Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional Chinese holidays. It is also called as the Lunar New Year. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month in the Chinese calendar, which is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements, and ends on the 15th, which day is called as the Lantern Festival.
Like Christmas to the westerners, to the Chinese, Lunar New Year is the time for big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of symbolic foods and display of festive decorations. All kinds of celebration activities are focused on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring.
Based on Chinese calendars, the date varies from late January to mid-February each year. In 2009, the Year of the Ox, the celebration will begin on 26th January.