Spring Festival

1、The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.

春节是中国人民最重要的节日，所有家庭成员聚在一起，像西方圣诞节一样。所有远离家乡的人都要回家，成为了为期半个月左右的运输系统最繁忙的时间——春运。机场，火车站和长途巴士站都挤满了回家的人。

2、The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

春节落在正月的第一天，往往比公历晚一个月。它起源于商朝(西元1600 BC-C。公元前1100年)从人民祭祀神灵和祖先，在旧的一年结束和一个新的开始。

3、Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid-1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

严格地说，春节是指从腊月初开始一直到第二年中旬的一个月。其中，最重要的日子是除夕和一年的前三天。现在中国政府规定，人民在中国农历新年有七天的休假。

4、Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.

春节的时候有不少传统习俗。有的人至今还在保持，不过有的人已经慢慢淡化了这种习俗。

5、On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.

腊月的第8天，许多家庭做腊八粥，糯米，小米，薏苡种子，红枣浆果，莲子，豆类，龙眼，银杏制成美味的粥样。

6、The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve(小年). At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

腊月23日，被称为小年。在这个时候，人们祭祀灶神。但是现在，大多数家庭做出美味的食物来过节。

7、After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in".

过了小年之后，人们开始为新年做准备。这被称为“看得见的新年”。

恭贺新禧，鸡年大吉

8、Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.

商店老板都那么忙，因为每个人都出去购买生活必需品新年。材料不仅包括食用油，大米，面粉，鸡，鸭，鱼，肉，而且水果，糖果和各种坚果。更重要的是，各种装饰，新衣服和鞋的儿童以及老人的礼物，朋友和亲戚，所有的采购清单。

9、Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

在新的一年到来之际，人们彻底清理自己的家里以及他们的衣服，被褥和他们所有的器具的室内和室外。

10、Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

然后人们开始装饰洁净室，洋溢着一种欢乐和喜庆的气氛。人们将所有的门板贴上春联，在红纸上写上对联。内容多是憧憬一个光明的未来，表达人们新年交好运的意愿。此外，门神和财神的照片也将被张贴在前门，分别用来辟邪和招财招福。

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

11、The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

中国汉字“福”(意为祝福或幸福)是必须的。通常放在纸上的字符可以被粘贴或上下颠倒，中国的“倒福”谐音“福到”，既突出福到了。更重要的是，两个大的红灯笼，可以提高前门两侧。在窗户玻璃上，可以看到红色的窗花，还有可以贴在在墙壁上的鲜艳的年画，表的这吉祥的寓意。

12、People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.

人民高度重视除夕。那个时候，所有家庭成员一起吃年夜饭。这顿饭是比平时更加丰盛。菜，比如鸡，鱼和豆腐不能被排除在外，在中国，他们的发音，“鸡，“鱼”和“豆腐”，意味着吉祥，富裕和福气。晚饭后，全家人会坐在一起，聊天，看电视。近年来，中国中央电视台(CCTV)播出的春节联欢晚会是海内外中华儿女的重要娱乐节目。按照习俗，每个家庭都会守夜，迎接新的一年的到来

13、Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

初一大家起来之后，都打扮好。首先，他们给他们的父母拜年。然后每个孩子都会收到在红包，里边是压岁钱。在中国北方的人，会吃饺子，因为他们认为“饺子”的声音意味着“辞旧迎新”。此外，饺子的形状就像是从中国古代的金元宝。所以，人吃了他们，并期盼财富。

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14、Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

中国南方吃年糕(糯米粉)新年蛋糕，在此之际，因为作为一个同音字，年糕意味着“年年高升。”初五是一个走亲访友的好日子，互致问候，互送礼品，并悠闲地聊天。

15、Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.

放爆竹曾经是最典型的春节的习俗。人们认为爆竹声可以帮助驱赶邪灵。然而，这样的活动在大城市是被完全或部分禁止的，政府考虑到了安全，噪音和污染等因素。作为替代，一些人买磁带放着听，有的人扎破小气球来制造类似声音，而其他人则买爆竹工艺品挂在客厅。

16、The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.

热闹的气氛，不仅充满了每家每户，也蔓延到了到大街小巷。这些天将举行一系列活动，如舞狮，舞龙灯，灯会和庙会。春节后到元宵节结束时结束。

17China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

中国有56个民族。少数民族和汉族的春节几乎同一天，他们有不同的习俗。