Asian communities in China, Japan, the UK, Malta and elsewhere ringed in the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Monkey yesterday.

People flocked to temples to pray for good health and fortune on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in China.

China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, so Chinese New Year was renamed the Spring Festival

In Beijing, tens of thousands of worshippers yesterday visited the ancient Taoist temple to commemorate the start of Year of the Monkey. Revellers visited traditional fairs held in parks, as well as Buddhist and Taoist temples, offering song and dance performances as well as open-air markets selling handicrafts.

Yesterday marked the first day of the Year of the Monkey – the ninth animal on the Chinese zodiac calendar.

A Chinese dancer dressed in traditional costume performs a cultural dance onstage during a temple fair for a Lunar New Year celebration in Beijing. Millions of Chinese began celebrating the Lunar New Year, which marks the Year of the Monkey on the Chinese zodiac. Photo: Andy Wong/AP Photo

The week-long holiday, known as the Spring Festival in China, is focused on family reunion, and is a time when students and migrant workers return to their home towns.

It is the country’s most important holiday, equivalent to Christmas for many in the West.

Last month, two Chinese groups, the Sizhou Dramatic Theatre from Anhui Province and the Jinan Song and Dance Theatre from Shandong Province, gave a number of performances in Valletta and Marsascala.

Organised by the Chinese Cultural Centre in Malta, with the support of the Ministry for Culture, the Malta Tourism Authority and the local councils of Valletta and Marsascala, the programme also included a photo exhibition and movie screenings.

A woman touches a statue of a stone monkey for good fortune on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Monkey at Baiyun Temple, in Beijing, China. Photo: Jason Lee/Reuters

Most important holiday for the Asians

What do people do?

Many people clean their homes to welcome the Spring Festival. They put up red posters with poetic verses on their doors, Chinese New Year pictures on their walls, and decorate their homes with red lanterns. It is also a time to reunite with relatives, in fact many people visit their families at this time of the year.

In the evening of the Spring Festival Eve, many people set off fireworks and firecrackers, hoping to cast away any bad luck and bring forth good luck. Children often receive “luck” money. Many people wear new clothes and send Chinese New Year greetings to each other. Various activities, such as beating drums and striking gongs, as well as dragon and lion dances, are all part of the Spring Festival festivities.

Public life

The Spring Festival is a national holiday in China. Government offices, schools, universities and many companies are closed during the period from the Spring Festival Eve to the seventh day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. However, some enterprises such as banks often arrange for workers to be on shift duty. Public transport is available during the Chinese New Year period.

Background

According to historical documents, on the day when Shun, who was one of ancient China’s mythological emperors, came to the throne more than 4,000 years ago, he led his ministers to worship heaven and earth. From then on, that day was regarded as the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar. This is the basic origin of Chinese New Year. China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911, so Chinese New Year was renamed the Spring Festival.

Symbols

The red posters with poetic verses were initially a type of amulet, but now they simply mean good fortune and joy. Various Chinese New Year symbols express different meanings. For example, an image of a fish symbolises “having more than one needs every year”. A firecracker symbolises “good luck in the coming year”. The festival lanterns symbolise “pursuing the bright and the beautiful”.