As Chinese celebrate, rest of world benefits

Spring Festival traditionally is the most important time of the year for family reunions, but as China has become prosperous, an increasing number of wealthy Chinese are traveling abroad, bringing big business to global retailers.

In the Western world, the traditional shopping season usually lasts from Thanksgiving in November to Christmas in December.

In recent years, however, Chinese consumers have added another month of shopping with the celebration of Spring Festival, which has become as big a deal as Christmas to many US shopping malls.