Chinese New Year Fireworks in Hong Kong

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes
called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day
of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival.
Chinese New Year's Eve is known as Chúxī (除夕, abbr. for 年除夕 Niánchúxī, Chúxì in Taiwan). It literally means
"Year-pass Eve".

Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday
for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, as well as
cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Aboriginal Taiwanese people,
Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Singapore,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries with significant Chinese populations, Chinese
New Year is also celebrated, largely by overseas Chinese, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional
culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese
hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year's themed stamps in domestic and international rates.

Information and Picture from Wikipedia.org