Chinese Scholars to Share Spring Festival Traditions with GMercyU community

Chinese Scholars Cherry Wang, Rose Xiao and Million Huang taught the GMercyU community about the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year on Wednesday.

The Spring Festival, which follows the lunar calendar, is on Feb. 8 this year and is the Year of the Monkey.

Traditionally, the holiday is a time to honor ancestors and is the busiest travel time of the year as millions of people return to their ancestral homes. Preparations begin the week before the start of the New Year, as families clean their homes and shop for their reunion dinners, and continue through the 15th day of the New Year with the Lantern Festival. The time in between is spent visiting family and friends, giving out "lucky money" and eating special meals.

Professor Wang will return home to China before the Spring Festival, but the GMercyU community will celebrate along with Professors Huang and Xiao. Keep an eye out for events leading up to the New Year on Feb. 8.