedness and justice.” (http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/goat.asp)

While in America the New Year is celebrated for a day, in China and many surrounding countries, the New Year celebrations last a minimum of three days. In China the government gives a full week off of work, though in reality the celebrations last closer to a month. Much of the celebrations for Chinese New Year are steeped in ancient traditions, from cleaning house on New Year’s Eve to wearing red clothes to scare away evil spirits and misfortune. Family elders and ancestors are honored and fireworks and lanterns are lit to scare away bad luck. Red envelopes, which almost always contain money, are exchanged as presents.

The biggest issue for the West is that Chinese New Year affects the export markets. Millions of people leave work and the major industrial cities, boarding trains, planes and buses, to go visit and be with their families. The sheer amount of travel time is a large factor in the country essentially shutting down for the month. Factories, though not all of them, close for the month as people enjoy their holiday and honoring old traditions. For more information about how Chinese New Year is celebrated, from a Chinese perspective, I will be working with one of my employees to write an article to be posted in February. Until then, Happy Chinese New Year!