The festivals next in importance after National Day are two New Years; one according to the Gregorian solar calendar, and the other according to the traditional lunar calendar. The former was officially established in 1911, but it has been to this day the New Year in an administrative sense only. Whereas the traditional New Year has remained the virtual festival of New Year emotionally and culturally, though it was renamed “the Spring Festival” long ago.
       The solar New Year is quite eclipsed by the traditional New Year both in importance and festivity. On this one-day national holiday there is little of what you would call rousing celebrations. It is an occasion for presenting new stage, screen or TV shows, and a convenient day for holding a wedding. Otherwise it is just an ordinary holiday. For many it is no more than an extra Sunday.
         The lunar New Year (the Spring Festival ) is the festival of festivals, which is deep-rooted in the life and soul of hundreds of hundreds of millions of people. It is a time of family reunion, good whishes, thanksgiving, new promises, hopes for the future, and merrymaking. Although officially there are only three full days, the celebrations of the Spring Festival take place in late January or early February and last for nearly a month, beginning ten days before the end of the year and extending well past the middle of the first month of the new year. The historical reason for beginning the year during cold weather is that it is a time between the “autumn harvest and winter storage” and “spring plowing and summer weeding.” In other words, this is the time for rest and relaxation after a year’s toil, and for celebration as well.