Lunar New Year 2019: China welcomes its year of the pig

Millions of Chinese citizens across China and around the world on Tuesday welcomed the Year of the Pig, marking the arrival of the Lunar New Year with prayers, family celebrations and shopping.

For a week, the most populous country in the world is paralyzed and, in what is the largest annual migration in the world, hundreds of millions of people visit their families receive the year 4717, of the Land Pig, badociated with fertility and prosperity.

The normally busy streets of Beijing were empty Monday and many shops and restaurants were closed until next week. millions of migrant workers They went home.

Last night, Chinese cities resounded at the sound of firecrackers and fireworks, lit to chase evil spiritsalthough in big cities like Beijing, they could not be heard because they had been banned to avoid further pollution and for security reasons.

New Year traditions

The Chinese began the year by fulfilling ancestral traditions, a mixture of superstition and customs, which have only one purpose: ward off misfortunes and attract luck, prosperity and abundance.

Among the practices are clean the houses thoroughly, decorate the streets and organize grand banquets parents during New Year's Eve.

Another protagonist of the festival are the "Hongbao", red envelopes with money, which are given to family and friends to wish them fortunes in the coming year.

In recent years, with the huge rise of payments in China via mobile phones, the fashion is to send "hongbaos" via applications such as WeChat (local equivalent of WhatsApp). It's also a way of pbading luck to those who receive it, and what matters is more the intention than the quantity.

In addition, millions of people have gone to the temples to burn incense and pray for a prosperous year.

Family reunification in China means millions of people are returning to their hometowns: authorities expect them to happen almost 3,000 million trips in the so-called "Spring Festival", the 40-day period begins on January 21st and ends on March 1st.

What is your sign in the Chinese horoscope according to your year of birth

RATA – Years: 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008.

BUEY – Years: 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009.

TIGER- Years: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010.

CONEJO- Years: 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987 and 1999.

DRAGON- Years: 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012.

SERPENT- Years: 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013.

CABALLO- Years: 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002 and 2014.

CABRA – Years: 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015.

MONO – Years: 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016.

GALLO – Years: 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017.

DOG – Years: 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018.

PIG – Years: 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019.