Bridget O'Donnell

Joint Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day decorations in Hong Kong.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, kicked off this Sunday, February 14. Valentine’s Day has taken a backseat as “Year of the Tiger” decorations flood Asia*. Meanwhile, millions of people returned to their hometowns last week to celebrate with their families. It’s China’s biggest holiday.

Officially, the holiday lasts 15 days. But in practice, most workers return to their jobs within a week of the First Day celebrations.

Compared to most Chinese workers, I lucked out with my Spring Festival break — I stopped teaching early last month and won’t start up again until March 1. The extended holiday gave me a chance to visit more of Southeast Asia (which I intend to blog about once I organize the 950-some photos I took during my three-week trip!).

What did I do to celebrate on February 14? I went to Disneyland, of course!

*People are still aware of Valentine’s Day, and advertisers aren’t completely ignorning it. For instance, I saw a commercial in Hong Kong that talked about how this year’s holiday is special because it mixes love and fortune. The ad also mentioned that the next Chinese New Year/Valentine’s Day joint holiday will occur 38 years from now.

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