The Origin of Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is now popularly known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the Begining of Spring (the first of the twenty-four terms in coodination with the changes of Nature). Its origin is too old to be traced. Several explanations are hanging around. All agree, however, that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese solely means year, was originally the name of a monster beast that started to prey on people the night before the beginning of a new year.

One legend goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow a great many people with one bite. People were very scared. One day, an old man came to their rescue, offering to subdue Nian. To Nian he said, I hear say that you are very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents? So, it did swallow many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harrassed people and their domestic animals from time to time.

After that, the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal god. Now that Nian is gone and other beasts of prey are also scared into forests, people begin to enjoy their peaceful life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away Nian in case it sneaked back again, because red is the color the beast feared the most.

From then on, the tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term Guo Nian, which may mean Survive the Nian becomes today Celebrate the (New) Year as the word guo in Chinese having both the meaning of pass-over and observe. The custom of putting up red paper and firing fire-crackers to scare away Nian should it have a chance to run loose is still around. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, except that they feel the color and the sound add to the excitement of the celebration.

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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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

中國新年的起源

農(nóng)歷新年是現(xiàn)在通常被稱為春節(jié),因為它開始從最初的彈簧(第24術語的變化與大自然的共用。它的起源是太老了,不能被追蹤。有幾種解釋閑蕩。所有的同意,無論如何,這個詞,而僅僅意味著現(xiàn)代漢語中“年”,最初的名字的怪物的獸,開始在人們的前一晚,新的一年的開始。

傳說有一個叫“年”的怪獸,有一個大嘴巴,會吞下很多人用一口。人們都很害怕。有一天,一位老人來拯救他們,提供制服攆出來。他對年說:“我聽到說你很能干,但你可以吞食獵物的地球上其他牲畜代替人絕不是你值得對手嗎?”所以,它吞下很多的野獸,地球也harrassed捕食家畜,他們的確是的愛好藝術的確是的人。

之后,這位老人消失騎的怪獸。他原來是不朽的神。如今年過去了,其他野獸的獵物還害怕進入森林,人們開始享受寧靜的生活。那位老人離開前,他曾告訴人們把紅紙上裝飾窗戶,每年年末都來嚇跑年的情況下溜回,因為紅的顏色是獸害怕。

從那時起,傳統(tǒng)的觀察征服年進行,直到萬代。術語“過年”,這也許意味著“存活”成為今天的“慶?！?新)年度“郭”在中國擁有兩的意思pass-over”和“觀察”。習慣的貼紅紙,方鞭炮來嚇跑年應該有機會還健在。松然而,今天的人們已經(jīng)遺忘他們?yōu)槭裁匆@么做的原因,只是覺得色彩和聲音增添了刺激的慶?；顒?。

春節(jié)是中國最重要的節(jié)日,人們是所有家庭成員聚在一起的時候,就像西方的圣誕節(jié)。所有人離家回去,成為最繁忙的交通系統(tǒng)的時間大約半個月的春節(jié)。機場、火車站、長途汽車站擠滿家返回者。

嚴格地說,春天節(jié)日開始每年在早期的第12個太陰月,最后將在第一個太陰月到明年。其中最重要的就是除夕和春節(jié)前三天。中國政府允許有7天為中國農(nóng)歷新年。

許多關稅陪伴過春節(jié)。有些一直沿用到今天,有些已經(jīng)失傳了。

在農(nóng)歷12月的第八天,許多家庭會熬臘八粥、美味的粥由糯米、小米、種子,棗,蓮子、豆類、龍眼、銀杏。

23日的第12個太陰月叫做初步的前夕。就在這個時候,人們對廚房神獻祭。然而,大多數(shù)家庭現(xiàn)在享受自己制造可口的食物。

在初步的前夕之后,人們開始準備即將到來的新年。這就是所謂的“見到新年進入”。

商店老板正忙著當每個人都出去買必需品的新年。材料不僅包括食用油、大米、面粉、雞、鴨、魚、肉,而且堅果的水果,糖果和類型。更重要的是,各種不同的裝飾,新衣服和鞋給孩子們的禮物以及老年,朋友和親戚,都是購買的目錄上。

春節(jié)到來之前,人們室內(nèi)和室外的家園,以及他們的衣服、床上用品、所有的器具。

那人開始裝飾他們清理房間的氣氛為特色的歡呼和盛宴。所有的門都會貼春聯(lián),中國書法與黑人在紅紙。內(nèi)容包括房主的祝福,愿你擁有一個光明的前途,祝新年快樂。同樣,圖片門的神和財富的將會出現(xiàn)在前門辟邪,受歡迎的和平和豐富。

