Chinese celebrate Lunar New Year, hope for a better 2009

CHENGDU, January 26 .KAZINFORM-- With red lanterns hanging from the eaves, the bangs of firecrackers outside, and tables of delicious food, Chinese people, including millions of quake survivors, observed the Lunar New Year eve in the traditional way.

Spring Festival, which falls on Monday, is the most important holiday for Chinese. People meet relatives and eat dumplings and various delicious food. They set off firecrackers to scare off evil spirits. For Chinese, the year 2008 was both a painful year and a proud year in which the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 in Sichuan caused huge casualties and damage, and the successful Olympic Games in August made China a focus in the world. Up until now, 560,000 rural households in Sichuan have completed the construction of their new permanent housing, accounting for 44 percent of the total number. Another half a million rural families have yet to complete their new housing, according to the Sichuan government, Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.