Chinese New Year celebrated in Windsor-Essex

Chinese people around the world are ringing in the New Year Monday, which starts the beginning of the year of the Pig. It’s the most important holiday in China and to Chinese people.  

It is also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. This is the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese calendar.  

This festivity is a time for family reunions where people often visit relatives and friends, do some shopping, watch traditional Chinese New Year events, launch fireworks, and plan for the coming year. 

People also give red envelopes with money to children. There are street parades and festivals featuring dancing, traditional Chinese costumes, firework displays, food stalls.  

Unlike the New Year observed by those that use the Gregorian Calendar, which is based on a solar calendar, the Chinese New Year is based on a traditional Chinese calendar whose dates indicate both the phase of the moon as well as the time of the solar year. Therefore, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. 

The celebration begins Monday and lasts for approximately two weeks.