Around the world, Chinese communities are ushering in the Year of the Snake on January 29, 2025. For its latest Spring Festival Gala – an annual variety show that has been airing on Chinese New Year’s Eve for over four decades – China Media Group (CMG) unveiled a logo featuring an official mascot named Si Shengsheng for this year’s theme “Year of the Snake, Keep your Spirits Awake.”
In ancient China, the snake was viewed with reverence. An ancient mythology depicts the creators of humanity, Fuxi and Nuwa, with human upper bodies and serpentine lower bodies. “Ta,” the Chinese word for “it,” originally referred to snakes in ancient texts, and according to the “Shuowen Jiezi,” the oldest comprehensive Chinese character dictionary compiled nearly two millennia ago, ancient greetings often inquired about encounters with snakes, highlighting their central role in early life.