The spring festival belongs to China and the world

The Lunar New Year, or what we call Spring Festival in China, is the oldest and the most important traditional festival in the Chinese culture. It’s a time for family reunion and ringing in the new year. The festival conveys the greetings and warmth of the spring season and also embodies the core values of harmony, love and peace in Chinese culture.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated in China and around the world. Some rough estimates suggest that the Lunar New Year is a public holiday in almost 20 countries and celebrated in various ways by about one-fifth of humanity. It is particularly gratifying that on December 22, 2023, the UN formally listed the Lunar New Year as a UN floating holiday, making it a common celebration for people around the world. Traditional Lunar New Year activities are organised in nearly 200 countries and regions, making the festival a global cultural event, and bringing joy to people around the world.

Since January this year, the Spring Festival celebrations for the Year of the Dragon have started in Nigeria. The Consulate General lit up the ‘Chinese Red’ by putting up advertisements on prime roads in the consular district to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and hanging New Year posters with the theme of auspicious dragon on lampposts. African Independent Television (AIT) and TVC Nigeria broadcasted Consul General Yan Yuqing’s Chinese New Year goodwill message several times. On the day of the Chinese New Year, various mainstream newspapers in Nigeria such as Vanguard, the Guardian, Punch, and so forth dedicated a special page to wish the people of China and Nigeria a happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon.

The Lunar New Year celebrations reached a peak on February the 4, with the reception for the Chinese New Year of the Dragon and the 2024 “One World One Spring Huaxing Shines” Spring Festival Gala held by the Chinese Consulate General. Wonderful performances with unique Chinese characteristics were staged, a wide variety of Chinese food was enjoyed to the fullest, and when night fell, a grand Chinese New Year light and fireworks show appeared as scheduled, with people exchanging Chinese New Year wishes in the midst of the brilliant light and sound of fireworks.

In his speech, Hon. Jaafaru Yakubu, Chairman of House Committee on Nigeria-China Relations Committee, House of Representatives, said the unity and harmony demonstrated by the Chinese New Year celebration is a strong evidence to the long-lasting friendship between the two peoples. The Secretary to the Lagos State Government,

Barr. Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, highly commended the Chinese New Year as a bridge that connects us across cultures and continents, which symbolises the beauty of culture diversity and the strength that comes from understanding and embracing one another. Meanwhile, H.E. Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State, H.E. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Governor of Ondo State and H.E., Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State sent their Lunar New Year wishes by video and letters.

During the reception, the Consulate General also joined hands with Nigerian overseas Chinese communities, as well as Chinese enterprises and academics to subsidise the local blind school charity sales. Especially the “Renewed Hope, Rebirth from the light” charity programme to provide financial support for cataract patients, has facilitated more than ten beneficiaries who have regained their sight to experience the warm atmosphere of Chinese New Year on the spot, and to thank the Chinese for their great love.

It can be seen that Chinese civilisation, represented by the Spring Festival, not only reflects the aesthetic taste of the Chinese people, but also provides a rich cultural experience for people from all over the world, including Nigeria, and builds a bridge of communication for exchanges and mutual understanding among different civilisations.

Chinese civilisation is an important carrier of the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation. In the long course of history, the Chinese nation has gone through a course of development different from that of other civilisations in the world, formed a unique value system, cultural connotation and spiritual qualities of the Chinese people in their view of the world, society and life, and created a broad and profound excellent traditional culture, as well as a cultural self-confidence that draws on a wide range of strengths.

Chinese civilisation is the ‘Grand Canal’ that connects China with the world. “Amity between peoples holds the key to the relationship between countries”, and the deep friendship of peoples is the source of drive for the development of national relations. Cultural and people-to-people exchanges have always been a vital component of China-Nigeria relations and a source of driving force for the growth of the relations, allowing our two nations to build a deep friendship across cultural and language differences.

In the past decade and more since President Xi Jinping proposed the BRI, Belt and Road cooperation has expanded beyond the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America, and from ‘hard connectivity’ to ‘soft connectivity’ and to the connectivity between the people. A harmonious picture of multiple civilisations flourishing together, is being drawn up through rich and colorful cultural years, expos and exhibitions, and deepening exchanges between non-governmental organisations, think tanks, media organisations, and the youth—all these flourishing activities.

Chinese civilisation is a promoter that pushes China-Africa and China-Nigeria relations to move forward. The Under-Secretary-General, Mr. Miguel Moratinos, the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilsations, said that the Dragon symbolises strength, courage, and wisdom—the qualities the world needs while facing unprecedented crises.

In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolises bravery, enterprise, self-improvement, holding good wishes that match the common pursuit of development by all peoples, and we can benefit greatly from appreciating each other’s cultures.

In March last year, President Xi Jinping put forth the Global Civilisation Initiative in his keynote address at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, calling for joint efforts to advocate the respect for the diversity of civilisations and upholding the principles of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilisations. China is ready to work together with the international community, to open up a new prospect of enhanced exchanges and understanding among different peoples and better interactions and integration of diversified cultures. Together we can make the garden of world civilisations colorful and vibrant.

China and Nigeria are good friends and partners, and though the people of our two countries are separated by thousands of miles, they can still become families that love each other. The two countries are major cultural countries with their own characteristics, and we will also celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day and other festivals together, so that the Nigerian people can better and more closely understand the Chinese culture.

We will also continue to encourage Chinese community to carry forward the traditional Chinese virtues of helping those in need and aiding those in peril, contribute to charity causes, and further promote people-to-people exchanges, work for the stable and long-term growth of building China-Nigeria community with a shared future.

Yuqing is Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos.