The Chinese New Year, better known in China as Spring Festival (春节, 春節, chūnjíe), is the the most important traditional feast of the year in the Chinese calendar. The date of the beginning of the Chinese New Year is established by the lunar-solar calendar used traditionally in China. According to the Chinese calendar, the celebration of a new year falls in general on the second new moon after the northern winter solstice (21st February). The solar calendars have as unit of measure the day, while due to its lunar character, the lunar-solar calendars use the month, so the Chinese New Year can’t be converted to an exact date of the Gregorian calendar, it can occur between 21st January or 21st February. We must find the new moon day closest the lichun (立春, lìchūn, “beginning of the spring”). The celebrations begin the first day of the next lunar month (正月, zhēng yuè) and end fifteenth day, when the Lanterns Festival is celebrated (元宵节, 元宵節, yuánxiāojié).

Among all the activities that we are organizing, the Universitat de València summons every year the traditional cavalcade, headed by the Chinese dragon, with various taiji groups, wushu, martial arts, traditional costumes, dance of the dragon, dance of the lion, etc. This year, we will celebrate the IV Chinese New Year Parade in Calle Pelayo (next to RENFE) y and will take place the next Saturday 21st February in the evening.