This year the Chinese New Year will begin on February 12, ringing in the Year of the Ox.

It marks the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar, which starts as the first new moon appears, usually between January 21 and February 20 each year. A full moon occurs in the middle of the month.

Here is what you need to know about the Year of the Ox:

1. The new Year of the Ox started on February 3, 2021 and end on February 4, 2022.

2. There are 12 zodiac signs in the Chinese lunar calendar, with Ox being the second. The previous year of the Ox was 2009.

3. The Ox represents hard work, diligence, kindness, honesty and stubbornness.

4. Lucky numbers for those born in Year of the Ox are 1 and 9.

5. Red, blue and purple are their lucky colors.

6. North, South and Southeast are the directions that are deemed lucky for them.

7. The flowers that bring them luck are tulips and peach blossom.

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in China, celebrated with delicious meals carefully prepared for the annual New Year's Eve family dinner and many other traditions including putting up spring decorations, exchanging red envelopes and offering a sacrifice to ancestors.

This year, the festivity will be celebrated mostly virtually in China as people are encouraged to avoid traveling, especially for long distance, back home to prevent new coronavirus infections.

This year's Spring Festival Gala, a Chinese New Year special show aired by the China Media Group (CMG) as the world's most watched television program, is expected to be particularly grandiose, presenting a host of performances from dance routines and medleys of popular songs to comedy sketches, acrobatic stunts and much more.

"After a year of hardship, we can understand more than ever the significance of a community with a shared future for mankind," said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his 2021 New Year address, acknowledging the challenge ahead – the global fight to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We still have a long way to go in pandemic prevention and control. People from all over the world should join hands and support each other to early dispel the gloom of the pandemic and strive for a better 'Earth home,'" Xi added, wishing Chinese people a better year than the previous one.

Animation: James Sandifer