With traditional fairs and shopping and travel booms over this year's extended holiday, China is about to ring in the Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake, the first since its inclusion into the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

The festive atmosphere begins even earlier. The Laba Festival, celebrated on the eighth day of the twelfth month in the Chinese calendar, is often seen as the precursor to the Spring Festival. A popular rhyme in northern China says, "Kids, kids, don't be greedy. After the Laba Festival, it's New Year already!"

Ancient texts such as Matteo Ricci's Notes on China vividly describe the Spring Festival's early practices. These included rituals to honor ancestors, ward off the mythical Nian beast and welcome a prosperous year.