Chinese New YearCelebrated around the World

How Overseas Chinese Celebrate

the Spring Festival

Chinese Spring Festival is the most important occasion for Chinese family reunions and celebrations. The tradition is observed by Chinese both at home and abroad.

Much like Western families come together for Thanksgiving dinner， overseas Chinese families too gather for reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year. As we do at home， overseas Chinese also regard the New Year’s Eve dinner a most important event. On the menu， you can typically find “jiaozi” or “niangao”.

At home， we will watch the CCTV Gala on the New Year’s Eve， while overseas Chinese prefer to get together to hold a gala. For example， On Jan. 22， 2011， Chinese in New York held a gala to celebrate the Spring Festival. “I believe that the gala will not only enrich the community life and build stronger friendship among the people， but also help promote Chinese culture and expand its influence，” Peng Keyu， the Consul General of China in New York said.

Foreigners Also Enjoy Chinese New Year Celebrations

Chinese New Year also attracts many foreigners. During the Festival， the streets near Chinatowns in all parts of the world are decorated with long rows of red lanterns. Chinese and foreigners， dressed in the Tang suit， perform dragon and lion dances together.

● Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia， like Malaysia， Singapore， Indonesia and Philippines， Chinese New Year is a public holiday and considered to be one of the most important holidays of the year.

● Europe

Chinese New Year is one of the most popular annual events in Paris， with a parade and special performances. In London， the mayor will deliver a speech on television wishing Chinese people a happy New Year. If a British person hasn’t heard of Chinese New Year， he is sure to be considered as an old-fashioned person.

● North America

In North America， a giant night parade has been a tradition in major cities such as San Francisco， Los Angeles， New York City， Washington D.C.， Boston， Toronto and Vancouver， since just after the Gold Rush in the 1860’s.

● Australia

Sydney claims to have the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside Asia with over 600，000 people attending the celebrations in Chinatown annually. The events there last over three weeks including the launch celebration， outdoor markets， evening street food stalls， Chinese opera performances， dragon boat races， a film festival and multiple parades.

The word “observed” （in Paragraph 1） probably means “ ”.

A. see and notice； watch carefully

B. obey rules， laws， customs， etc.

C. celebrate festivals， birthdays， etc.

D. say by way of comment； remark

（Find the Key in this issue）

reunion團聚

typically典型地

gala聯歡會

Consul General總領事

Chinatown唐人街

decorate裝飾

lantern燈籠

Tang suit唐裝

parade游行

Gold Rush淘金熱

launch開始

stall攤位

multiple多樣的