Dear colleagues, friends and members of WASWAC,

The most important festival of China - Chinese New Year is coming soon, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce you the year of 2018 in Chinese calendar.

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, has more than 4,000 years of history. It is the grandest and the most important annual event for Chinese people.

2018 is the Year of the dog according to Chinese zodiac. As the tenth in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac, the Years of the Rooster include 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018,...

Chinese traditionally believe that years begin and end at Chinese New Year, rather than January 1. 2018 is a year of the Dog.

In China, traditions and celebrations vary greatly across the country. In the North, Chinese dumplings are the must-eat food on Chinese New Year's Eve, but south of the Yangtze River most people eat spring rolls or sticky rice cake.

Chinese New Year is a time for families to be together. Wherever they are, people are expected to be home to celebrate the festival with their families.

The New Year's Eve dinner is called 'reunion dinner', and is believed to be the most important meal of the year. Big families of several generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together. Dishes with lucky meanings must be included in the dinner such as fish, dumplings, and spring rolls.

The main traditions include eating reunion dinner with family, giving red envelopes, firecrackers, new clothes, and decorations.

In many Chinese cities, from New Year's Day, traditional performances can be seen: dragon dances, lion dances, and imperial performances like an emperor's wedding. A great variety of traditional Chinese products are on offer, and strange Chinese snacks.

In the Gregorian calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, on a date between January 21 and February 21. The Chinese New Year in 2018 will be on February 16.

The secretariat of WASWAC wish all of our members a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year!