A TIME TO CELEBRATE

W ith Spring Festival around the corner, families across the country are feeling an air of anticipation in the days before the most celebrated Chinese New Year, which falls on Wednesday.

To prepare for family reunions, people are packing the New Year markets to stock up on nianhuo, or New Year goods that families traditionally prepare ahead of Spring Festival — including food, clothes, home decorations, and gifts for relatives and friends. This annual shopping spree not only brings useful items home for the holidays, but also symbolizes prosperity for the year ahead.

Across the country, various exhibitions, market fairs and cultural activities are being held for the upcoming Chinese New Year, attracting numerous consumers and merchants nationwide.

This year's Spring Festival holiday runs from Tuesday to Feb 4. Before the holiday, it is customary for people to clean their homes to get rid of bad fortune from the old year, and decorate rooms, lending them an atmosphere of joy and celebration.

Homes are often decorated with well-wishing spring couplets (chunlian) featuring two lines of poetry, folk paintings, intricate paper-cuttings (similar to cutouts of paper snowflakes), and lanterns. Decorations, including fu characters (which represent happiness and good luck) and Chinese knots, are bright red, an auspicious color.

Besides shopping for Chinese New Year decorations, there is an impressive amount of stocking up to do, because during the eight-day holiday, families across the country will celebrate with feasting and entertaining. People buy most food and snack items beforehand, as most retailers shut down operations early for the first few days of the holiday.

There are great seas of happy people at the market fairs across the country. Besides shopping, they also participate in celebratory activities, from displaying the making of traditional crafts and performances to tasting regional delicacies.