Spring Festival officially listed as UN holiday

The United Nations designated the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, as a UN holiday, the Chinese Mission to the United Nations announced in a statement on Friday.

During the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on 22 December, a resolution by consensus was adopted to officially list the Spring Festival as a UN Floating Holiday in the UN Calendar of Conferences and Meetings starting from 2024.

In the resolution, the UN General Assembly acknowledged the significance of the festival, which is observed in many UN member states. It also suggested to the UN organs at the headquarters and other places not to hold meetings on the day of the Spring Festival.

China's deputy representative to the UN, Dai Bing, said after the adoption of the resolution that the Spring Festival is a traditional festival in China featuring family gatherings and good wishes for the coming year.

The Chinese envoy added that the festival highlights not only the ideas of the Chinese civilization of peace and harmony but it also showcases humanity's common importance on harmonious family, inclusive society, and good relationship between man and nature.

More popularly known in many parts of the world as the Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival marks a new year on the lunar calendar. Farming activities, such as plowing and planting crops, start to take place, signaling the end of winter and the coming of spring.

It is also the time of the year that most Chinese people, especially those who are residing or working in the Mainland's urban district or abroad, are traveling back to their home provinces in China to visit their parents or elders. This event called "chunyun" or spring travel is one of the world's largest annual migrations.