A video on Spring Festival is played during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asuncion, Paraguay, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhu Yubo)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has included Spring Festival and social practices of the Chinese people when celebrating the traditional new year on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In doing so, the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, held in Paraguay from Dec 2 to 7, recognized the festival for its wide array of rituals and unique cultural elements that engage all of Chinese society.

Spring Festival is the most influential among all traditional Chinese festivals due to its profoundness, rich content, as well as wide participation; almost every Chinese celebrates it annually.

Families reuniting after a whole year's work, bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new and seeking blessings and good fortune is so deeply rooted in Chinese tradition that it has survived despite modernization.

The number of people who watched the 2024 Spring Festival Gala on television screens, computers, tablets and smartphones reached 795 million.

It's also notable that celebration of the Spring Festival has crossed geographical boundaries, with many people in East and Southeast Asian countries observing local versions of the festival while cultural groups in the United States, Europe and other continents respect the customs thanks to globalization. In some sense, the Spring Festival is a symbol of Chinese culture that is universally accepted, recognized, and appreciated.

For every Chinese person, Spring Festival is a reason to never forget one's home; for every Chinese person living in a different country, observing Spring Festival helps renew cultural ties with home.

That's why the inclusion of this heritage project is of great significance for enhancing the cultural identity of Chinese people at home and abroad. The move helps to practice global civilization initiatives and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

With the Spring Festival added, China now has a total of 44 projects inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List and Register, ranking first in the world. With the influence of Chinese culture growing, more Chinese cultural activities will be added in the times to come.