Happy Spring Festival!

In 2018， Chinese Lunar New Year， or Spring Festival， falls on February 16 of the Gregorian calendar， thus starting the lunar “Year of the Dog.” The Dog is one of 12 zodiac animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar.

An ancient Chinese chronometric system divides each 24-hour day into 12 two-hour periods. Each period is represented by an animal assigned to that particular zodiac. According to the system， the period of 7 pm to 9 pm is the time of the dog. As dusk falls， it is time for people to knock off and take a rest. Spring Festival is the longest holiday in China. For farmers， it is also a slack season for farm work. Either a good rest or a winter fallow aims at refreshing and building up strength.

Today， Spring Festival is not merely celebrated in China. One month preceding Spring Festival this year， a launch event for commemorative stamps of the Year of the Dog was held in Toronto， Canada. Besides， the CN Tower in the city will be lit up in red again as it was in the past three years during the festive days. Whats more， the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will perform several concerts featuring music of Chinese and Western origin. Activities highlighting Chinese culture can be expected as well， such as the Toronto Tea Festival， the Chinese Story Photo Exhibition， Chinese-style temple fairs， and a talk with the theme of “How to Appreciate Peking Opera” among many others.

Celebrations are held in many other countries as well. Overseas Chinese have popularized Chinese culture and traditions among people all over the world. Customs including making dumplings on Spring Festival Eve and watching or even taking part in folklore performances are now shared by many people worldwide.

The countrys economic and social progress has stimulated its tourism. Nowadays， taking a leisure trip during the Spring Festival holiday is becoming popular among Chinese families， particularly among the younger generations.

According to Ctrip， one of Chinas major travel booking sites， 60 percent tourists choose to travel abroad to spend their Spring Festival holiday. In 2017， the number of Chinese outbound tourists during the seven-day holiday reached 6.15 million. This year， the number of countries and regions that offer on-arrival visas or visafree policies to Chinese passport-holders has increased to 67， which will definitely further boost Chinas outbound tourism. Whats more， Chinese citizens who meet certain conditions may enjoy visa-free travel to South Korea around the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to be held in February. Chinas Spring Festival holiday will partly overlap with the sporting event which is expected to draw a great number of Chinese tourists.

Domestic travel is an ideal choice too. Boasting a mild winter and beautiful coastlines， the south part of the country is a particularly favored Spring Festival holiday destination.

Children love Spring Festival the most. It is an occasion for them to understand more about Chinese culture. For instance， they learn to make traditional Chinese New Year foods from inheritors of intangible cultural heritage or try to paint a Beijing Opera mask in a time-honored courtyard. For parents joining the activities together with their children， memories of their childhood often come flooding back.