Far and away the most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people, it is as important as Christmas to people in the West. The dates for this annual(年度的)celebration are determined(决定)by thelunar calendarrather than(而不是)the Gregorian calendar(公历), so the timing of the holiday varies(变化)from late January to early February. To the ordinary(普通的)Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the Lunar New Year's Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15^th of the first lunar month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival(元宵节), means the official(正式的)end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.