Many countries are celebrating the Spring Festival these days as we usher in the Year of the Snake. In December 2024, Spring Festival was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. As I see, the Spirit of Spring Festival and the Year of the Snake are deeply rooted in both Chinese and Filipino cultural tradition. I’d like to mention some values which we both share and honor.
Harmony with nature
Preparation in advance is an essential part of the celebration of the Spring Festival, among which is sweeping which means to "sweep away misfortune." But when doing this, people leaves a corner untouched, a humble reminder that humans must never dominate nature. The snake, revered in China as a creature that avoids confrontation, mirrors the Visayan belief “diwata,” a mythical fairy that protects nature and people give offerings to honor and seek blessings. When fishermen in Xiamen mend nets before spring voyages, they sing: "The sea gives us rice, we give it peace", just as Cebuano farmers offer “halad” offerings before planting.
Family and Community
Peope say “Gong Xi Fa Cai” to each other, which literally means “wish you get rich” and also embodies “He Qi Sheng Cai” meaning “harmony brings prosperity”. Children receive red envelopes with cash inside, with blessings, a seed of hope passed through generations.
In Chinese villages, even feuding neighbors exchange red dates during Spring Festival, because "anger must never cross the threshold of the new year." This echoes the Visayan “bayanihan” spirit where disputes dissolve when a community builds a house together. The snake’s coiled form reminds us that there is unity in diversity, like the bamboo weaving of Basey.
Resilience and Renewal
The snake sheds its skin to grow, a metaphor for overcoming trials. It is a time when families gather together to usher in a new year on the lunar calendar, and has become a symbol of reunion and renewal. In rural China, elders teach children to "be like reeds in the wind: bend but never break", much like how Cebu’s “nipa” huts withstand storms. When the super Typhoon Yolanda hit Leyte Island, we saw the strong will and resilience of Leyte people, and also witnessed the Chinese Navy and the Peace Ark Hospital Ship arrived first on the Leyte Bay to provide medical assistance.
Art of Peace and Coexistence
On Chinese New Year’s Eve, the household would place an extra pair of chopsticks at the dinner table, "for unforeseen guests who may need warm food." This kindness reflects China’s ancient creed: "Respect the old as if they were your own aged parents, and care for the young as if they were your own children" The snake, seen as a protector in Filipino mythology And a healer in Chinese medicine, teaches us that true prosperity grows when we protect the vulnerable, whether through Visayan “pag-amoma” traditions or Zhejiang neighborhood committees taking care of those elders living alone, or China’s quick assistance as the first and the only country to dispatch anti-pandemic medical expert team to the Philippines.
Weaving futures with gentle hands
Putting the Spring Festival on the Heritage List is a vote for inclusiveness and mutual learning of cultures. It reminds us of how cultures, despite their differences, can draw on each other's merits and coexist as equals. It is a celebration of humanity’s gentle wisdom. You may notice the art of calligraphy in China, or its tradition of hanging spring couplets to wish for an auspicious life. You may also notice how Chinese lanterns are always tied with loose knots, easily untied so birds never get trapped. This is the heart of our culture: to illuminate without binding, to thrive without hurting.
China and the Philippines share a millennium history of interaction and friendship. In the year of the snake, may we share stories over “tsaa” and “sikwate,” remembering that the Visayan Sea and Yangtze River both whisper the same truth: the highest good is like water sustaining life with no conscious striving.
May the Year of Snake bring health and happiness, and may harmony harvest wealth for us all!
Zhang Zhen,
Consul General of P.R.China in Cebu