Credit: Dreamstime
Tuesday 1 February marks the start of the Lunar New Year 2022, a festival celebrated primarily across Asia.
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year (although it is not only celebrated in China), lasts for several days. In China, celebrations continue for two weeks, traditionally concluding with the lantern festival on the day of the full moon (15 February 2022). People in China normally take extended holidays and return to their villages during this period, leading to production downtime in many cities.
This year will see Beijing host the Winter Olympics during the Chinese New Year celebration period. The games will run from 4 to 20 February 2022.
In Korea, people typically celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Seollal, over a period of three days. Many Koreans use this time as an opportunity to visit family, eat traditional food, perform ancestral rites and play folk games.
This year, as last year, public festivities are once again muted or even cancelled in several places due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although millions of families worldwide will still celebrate the occasion at home.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which always kicks off its new year on 1 January, the lunar or Chinese calendar does not always begin on the same date; last year, it fell on 12 February and next year, it will fall on 22 January.
Each year, the Lunar New Year is linked to one of twelve zodiac animals, with 2022 marking the Year of the Tiger (the third of these animals). 2021 was Year of the Ox, whilst 2023 will be Year of the Rabbit.
The Year of the Tiger occurs every twelve years and is believed to be a particularly lucky year for people born on previous Years of the Tiger (2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, etc.). The tiger zodiac sign is often associated with bravery and strength.
Luxembourg celebrations
In addition to global celebrations, there are a couple of events / activities lined up for the Lunar New Year 2022 in the Grand Duchy.
The China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ChinaLux), the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, the Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg and the China Cultural Centre in Luxembourg are organising, with the support of Euro-Asie, an online Chinese New Year celebration on Tuesday 8 February 2022, from 17:00 to 18:00.
This e-celebration will take place via Zoom (register here) and includes speeches from Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Franz Fayot, and the Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg, Yang Xiaorong, among others.
Moreover, the Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg, with the support of the Centre for Language Education and Cooperation, has created a series of 20 short videos to learn the Chinese language. The first episode will be broadcast on 8 February on the website, social media pages and YouTube channel of the Confucius Institute.
