How was the first New Year's Day of New China celebrated?

[The Origin of New Year’s Day in China]

September 27, 1949

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

First Plenary Session

Decided to adopt the universal Gregorian calendar

That is what we call the solar calendar

To distinguish the Lunar New Year from the Solar New Year

Considering

The beginning of spring in the 24 solar terms of the lunar calendar

Just before and after the Lunar New Year

therefore

January 1st of the lunar calendar

Renamed "Spring Festival"

January 1 of the Gregorian calendar

New Year's Day is designated as the beginning of the new year

December 23, 1949

National holidays and anniversaries

Holiday regulations released

New Year's Day, 1 day off

From now on

New Year's Day is included as a legal holiday

Become a national festival

【Celebrate together, be filled with joy】

To celebrate the founding of New China

First New Year's Day

All major cities, villages and schools that have been liberated

Organizations and people from all walks of life

By holding parties and speeches

Drama performances, movies, exhibitions, etc.

Colorful celebrations

Welcome the New Year

Early morning of New Year's Day, 1950

People turn on the radio

I heard the March of the Volunteers.

Just three months old

People's Republic of China

Welcomed the first New Year

For the 541 million Chinese people

This New Year

It is truly a “renewal”

The Day

More than 50,000 people from all walks of life in the capital

Participated in the New Year's Gala

Students and workers in the capital

Gathering at the Beihai Park Ice Rink

Performing various wonderful shows

Early morning of New Year's Day, 1950

On the streets of Yangzhou

The People's Pictorial printed the night before

Circulate among the masses

The center of the pictorial

This is a picture of Yangzhou people celebrating the New Year

Paintings of street parades

Walking in the team in the picture

The person in front

Holding high the national flag and Chairman Mao's portrait

Followed closely by

The team beating drums

As well as the dragon dance team and waist drum team

The whole picture is bright in color

Taking the soldiers and civilians of Yangzhou to the streets

Celebrating the first New Year after liberation

Lively and vivid

There is a couplet on both sides of the picture.

It says "Celebrate the Liberation of the Wanli River and Mountains

The whole nation rejoices.”

Below the screen is

“Celebrate together

Everyone laughs

Celebrating the first New Year of New China"

[The military and the people are close friends, and everyone supports the army in the New Year]

People ushered in a new life

Of course, thanks

The brave and combat-capable Chinese People's Liberation Army

The Day

The country has launched

A variety of military support activities

Masses to the troops

Happy New Year to the officers and soldiers

Visiting the wounded and sick and the families of military martyrs

The students also made

New Year's cards sent to the PLA on the front line

Each district in Beijing held

Mass meeting to comfort military families

Party and government agencies, schools, factories

and mass organizations

Rehearsed the cultural performance

Visit the troops to wish the officers and soldiers a happy new year

Visiting the wounded and sick and the families of military martyrs

Beijing citizens also composed a song called "A Tribute to the Troops"

In poetic language

This expresses the people’s mood:

"The People's Liberation Army is coming

Hear encouraging songs everywhere

There are men and women welcoming you with wine and pots

Several times of enthusiasm

Rain washes away the dust of thousands of miles

Night is full of gloom and the moon is in the sky

Good men serve the people

How deep is the love

Old shame, absolved from the beginning

The reactionaries will be destroyed from now on.

Watch the world get organized

The Golden Bowl is intact

Independence flag flying democratic country

Freedom flowers emit heroic blood

Celebrating the beginning of a peaceful year

"Looking at the Capital Palace"

[Double happiness, literary and artistic gift]

In Shanghai

Students from various schools held cultural and artistic celebrations

Shanghai Theatre Academy and Fudan Art Troupe

From New Year's Day

Touring schools in the city

How the Steel Was Tempered

and the two plays "March of Democratic Youth"

Shanghai Gold, Queen, Dahua, Paris, International

Eight cinemas including Yongan, Jincheng and Jindu

And eight major cities in China

The documentary film "The Birth of New China" was also screened

Video content includes

Meetings of the People's Political Consultative Conference

Chairman Mao's speech and speeches by representatives

And the grand opening ceremony

【On the road to revival】

New Year's Day 1950

There is another happy event

The Beijing-Hankou and Yue-Hankou railways

Full line open to traffic

Since then

Manchuria

To Guangzhou in the South

Can be reached directly by rail

Northeast China, North China, East China, South Central China, Northwest China

Railway lines in these areas

Also connected

The Beijing-Hankou and Yue-Hankou railways

To strengthen the exchange of materials between the north and the south

and political and military

and cultural links

Overcoming the country's post-war difficulties

Promote economic recovery and construction

All of them are of great significance

These two railways

For the new China

Bringing revival and hope

In the People's Republic of China

The first New Year after its establishment

Central People's Government

Minister of the Interior Xie Juezai

In his New Year's message he wrote:

“The whole nation is jubilant

Celebrate this New Year

Because it brings infinite light and hope."

2022

We, who carry the hopes of our ancestors

Greet the rising sun and keep moving forward

Running on the road of chasing light!

Source: WeChat public account "Communist Youth League Central Committee" (ID: gqtzy2014) compiled from CCTV News Client, Weibo @Mianzhu Archives, National History of the People's Republic of China, Yunling Pioneer Network

Editor: Yuan Xi

Proofread by Wei Kairui

Proofread by Sun Xiaoqian

On-duty editor: Zhang Yu