The 23rd day of the year's last lunar month marks a traditional Chinese holiday called Xiao Nian, which means Preliminary Eve, the prelude to the Lunar New Year's Eve celebration.
When this music is heard, it means the Chinese traditional Lunar New Year is approaching.
Red lanterns, street decorations, and homemade foods, these are signs that the 8-day countdown has started, and today marks the very start of it.
But not everyone follows the old trend. While older generations have strictly kept to these customs for decades, younger Chinese are getting increasingly creative to revive their traditional culture.
And there are differences between the country's north and south. For people in southern China, they will celebrate Xiao Nian tomorrow, one day after their northern counterparts.
Young and old, traditional and modern, every Chinese is getting on the New Year bandwagon with no exception.
(CNTV.cn January 26, 2011) |