Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is often called the Lunar New Year, especially by people in mainland China and Taiwan. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: pinyin: zhèng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year's Eve, which this year falls on February 13, is known as Chúxī. It literally means "Year-pass Eve".

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Lunar Calendar. People will spend a lot of money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity".

On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will range from pigs, to ducks, to chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes, hong bao. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile, forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is one of the most colorful activities of the Lantern Festival in Taipei County. This year, the Pingxi International Sky Lantern Festival will be held from Tuesday, February 16th - Sunday, March 7rd.

Pingxi is a remote hillside town about one hour with car from Taipei city. In former times, those who worked or farmed in the mountains faced the risks of being robbed or killed; so people used lanterns to tell their families they were safe. The lanterns have lost their function as a warning signal, and today they are a symbol of peace and good fortune.