The Universal Spirit of the Spring Festival – We’re All the Same

The first day of the Chinese New Year on the lunisolar calendar was 29 January – the Year of the Snake.

People of Chinese heritage all over the world were immersed in the festive joy of Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, as it is more commonly known.

Just in time for this year’s Spring Festival, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) inscribed the festival on its representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Spring Festival not only bears the weight of thousands of years of cultural heritage and national memory, but also serves as a grand celebration of family.

Like every tradition passed down for generations, the Spring Festival has evolved in how it is celebrated. In the past, due to scarcity, the majority of Chinese people led thrifty lives, and as a result, festivities were constrained.

Today, with remarkable improvements in living standards, celebrations have become more elaborate. No matter how times change, however, the Spring Festival will always remain an occasion for nurturing family bonds.

For the Chinese, home is the eternal compass during the Spring Festival. Returning home for the Spring Festival represents an unwavering commitment to family and tradition. Whenever this time of the year approaches, regardless of distance, people rooted in Chinese tradition are filled with a longing to return home.

Their homes are decorated and have been thoroughly cleaned to clear away any bad luck and make room for new beginnings. The moment they push open the door, familiar aromas greet them. The smiles of parents and the cheers of children instantly dissipate the weariness of the journey. The whole family sits around the table, sharing the New Year’s Eve dinner.

The value of family, closely intertwined with the Spring Festival, is not exclusive to Chinese tradition. Across the globe, people from diverse ethnic groups, cultures and regions have their own grand festivals centred on family and togetherness.

These festivals vary significantly in form, origin and the way they are celebrated, each boasting its own unique allure. Essentially, however, they all serve the same function of forging invisible yet powerful bonds within families. They are a reminder that, although we are different, ultimately we truly are all the same.

Despite the many cultures, languages and customs on this vast blue planet, and the differences in race, skin colour and religion among us, one thing stands out – our deep connection to family and the warmth of familial love.

This connection is deeply engraved in the soul of every group, serving as the most potent bond capable of evoking empathy among humans.

This Spring Festival, we invite you to make an effort to cultivate more of this kind of empathy and to understand how ‘others’ uphold and express such universal human emotions as love for family and family affection. If more people did just that, we would have a more inclusive and harmonious world.

We look forward to the day we can muster the strength of all mankind to jointly tackle global challenges and earnestly collaborate to create a better future.

In this future, no matter where people are, they can feel the care and warmth of family, and humanity can come together with a shared sense of purpose.

Happy new year, may all your wishes come true!

Guaiqiong Li, Rainer Ebert