A Warm Welcome to the Blue Sheep: World Celebrates Chinese New Year 2015

In China, the festival is also known as the Spring Festival. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar.

Above: A praying man is silhouetted against traditional Chinese lantern decorations at a temple ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar (it indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year) and the holiday is observed not only by Chinese cultures, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the Lunar New Year.

Above: Chinese performers dressed in traditional costumes participate in a cultural dance during the opening of Ditan Temple Fair on the Lunar New Year's Eve in Beijing, China.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and in Chinatowns all over the world.

Above: A performer from Taiwan dressed as the "Third Prince" poses for a photograph in front of the sheep decorations during the rehearsal of International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong.

The Chinese zodiac has 12 animal signs: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Each animal represents a year in 12-year cycle. 2015 will be the year of the goat. If you were born in a Goat year you should be particularly careful in 2015, according to Chinese astrologists.

Above: Visitors walk underneath traditional Chinese lantern decorations at a temple ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2015, most Chinese will be off work from February 18 (New Year’s Eve) to February 24 (the 6th day of Chinese New Year). Officially only the first three days of Chinese New Year are a statutory holiday. Chinese New Year’s Eve and three more days are added to give seven consecutive days of holiday.

Above: A performer takes part in the opening of the Temple Fair, part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing.

Chinese New Year is a time for the family to be together. Wherever they are, people always come home to celebrate the festival with their families. The New Year’s Eve dinner is called Reunion Dinner, which is considered to be the most important meal of the year. It is also traditional for families to cleanse the house in order to sweep away any ill-fortune.

Above: Traditional dancers perform at the Temple Fair, part of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing.

The Spring Festival has history of over 4,000 years. It is said to originate from a belief in deities that had to be sacrificed to every year. Farming activities depended on the solar terms. When they changed, people would make sacrifice to the deities and pray for a rich harvest.

Above: A farmhand picks calamansi at a nursery in Sungai Buloh outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

During the festival, windows and doors are decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of happiness, good fortune, wealth and longevity. Red is the main color of the Spring Festival, and is believed to be an auspicious color.

Above: A performer raises a dragon head as part of a dance performance at the Philippine stock exchange for Lunar New Year of the Sheep celebrations in Manila.

Like on Christmas in Western countries, people exchange gifts during the Spring Festival. The most common gift are red envelops with money inside of them. They are given to children and seniors.

Above: An employee of a department store checks a worker wearing a panda costume before a promotion event to invite Chinese tourists to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival or Chinese New Year holiday in Seoul.

Many cultural activities occur during the festival. Rural areas and small towns keep more traditional celebrations, including setting off firecrackers, ancestor worship and dragon dances.

Above: A girl touches a goat decoration as a shopping mall floor is decorated with an installation to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Hong Kong.

At temple fairs in many Chinese cities traditional performances such as dragon and lion dances can be seen. In Beijing, temple fairs are held in parks from the first day of the lunar year to the Lantern Festival.

Above: Ethnic Chinese people pray at Wat Mangkon Kamalawat Chinese Temple in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Chinese New Year is a season of superstitions. Chinese people believe that as the Spring Festival is the start of a new year, what you do will then affect your luck in the coming year. There are many taboos for the Spring Festival season. They usually apply a month before the festival and continue until its end.

Above: A Chinese god statue is cleaned by an Indonesian of Chinese descent in preparation for the Lunar New Year celebration at a temple in the China Town in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Chinese New Year is a joyful time for most but not for singles above the normal matrimonial age. In China, females are thought to be marriageable before 30, and males before 32. Parents and relatives of these singles think they should find a partner and even arrange dating for them. An interesting solution to the problem – renting a boyfriend or a girlfriend – appeared some years ago. There are websites and agents specialized in this business.

Above: Performers gather during preparations for Chinese lunar new year celebrations in Hong Kong.