漢字“賦”(意思是福還是幸福)是必須的。人物放在紙上可粘貼或顛倒了,通常在中國的“反富”與“賦”的諧音來,都是發(fā)成“fudaole?！备匾氖?兩大燈籠都可以提高兩邊的大門。紅色的剪紙窗戶玻璃,色彩鮮艷的年畫和貼在墻上。

人們重視春節(jié)前夕。那時,所有的家庭成員一起吃晚餐。這頓飯是比平常更多的奢侈。的菜肴,比如雞肉、魚肉和豆腐不能排除,因為在中國,他們的發(fā)音,分別是“吉”、“玉”和“香瓜子”,代表吉兆,豐富和豐富的內(nèi)涵。晚飯后,全家人會坐在一起聊天,看電視。近年來,春節(jié)晚會上播出中國中央電視臺(CCTV)是必不可少的娛樂為中國海內(nèi)外。按照習俗,每個家庭將會熬夜,迎接新年的到來。

在新年醒來時,每個人都盛妝打扮。首先,他們將給他們的父母。然后每個孩子都會得到的錢作為新年禮物,在紅色的紙包裹起來。在中國北方人會吃餃子,或者餃子,吃早餐,因為他們認為“餃子”,意思是“招標的聲音在新”。同時,形狀像金子一樣的餃子是中國古代錠從。所以人們吃他們,希望為金錢和財富。

中國南方吃蛋糕做niangao(新年)——一種用糯米包在這種場合,因為作為引導、niangao意味著“高而又高,一年之后,另一個問題。”第5天之后,春節(jié)是一段美好的時光,親戚,朋友、同學以及同事交換問候,禮品和聊天悠閑。

放煙花是最典型的習俗的春節(jié)。人們認為爆裂的聲音能夠驅(qū)走妖魔鬼怪。然而,如此的一個活動被完全或部分禁止大城市的政府出于安全,噪音和污染的考慮。作為替代,一些以爆竹聲音買音帶聽,一些休息一點點猛漲到聲音太,而另一些人買爆竹手工藝掛在屋子里。

活潑的氣氛不只填充每個家庭,而且大街小巷也是如此。一系列的活動,如舞獅、舞龍、燈籠節(jié)日和寺廟展覽會將于數(shù)天。春節(jié)然后結束在元宵節(jié)是完成。

中國有56個民族。少數(shù)幾乎慶祝他們的春天節(jié)日那天,漢族有不同的習俗。

題目：Happy New Year

資料：

(一)Spring Festival is the most important festival in China .It’s to celebrate

the lunar calendar ‘s new year .In the evening before the Spring

Festival ,families get together and have a big meal .In many places people like

to set off firecrackers .Dumplings are the most traditional food .Children like

the festival very much ,because they can have delicious food and wear new

clothes .They can also get some money from their parents. This money is given to

children for good luck . People put New Year scrolls on the wall for good

fortune .

The Spring Festival lasts about 15 days long .People visit relatives and friends

with the words “Have all your wishes ”. People enjoy the Spring Festival ,during

this time they can have a good rest .

(二)Probably more food is consumed during the New Year celebrations than any other

time of the year. Vast amounts of traditional food is prepared for family and

friends, as well as those close to us who have died.

On New Year's Day, the Chinese family will eat a vegetarian dish called jai.

Although the various ingredients in jai are root vegetables or fibrous

vegetables, many people attribute various superstitious aspects to them.

Other foods include a whole fish, to represent togetherness and abundance, and a

chicken for prosperity. The chicken must be presented with a head, tail and feet

to symbolize completeness. Noodles should be uncut, as they represent long life.

In south China, the favorite and most typical dishes were nian gao, sweet steamed

glutinous rice（糯米）pudding and zong zi (glutinous rice wrapped up in reed（蘆葦）

leaves), another popular delicacy.

In the north, steamed-wheat bread (man tou) and small meat dumplings were the

preferred food. The tremendous amount of food prepared at this time was meant to

symbolize abundance and wealth for the household

(三)My Spring Festival

My Spring Festival was great. Before the Chinese New Year, my families were all

going to my grandparents’. Many of my relatives there were playing all the night.

At night, we set off firecrackers. The voice was very loud, cars parked far from

us were sounding. Maybe they feared the voice too.

The first day of the Chinese New Year, we all got up early. We said “Happy New

Year!” or “Good luck this year!” to each other and get money from them. We

visited our relatives all day. That made me feel very tired but very happy

because I also can get money.

