The United Nations also celebrates the Spring Festival! The General Assembly resolution designates the Spring Festival as a United Nations holiday

On the 22nd local time, the 78th United Nations General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to designate the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) as a United Nations holiday . The adoption of the resolution will give this traditional festival more universal significance, promote the widespread dissemination of the rich cultural connotations of the Spring Festival, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations in the world.

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When people mention the Spring Festival, they always think of benevolence, reunion, joy, auspiciousness and peace. The Chinese have celebrated the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years. It is generally accepted that the Spring Festival originated in the Yu Shun period. From the record in Er Ya Shi Tian Chapter 8, "Zai means year. The Tang and Yu dynasties called it Zai, the Xia dynasty called it Sui, the Shang dynasty called it Si, and the Zhou dynasty called it Nian", the Spring Festival has been recorded for more than 2,000 years.

According to historical records, the Spring Festival actually refers to a series of annual celebrations, from Laba to the 15th day of the first lunar month, all of which are "New Year celebrations". The Chinese nation has a long history of farming. After a busy year, people need to thank the heavens, the earth, and their ancestors for their blessings, and also need to greet a new beginning with a new look.

As the oldest and most solemn festival of the Chinese nation, the Spring Festival has developed to this day, and the festive and lively customs such as New Year's Eve dinner, pasting Spring Festival couplets, New Year's greetings, and New Year's money are still indispensable. These ritualistic customs carry the warm memories deep in our hearts and also carry many of our good wishes.

As one of the most important traditional festivals in China, the Spring Festival has now spread to the world . Many countries and regions regard the Spring Festival as a legal holiday, and about one-fifth of the world's population celebrates the Spring Festival in different forms.

In addition to China, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Korea, which belong to the Han cultural circle, also retain the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival. Especially in the multicultural countries of Southeast Asia, some cultural traditions that are rare in China are still being upheld and maintained.

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Outside of Asia, Suriname is the first South American country to designate the Chinese New Year as a legal holiday; Canada also officially established the Chinese New Year as a national legal holiday in 2017. In August 2018, the California State Assembly passed a bill to officially list the Chinese New Year as a legal holiday in California.

The Spring Festival is not only for China, but also for the world . With the development of the times, people have more choices on how to celebrate the New Year. But no matter how people celebrate the Spring Festival, the inherent "Chinese romance" and "Chinese cultural confidence" carry the unchanging hopes and wishes of the Chinese people.

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, Beijing News, etc.