Comprehensive information about the origins and customs of festivals

**The Origin of New Year's Day**

"Yuan" means "beginning," and "Dan" refers to the time of dawn, or more broadly, daytime. Thus, "Yuan Dan" is the first day of a new year.

Throughout Chinese history, the date of New Year's Day has varied across different dynasties. In the Xia Dynasty, it was on the first day of the first lunar month; in the Shang Dynasty, it was on the first day of the twelfth lunar month; in the Zhou Dynasty, it was on the first day of the eleventh lunar month; and after Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, he set the first day of the tenth lunar month as New Year's Day, a tradition that continued for generations (as recorded in *Records of the Grand Historian*). During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the Taichu era, Sima Qian established the "Taichu Calendar," which once again set the first day of the first lunar month as New Year's Day, aligning with the tradition of the Xia Dynasty, hence it was also called the "Xia Calendar." This system was used until the Xinhai Revolution. After the founding of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen, aiming to "follow the Xia calendar for agricultural timing and adopt the Western calendar for convenience in statistics," designated the first day of the first lunar month (New Year's Day) as the Spring Festival, while adopting January 1 of the Western calendar (Gregorian calendar) as the New Year. On September 27, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference adopted the "Common Era dating method," renaming the first day of the first lunar month as the "Spring Festival" and designating January 1 of the Gregorian calendar as "New Year's Day."

**The Origin of World Wetlands Day**

Every year on February 2nd is World Wetlands Day (World Wetland Day), which was determined by the International Wetlands Organization in March 1996. Since 1997, countries around the world have held various activities on this day to promote the protection of natural resources and ecological environments.

On February 2, 1971, after eight years of effort, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (commonly known as the Ramsar Convention) was signed in Ramsar, Iran, with the aim of protecting and sustainably utilizing global wetlands. To commemorate this achievement and raise public awareness about wetlands, at the 19th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention in 1996, it was decided that February 2nd would be designated as "World Wetlands Day" starting from 1997.

**The Origin of Valentine's Day**

Valentine's Day, also known as "St. Valentine's Day," originated in ancient Rome and is celebrated annually on February 14th. It has become a beloved holiday among young people in Europe and America. The name "St. Valentine's Day" honors a Christian martyr named Valentine who resisted the persecution of Christians by Roman rulers. He was arrested, imprisoned, and executed on February 14, 270 AD. Before his execution, Valentine wrote a letter to the daughter of the jailer, expressing his noble character and affection for her. From then on, Christianity designated February 14th as "Valentine's Day."

**The Origin of International Working Women's Day**

On March 8, 1903, women workers in Chicago, USA, organized a large-scale strike and demonstration to oppose oppression, exploitation, and discrimination by the bourgeoisie and to fight for freedom and equality. This struggle received widespread support and enthusiastic response from working women across the United States. In 1910, progressive women from several countries gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the Second International Socialist Women's Conference. Following the suggestion of Clara Zetkin, a German socialist revolutionary who presided over the meeting, it was decided to strengthen international solidarity among working women and support their struggle for freedom and equality by designating March 8th as International Women's Day every year. Starting from the International Women's Year in 1975, the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day, making "March 8th" a great festival for working women worldwide in their struggle for peace, rights for women and children, and women's liberation.