China extends Lunar New Year holiday by 3 days to next Sunday in effort to contain virus spread

China extends Lunar New Year holiday by 3 days to next Sunday in effort to contain virus spread. 

The Chinese New Year holiday period, being disrupted this year by the outbreak of a viral illness, has evolved over more than 3,000 years to become the most important of China’s traditional festivals.

As celebrated in China and in many other places where its known as the Lunar New Year, it is largely a secular holiday, yet it includes rituals and traditions that derive from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, as well as from ancient myths and folk religions.

One of the popular versions of its origin involves an elderly wise man who used firecrackers and red paper to scare away a menacing mythical beast. Red lanterns and gifts of money in red envelopes are ubiquitous during the holiday, as are dragon dances, another legendary way to chase off evil spirits.