Mojang has announced some special content to celebrate the Lunar New Year for Minecraft.

To celebrate the Year Of The Ox, Mojang is releasing some Lunar New Year maps and skins which are available at the Minecraft Marketplace. The content will be available for a limited period from today until February 15th.

Check out the trailer below, along with some additional details:

This week marks the beginning of Lunar New Year, a celebration that rings in the Year of the Ox. Lunar New Year has a cycle of twelve years, which means that the last time the Ox made an appearance was in 2009. That also happens to be the year that the very first version of Minecraft saw the light of day! However, this version didn’t have any cows. They made their debut in 2010.

Depending on where you are in the world, the celebrations for Lunar New Year will vary. As flowers hold a special significance for the holiday in Vietnam, the flower markets are particularly active this time of year. In Shanghai, the Yuyuan Gardens hold a beautiful Lantern Festival. In Korea, most people return to their hometowns to spend the three-day Seollal celebration with their families. New York hosts a Firecracker Ceremony and Los Angeles has held a Golden Dragon parade for over 120 years. All over the world, people come together to clear out the previous year by cleaning their homes, getting rid of clutter, and replacing or repairing broken items.

One way to start the Lunar New Year celebrations is with a big feast together with family and friends. During the holiday, large parades with dances and performances are held. Since that type of gathering still isn’t possible we hope that you can find other ways to mark the occasion. If you want to welcome the Year of the Ox in Minecraft, you can find find free skins in the Marketplace and Character Creator that will help make your celebration a little more festive!

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.