BEIJING - With the arrival of Spring Festival on Friday, overseas Chinese are turning to online blessings, celebrations and get-togethers this year to observe the most important festival in their culture.

Despite the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic hindering family gatherings, online alternatives to celebrating the Chinese New Year are providing a remedy for homesickness.

DIGITAL GREETINGS

For those who observe the Spring Festival, a common practice is to call relatives and friends on the lunar calendar's first day to convey greetings and blessings.

This year, amid the disruption of COVID-19, overseas Chinese have had to resort to digital means to celebrate the holiday.

Twelve associations of Chinese students and scholars in Germany gathered for an online event late last month, during which they exchanged greetings ahead of the Chinese Year of the Ox. The affair included street dances and martial arts.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated wherever the Chinese people are, and they never fail to find a way to celebrate together, said Du Xiaohui, Chinese consul-general in Hamburg, who viewed the holiday as an example of the power of Chinese culture.