On December 22, the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by consensus to designate the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) as a United Nations holiday. In addition to the important official holidays of the host country, the United Nations General Assembly may adopt a resolution to designate the holidays that are widely celebrated worldwide as United Nations holidays, and to avoid meeting activities on such days as possible. Every year, the Secretary-General of the United Nations sends a congratulatory message to China and all the people of all countries celebrating the Spring Festival (Lunar New Year).
Some people on the Internet cheered that the Chinese New Year was upgraded to "Earth Festival". Indeed, according to Ambassador Dai Bing, Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, the Spring Festival, as a traditional Chinese folk festival, is not only a day for family reunions, farewell to the old and welcoming the new, but also carries the common values of all mankind, such as family harmony, social tolerance, and harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Many countries and regions observe the Spring Festival as a legal holiday, and about one-fifth of the world's population celebrates the Spring Festival in different forms. Except for East and Southeast Asia, the Spring Festival is celebrated everywhere there are Chinese people. Every Spring Festival, leaders of various countries also extend Spring Festival greetings to Chinese and local Chinese.
Therefore, China has long become the Earth Festival. The United Nations has designated the Spring Festival as a United Nations holiday, giving it a "legal" status, making the globalization of the Spring Festival more in line with the name. The Spring Festival originated in China and spread to the world, which is the embodiment of China's soft and hard power. China is the world's second largest economy, the largest cargo country, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations, and the main engine supporting global economic growth. Therefore, not only is Made in China impressive to the world, but Chinese culture is also welcomed by the world. From Chinese food to Chinese festivals, they have also become the world's "trendy products". With the advent of artificial intelligence, data interconnection makes it easier for Chinese culture to spread to the world. China's Douyin and other cities also provide a convenient carrier for global "hipsters" to understand Chinese customs and appreciate Chinese culture.
The Spring Festival is the most important festival in China, and its importance is no less than Christmas in the West. The Spring Festival has a distinct Chinese cultural connotation and a typical oriental philosophical connotation. From the modern Spring Festival customs such as family reunions, Spring Festival couplets, Spring Festival galas, and red envelopes to celebrate the New Year, it is not difficult to see the inheritance and innovation of Chinese civilization genes, and to get a glimpse of the enduring Chinese cultural symbols.
Family reunion and red envelope celebration reflect China's eternal humanistic spirit of attaching importance to the family since ancient times, Chinese to pursue the future, consolidate the roots, and attach importance to family affection. Spring Festival firecrackers, not only have the elements of festive and festive activities, but also reflect the optimistic spirit of the Chinese, but also contain the legend of the ancients expelling the "Year Beast", reflecting the fighting spirit of the Chinese people who are constantly striving for self-improvement. Of course, it is also the Chinese's deep understanding of nature, society and humanity, which contains the Chinese's simple cognition and deep understanding of the dialectic of bitter and happy years.
The Spring Festival Gala also highlights the festive atmosphere of the Chinese people celebrating together. Ancient China did not have modern technical carriers and means of communication, but it also created a festive atmosphere of fun for the government and the people through the festive way of putting up lanterns.
The Spring Festival is also the embodiment of the Chinese cosmology. The Chinese ancestors discovered the characteristics of the cycle of the four seasons according to the law of heaven and earth, so as to take the "year" as the general name of the four seasons of the year, and divided the year into spring, summer, autumn and winter, and spring is the starting point of the revival of all things, so there is the Spring Festival. After the Spring Festival, the flowers are in full bloom, and major crops such as wheat millet begin to turn green. In an agrarian society, the Spring Festival represents the beginning and hope, as well as the vision of people praying for a good harvest. Therefore, there is an old saying that "the plan of the year lies in spring".
The Spring Festival is the most traditional festival in China, inheriting the genes of Chinese civilization, continuing the blood of Chinese culture, and the umbilical cord that unites Chinese people around the world. When the Chinese New Year became a United Nations holiday, the Chinese New Year was upgraded to Earth Day. In fact, even if the United Nations did not do so, many foreigners began to celebrate the Chinese New Year. After all, China is an active promoter of globalization and the largest contributor to boosting the global economy. More importantly, China has always promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and has always advocated pragmatic actions to respect the diversity of world civilizations. Therefore, the Spring Festival has become a United Nations holiday, which is not only due to China's hard power, but also demonstrates the soft power of Chinese civilization. (*Beijing Youth Daily).