Chinese communities throughout the World are celebrating Chinese New year, and the beginning of the Year of the Ox. In Chinese culture, Ox symbolizes wealth and success attained through perseverance and hard work. 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 lunar month in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th. It is traditionally celebrated with family dinners, fireworks, parades and dragon dances.
Chinese calendar traditionally does not use continuously numbered years, its years are often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various scholars, making the year 2009"Chinese Year" 4707, 4706, or 4646.
Source: Boston