This Chinese New Year will welcome the Year of the Rat, associated this year with the element metal.
Chinese New Year celebrations were banned in an attempt to westernize Chinese culture.
Wanting China to celebrate New Year the same day as other cultures, the Kuomintang Party attempted to move Chinese New Year to January 1.
Though it's not completely clear when exactly Chinese New Year celebrations began, it is said to have originated from the year end religious ceremony observed during the Shang Dynasty.
