Lunar New Year becomes global cultural event: spokesperson

BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- China looks forward to celebrating the Spring Festival with the world and hopes all civilizations will live in harmony and prosper together, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily press briefing when asked to comment on the fact that the 78th UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution by consensus to list the Lunar New Year as a UN floating holiday.

Noting that the Lunar New Year, or what people call Spring Festival in China, is the oldest and most important traditional festival in Chinese culture, Mao said it's a time for family reunion and ringing in the new year and is celebrated in China and around the world.

"Some rough estimates suggest that the festival is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and is celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity," Mao said.

Traditional celebration activities are organized in nearly 200 countries and regions. The festival has become a global cultural event, bringing joy to people around the world, she added.

Mao said that the Lunar New Year symbolizes joy, harmony and peace, and its Chinese name "Spring Festival" conveys the greetings and warmth of the spring season, and the festival embodies the core values of harmony, love and peace in Chinese culture.

"We look forward to celebrating the Spring Festival with the world and hope all civilizations will live in harmony, prosper together and engage in exchanges and mutual learning, and that people of all countries will enjoy better mutual understanding and friendship and work together to build a community with a shared future for humankind," Mao said.