Celebrating the Spring Festival 庆祝春节

The first day of the first lunar month is Spring Festival， the beginning of a new year for Chinese. Spring Festival is Chinas biggest extravaganza and a day for family reunion.

The Spring Festival celebration is a continuous process， starting from the 23rd or 24th of the 12th lunar month. People often worship the Kitchen God， clean their houses， do their shopping， and put up Spring Festival couplets… until New Years Eve on the Lunar Calendar.

农历正月初一是春节，对中国人来说是新一年的开始。春节是中国最盛大的节日，也是家庭团聚的日子。

春节是一个持续的庆祝过程，从农历腊月二十三或二十四的小年起，就算春节的开始了。人们祭灶神、大扫除、买年货、贴春联……

一直忙碌到农历除夕。

In addition to staying up late on NewYears Eve， having a New Years Eve dinner and watching the Spring Festival Gala are two important customs of Spring Festival. New Years Eve dinner are manifested in different ways in different parts of China.

Those in South China must have a dish of fish. Because “fish” in Chinese sounds similar to the character for “prosperity”，

symbolizing an abundant and comfortable l i f e . Those in North China often eat dumplings， which symbolize “reunion” and“fortune”.

The Spring Festival Gala is a variety TV program broadcast annually to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The gala attracts the largest audience in the world， and runs for more than four hours. It is often hailed as a cultural feast for Chinese people on New Years Eve.

除夕夜守岁是一项重要的习俗，除此之外，吃年夜饭和看春晚也是中國人在春节的两项重要习俗。在中国的不同地区，年夜饭有着不同的讲究。

南方的年夜饭必有一道鱼，因为“鱼”在汉语中寓意“年年有余”的富足生活。北方则吃饺子，有“喜庆团圆”和“吉祥如意”的寓意。

春节联欢晚会是每年除夕夜为庆祝农历新年举办的综艺性文艺晚会。春晚吸引了世界上最多的观众，节目时长超过四个小时。它是中国人在除夕夜经历的一场文化盛宴。

Theres also a custom of giving and receiving red envelopes， or hongbao.

Traditionally， adults placed money into red envelopes， and gave them to the children to wish them peace and good luck in the coming year.

Nowadays， with the popularization of mobile payment in China， it is a trend to send red envelopes digitally. The Internet can deliver New Years wishes to each and every loved one quickly， even if they are thousands of miles away.

春节还有收发红包的习俗。传统上，长辈把钱放进红包，然后把它们分发给孩子们，祝愿他们在新的一年里平安、好运。

如今，随着中国移动支付的普及，用手机发红包成为潮流。通过网络，人们能迅速地将新年祝福发送给每一位亲友，即使他们远在千里之外。

Word Bank

lunar adj. 月球的；月亮的

reunion n. 相聚；团圆

worship v. 崇敬，崇拜

annually adv. 一年一次地

feast n. 盛宴；宴会

deliver v. 递送；传送