The second day of the New Year, I slept during the morning. In the afternoon, I

went to the beautiful countryside, and visited the Yi River, it is very wide,

about 1 kilometer.

Next day, we left my grandparents’ home for Qingdao. The expressway had been

frozen. It was terrible! So we could only run by at a slow speed.

This festival was great, I love Spring Festival!

（四）Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a Chinese traditional festival. We also call it the Spring

Festival. It is on lunar January 1st.

On New Year’s Eve, all the people sit around the desk and have a big family

dinner. There are some vegetables, some fish, some meat, some fruits and some

drink like juice, Coke, Pepsi and some nice wine. Overall, this is a good and

delicious dinner. After dinner, we always watch TV New Year progammes. We have a

wonderful evening on New Year’s Eve.

On the first day of the Spring Festival, most of people get up early and say

“happy new year” to each other. For breakfast, people often eat dumplings and

baozi. After breakfast, people often make many delicious foods, and children

often play cards, computer games and fireworks. On the second and third day, we

visit friends and relatives.

Everyone is busy on Chinese New Year, and everyone is happy, too.題目：新年快樂資料：（一）春節(jié)是中國最重要的節(jié)日。這是為慶祝農(nóng)歷氏新的一年。晚上在春節(jié)前，家人相聚大吃一頓。許多地方人喜歡燃放鞭炮。餃子是最傳統(tǒng)的食品。節(jié)兒童一樣，非常

因為他們可以品嘗美味的食物，穿新衣服。他們還可以從他們的父母一些錢。這筆錢是給孩子的好運氣。人們把對goodfortune墻春聯(lián)。春節(jié)時間約15天。改為“人民探訪親友，讓你的所有愿望”。人民享有的SP

環(huán)節(jié)，在此期間，他們可以有一個很好的休息。 （二）可能消耗更多的糧食在比任何一年的其他時間新年慶祝活動。廣闊的傳統(tǒng)食物準備金額為家人和朋友，以及那些給我們密切誰已經(jīng)死亡。在元旦，我國家庭將吃素菜稱為宰。雖然巴里奧

我們在宰成分的根菜或纖維的蔬菜，許多人歸咎于各種迷信方面向他們。其他的食物包括全魚，代表團結和充足，繁榮的雞。該雞必須提交了一個頭，尾，腳，象征完整性。面條應完整無缺的，因為它們代表長壽。在壽

日中國，最喜歡的和最典型的菜是年糕，蒸甜糯米（糯米）布丁和粽子（糯米包裹在蘆葦（蘆葦以上）葉），另一種流行的美食。在北方，饅頭麥面包（男子頭）和小肉圓是首選食品。在大量的食物在這個時候準備是為了象征抗體

undance和家庭財富（三）我的春節(jié)我的春節(jié)是偉大的。在農(nóng)歷新年，我的家庭都將我的祖父母。我的親戚那里有許多人玩通宵。晚上，我們?nèi)挤疟夼?。的聲音很響，車輛停放遠離我們的探測。也許他們的聲音太擔心。第一天

農(nóng)歷新年，大家都起了個大早。我們說“新年快樂！”或“祝你好運，今年！”對方，并從他們的錢。我們的親人，我們參觀了一整天。這讓我感覺很累，但很高興，因為我還可以得到金錢。在新年的第二天，我睡在上午。下午，我去了美麗的鄉(xiāng)村，和六

選址在沂河，這是非常寬，大約1公里。第二天，我們離開了我的祖父母青島家。這條高速公路已被凍結。這太可怕了！因此，我們只能運行速度緩慢。這個節(jié)日是偉大的，我愛春節(jié)！ （四）農(nóng)歷新年農(nóng)歷新年是中國的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。我們也把它叫做非斯春

tival。正是在月球1月1日。在除夕，所有的人圍著桌子，有一個很大的家庭晚餐。還有一些蔬菜，一些魚，一些肉類，水果和一些像果汁，可口可樂，百事可樂以及一些不錯的酒飲料?？傊@是一個很好的美味的晚餐。晚飯后，我們一直看電視新年青少年閱讀計劃。我們有一個除夕美妙的夜晚。在春節(jié)的第一天，大多數(shù)人早起說“新年快樂”對方。早餐，人們經(jīng)常吃餃子和包子。早餐后，人們往往使許多美味食品，兒童往往打牌，電腦游戲和煙火。在第二和第三天，我們探訪親友。每個人都忙著過年，大家都感到高興。