Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman extends Spring Festival greetings to Chinese people

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova extended Spring Festival greetings in an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG) on Monday.

The Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival in China that marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, falls on Feb 17 or Tuesday this year, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle.

Zakharova delivered her blessings in Chinese to the Chinese people.

"I wish everyone a happy Spring Festival, all the best, and good fortune in the Year of the Horse," she said.

Zakharova expressed her anticipation for the Year of the Horse and noted the connection between her name and the Chinese character for "horse."

"I have high hopes for the Year of the Horse. My zodiac sign is the rabbit, not the horse, but my name has a (switch to Chinese) "Ma" [horse] in it. Maria [is my name], "Ma". (switch to Russia) So I really hope this year brings good things. [My nickname is] Masha, [and it sounds like] (switch to Chinese) Ma shang ji xiang [May auspiciousness arrive at once]," Zakharova noted.

She also shared her research on the festival and her favorite festive dishes.

"Let me tell you a secret. Don't tell anyone. I'm only telling you and your audience. Just now, my father, who's also a sinologist, called me and said he's already ordered Chinese takeout. So once we finish the Spring Festival event here at Red Square, I'm heading straight home. Our whole family is getting together to celebrate the arrival of Chinese New Year, and the table will be filled with all kinds of delicious food," she said.

"I know that in Chinese tradition, dumplings are a must on the table. Our family spread will be plentiful, and yes, we'll have dumplings too. Personally, I really love (switch to Chinese) gulaorou (sweet and sour pork), and yu xiang rou si (shredded pork with garlic sauce). (switch to Russian) And something I especially love, but is really hard to find in Moscow, only sold in a very few places, is (switch to Chinese) boiled peanuts. You can get fried ones, but not boiled. I really enjoy boiled peanuts, (switch to Russian) as a (switch to Chinese) cold dish. (switch to Russian) Anyway, there will be lots of dishes," said Zakharova.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman extends Spring Festival greetings to Chinese people

Yu Lei, chief director of the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, revealed how the Year of the Horse became the creative backbone for this year's celebration in a recent interview with China Central Television (CCTV).

The 2026 Spring Festival Gala presented by the China Media Group (CMG) delivered a more than four-hour-long feast of captivating cultural performances and entertaining variety acts to audiences in celebration of the arrival of the Chinese New Year on Tuesday.

Themed "The Steed Gallops, Momentum Unstoppable," the gala featured all kinds of horse elements to welcome the Year of the Horse.

"Many people said the Year of the Horse must be easy to work with. It seems easy, but once you really dig into it, you discover there are simply too many cultural images and meanings associated with horses. Because there are so many, it actually becomes difficult to choose," Yu said.

"Since the cultural imagery of the Year of the Horse is so rich, we decided to just include all of them in all aspects and details. We turned the arrangement of the entire program into a grand essay on 'the thundering herd' for the Year of the Horse. So you can see we have songs with horse themes, we incorporated Xu Beihong's painting Six Galloping Horses to create an animated visual interpretation. We also have Mamianqun ('horse-face skirts'), horsehead fiddles, and even our opening which has a combination of bowed string instruments was to create the auditory sensation of a galloping herd of 10,000 horses," she said.

The show also featured equine details such as cartoonish horse hats worn by child performers and a host, virtual horses, and horse toys designed by AI, all to enhance the sense that the Year of the Horse is coming, according to the director.

Spring Festival Gala director expounds on horse element