NOUVEL AN CHINOIS

The Chinese New Year lasts 15 days and ends with the Lantern Festival. It is the occasion to start again on a good foot after having got rid of the bad influences of the past year. Participants fill up on oranges and tangerines. In Chinese, "orange" is pronounced the same as "wealth". The passing of the year is done in family on the night of the last day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar. The family members gather for a New Year's Eve celebration consisting of an agape followed by a night of vigilance, a guarantee of longevity.