The Spring Festival's global moment: Harmony in the Year of the Horse

ByMohamed Karim

People walk past an installation celebrating the Chinese New Year in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, February 17, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]

With February 17, 2026, marking the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Horse, people are enjoying the Spring Festival holiday from February 15 to 24.

Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy Chinese New Year) is now a global buzzword, resonating not only in China but across the world. In today's fractured international environment marked by geopolitical rivalry, economic decoupling and cultural mistrust, the Spring Festival carries a meaning that extends far beyond celebration. What unfolds annually across China is not merely a holiday ritual; it is a civilizational expression of continuity, harmony and the possibility of coexistence in diversity.

For millennia, the Spring Festival has embodied the Chinese proverb Jia He Wan Shi Xing – harmony in a family brings success in everything. This timeless wisdom is crucial to understanding the festival's global resonance. In classical Chinese thought, harmony is not the absence of difference but the management of difference within an ordered moral framework. At a time when the international system is increasingly polarized, this concept offers a subtle but powerful counterpoint to zero-sum geopolitics.

Recognized by UNESCO on December 4, 2024, as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage, the Spring Festival has seen steadily growing global acceptance and participation year by year. Thus, we see global leaders from countries of the Global South to Western nations extending their warm wishes for a joyful Spring Festival to the Chinese people.

The Year of the Horse adds further symbolic depth. In Chinese cosmology, the horse represents vitality, forward momentum, disciplined movement, perseverance, endurance, unity, solidarity and purposeful energy. Unlike the dragon's mythical power or the tiger's raw force, the horse signifies sustained progress built on coordination and trust. In geopolitical terms, this symbolism arrives at a sensitive moment. The world economy is uneven, supply chains are being reconfigured and strategic mistrust among major powers remains elevated. The horse's message is therefore timely: Forward motion is necessary, but stability depends on rhythm, balance and shared direction.

This is where the Spring Festival's global significance becomes most visible. Each year, the holiday generates the world's largest human migration, as hundreds of millions travel for reunion. Over 286 million inter-regional passenger trips were made across China on the first day of this year's nine-day Spring Festival holiday.

Yet increasingly, the festival is no longer geographically contained. Chinese New Year celebrations now illuminate major cities across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. What was once primarily a national cultural event has become a global seasonal marker of renewal. The spread is not accidental. It reflects the growing interconnectedness of economies, diasporas and cultural exchanges shaped in part by China's integration into the world system.

Teachers and students display Spring Festival couplets at a school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 7, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly framed the Spring Festival in terms of shared human aspirations like peace, development and cooperation. His annual New Year messages often emphasize that China's future is inseparable from global stability. Whether interpreted diplomatically or symbolically, this framing positions the festival as more than domestic tradition; it becomes a narrative device through which China communicates its preferred vision of globalization, interconnected rather than fragmented, developmental rather than confrontational.

The economic dimension reinforces this narrative. China's consumption surge during the Spring Festival season has become a closely watched global indicator. In many recent years, China has contributed around 30 percent of global growth. Holiday spending in retail, tourism, logistics and digital commerce radiates outward through international supply chains. When Chinese households increase consumption, exporters from Southeast Asia to Europe feel the effect. In this sense, the Spring Festival is not only culturally unifying but economically stabilizing. It injects demand into a global economy that often begins the year cautiously.

Yet the deeper importance of the festival lies in the philosophical architecture beneath the fireworks. Classical Chinese thinkers such as Confucius and later scholars in the Confucian tradition emphasized He Er Bu Tong (harmony without uniformity). This principle is increasingly relevant in a multipolar world. It suggests that diversity among civilizations need not produce conflict if managed through mutual respect and shared norms. The Spring Festival, with its emphasis on reunion across distance and difference, performs this philosophy in a living form.

Importantly, the festival's global meaning does not rest on political endorsement but on human universality. The core themes such as family reunion, hope for prosperity, respect for ancestors and renewal of social bonds translate across cultures with remarkable ease. In an era of algorithm-driven polarization and identity fragmentation, such shared emotional grammar matters. It reminds societies that beneath strategic competition lies a common human desire for stability and belonging.

In sum, the Spring Festival arrives at a moment when the international system is searching for equilibrium. Conflicts persist, trust deficits remain and economic uncertainty lingers. Yet the enduring appeal of this ancient festival suggests that cultural continuity still holds integrative power in a fragmented age. The festival carries a civilizational message across borders: that progress must be guided by harmony, that diversity need not produce division, and that even in a tense geopolitical climate, shared cultural rhythms can help steady the global system.

The author isa global issue and economic affairs independent researcher and analyst currently living in Benghazi, Libya.