Chinese-English Bilingual Articles on Festival Customs in China

April 2008

the Spring Festival; Chinese New Year

The first day of the first lunar month is the Lunar New Year in China. Among the traditional festivals in China, this is the most important and lively one. Because the Lunar New Year is celebrated in late winter and early spring, people also call this festival "Spring Festival".

China people have many traditional customs to celebrate the Spring Festival. People have been preparing for the Spring Festival since the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. During this period, every household should clean up, buy new year's goods, stick grilles, hang New Year pictures, write Spring Festival couplets, steam rice cakes, prepare all kinds of food, and prepare to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

The eve of the Spring Festival is called "New Year's Eve". New Year's Eve is a time for family reunion. The family sat around, ate a big dinner, and talked and laughed until dawn. It's called shou sui. When the bell rings at 0: 00 on New Year's Eve, people will eat jiaozi. In ancient times, it was called "Zishi", and the Zishi on New Year's Eve was the time when the old and new years alternated. People eat jiaozi at this time, which means "making friends when they are young". This is also the origin of the name "jiaozi".

New Year's Eve is the first day of New Year's Day. From the first day of junior high school, people will visit relatives and friends and pay New Year greetings to each other. Paying New Year greetings is an important custom in the Spring Festival. During the New Year, everyone should say some auspicious words to wish happiness and health.

During the Spring Festival, setting off firecrackers is children's favorite activity. Legend has it that setting off firecrackers can drive away evil spirits, so every year from New Year's Eve, there are a series of firecrackers everywhere. Bursts of fireworks and firecrackers added a festive atmosphere to the festival.

During the Spring Festival, temple fairs will be held in many places. The wonderful dragon and lion dances, various handicrafts and local snacks at the temple fair attracted people from Qian Qian to celebrate this festival.

With the development of the times, the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival has also changed. For example, in order to prevent environmental pollution, many cities have banned the setting off of fireworks. But this does not affect the lively atmosphere of the festival. On New Year's Eve, families will still get together, eat New Year's Eve and watch wonderful TV programs until the morning of New Year's Day.

In China and China people all over the world, the Spring Festival is always the most important festival.

the Spring Festival; Chinese New Year

The first day of the first lunar month is the New Year in China. Among the traditional festivals in China, this is the most important and lively. Because it happens in late winter and early spring, people also call it Spring Festival.

People in China have many traditional customs related to the Spring Festival. People began to prepare for this event on February 23rd of the lunar calendar/KLOC-0. Every family will carry out thorough cleaning, do Spring Festival shopping, make window grilles, put up New Year pictures, write Spring Festival couplets, make rice cakes, and prepare all kinds of food to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year.

New Year's Eve is a time for all family members to get together happily. They sit around the table and have a big New Year's Eve dinner, talking and laughing until dawn. This is called "staying up for a year". When midnight strikes on New Year's Eve, people eat jiaozi. In ancient times, midnight was called midnight (the period of a day from 1 1 to 1 in the morning). Jiaozi is eaten because it sounds the same as "the change from year to day" in Chinese.

From the first day of the Lunar New Year, people visit relatives and friends, which is an important custom of the Spring Festival.

Setting off firecrackers is children's favorite activity during the Spring Festival. According to legend, this can drive away evil spirits. Continuous firecrackers can be heard everywhere, adding to the atmosphere of joy and celebration.

Temple fairs are held in many places. Wonderful dragon and lion dances, as well as various handicrafts and local snacks, attracted thousands of people.

With the development of the times, some changes have taken place in the custom of Chinese New Year. For example, in order to prevent environmental pollution, many cities have banned setting off firecrackers. But this does not affect the festive atmosphere. On New Year's Eve, family members get together for dinner and watch TV programs at the same time.

For China people at home and abroad, the Spring Festival is always the most important festival.