Happy new year! Today is the first day of the Spring Festival celebrations! Because Chinese New Year is based on the lunar cycle, it moves around on the solar calendar, like Easter and Passover do. The first day of the year can fall anywhere be anywhere between late January and mid-February. According to Chinese tradition, the Chinese calender began when the ancient Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the Chinese zodiac. It is now the year 4706 in China, which is a rat (or mouse) year. Most importantly, it’s the year of the Beijing Olympics!

Want to party like it’s 4706? Eat lots of dumplings, decorate your home with red good-luck symbols, wear red clothes and — of course — light some fireworks!

Read more about Chinese New Year here or here!