This is how China welcomes the Year of the Snake

At 5 p.m. Central European Time - midnight in the People's Republic - the new year began for the people of the country with a population of around 1.4 billion.

The New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is based on the traditional lunar calendar and therefore takes place on different days at the end of January or beginning of February. It is also celebrated in other Asian countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Indonesia.

Chinese New Year

What the Year of the Snake has in store for you

Traditional gifts of money stimulate consumption

During the multi-day holiday, most stores and offices are closed and the important travel season of the year begins. Many people travel back to their hometowns. This year, the Chinese Ministry of Transport expects around 510 million rail trips and 90 million air trips.

Many places celebrate with fireworks, and in some large cities there are also drone shows. While the family eats together, the big New Year's gala is shown on television, which is the most watched television program in the world.

The festival is an important factor for the Chinese economy. Traditionally, red envelopes containing money ("Hongbao") are given as gifts, which stimulates consumption. Today, the envelopes are often only sent digitally to smartphones. The rest of the world is also feeling the effects of the Spring Festival. Tourist destinations around the world benefit from the fact that many Chinese are on vacation.

Influence on the birth rate

In the Chinese horoscope, the snake stands for wisdom, intuition and adaptability. It replaces the dragon, an animal sign that is particularly popular with the Chinese.

Because many parents want a "dragon child", the years of the dragon are often associated with a baby boom. In a Year of the Snake, as it has now begun, there are often fewer new births.