TheoriginoftheLunarNewYear TheoriginoftheLunarNewYearFestivalcanbetracedbackthousandsofyears involvingaseriesofcolorfullegendsandtraditions OneofthemostfamouslegendsisNian anextremelycruelbeastthattheancientsbelievedwoulddevourpeopleonNewYear sEve TokeepNianaway red papercoupletsarepastedondoors torchesarelit andfirecrackersaresetoffthroughoutthenight becauseNianissaidtofearthecolorred thelightoffire andloudnoises 关于 春节 的起源 有一种传说是 中国古时候有一种叫 夕 的兽 又名 年 头长触角 凶猛异常 夕 长年深居海底 每到特定的一天 现在说的除夕 才爬上岸 吞食牲畜伤害人命 因此 每到除夕这天 村村寨寨的人们扶老携幼逃往深山 以躲避 夕 兽的伤害 有一年除夕 从村外来了个乞讨的老人 乡亲们一片匆忙恐慌景象 只有村东头一位老婆婆给了老人些食物 并劝他快上山躲避 夕 兽 那老人把胡子撩起来笑道 婆婆若让我在家呆一夜 我一定把 夕 兽赶走 老婆婆继续劝说 乞讨老人笑而不语 半夜时分 夕 兽闯进村 它发现村里气氛与往年不同 村东头老婆婆家 门贴大红纸 屋内烛火通明 夕 兽浑身一抖 怪叫了一声 将近门口时 院内突然传来 砰砰啪啪 的炸响声 夕 浑身战栗 再不敢往前凑了 原来 夕 最怕红色 火光和炸响 这时 婆婆的家门打开 只见院内一位身披红袍的老人在哈哈大笑 夕 大惊失色 狼狈逃蹿了 第二天也是正月初一 避难回来的人们见村里安然无恙 十分惊奇 这时 老婆婆才恍然大悟 赶忙向乡亲们述说了乞讨老人的许诺 这件事很快在周围村里传开了 人们都知道了驱赶 夕 兽的办法 从此每年除夕 家家贴红对联 燃放爆竹 户户烛火通明 守更待岁 初一一大早 还要走亲串友道喜问好 这风俗广泛流传 成了中国民间最隆重的传统节日 Totheancienttimesperiod thereisakindoffiercemonstercalled year Itsfaciallookisferocious thebornnatureisbloodthirsty eatingthebirdsandbeasts thefishandshellfishinsectwithoutfeetparticularly 年 ThecustomoftheLunarNewYear SweepingtheDust 扫尘 Dust ishomophonicwith chen 尘 inChinese whichmeansoldandpast Inthisway sweepingthedust beforetheSpringFestivalmeansathoroughcleaningofhousestosweepawaybadluckinthepastyear Thiscustomshowsagoodwishofputtingawayoldthingstowelcomeanewlife Inaword justbeforetheSpringFestivalcomes everyhouseholdwillgiveathoroughcleaningtobidfarewelltotheoldyearandusherinthenew PastingSpringCouplets 贴春联 TheSpringCouplet alsocalled couplet and apairofantitheticalphrases OntheeveoftheSpringFestival everyhouseholdwillpasteondoorsaspringcoupletwrittenonredpapertogiveahappyandprosperousatmosphereoftheFestival Inthepast theChineseusuallywrotetheirownspringcoupletwithabrushoraskedotherstodoforthem whilenowadays itiscommonforpeopletobuytheprintedspringcoupletinthemarket PastingNewYearPrints 贴年画 ThecustomofpastingNewYearPrintsoriginatedfromthetraditionofplacingDoorGodsontheexternaldoorsofhouses Withthecreationofboardcarvings NewYearpaintingscoverawiderangeofsubjects ThemostfamousonesareDoorGods SurplusYearafterYearThreeGodsofBlessing SalaryandLongevity AnAbundantHarvestofCrops ThrivingDomesticAnimalsandCelebratingSpring FourproducingareasofNewYearPrintareT ohu wuofSuzhou Y ngliuqingofTianjin Wuqi ngofHebeiandWeifangofShangdong NowthetraditionofpastingNewYearpaintingsisstillkeptinruralChina whileitisseldomfollowedincities HavingJiaozi 吃饺子 OnNewYear sEve thewholefamilywillsittogethertomakejiaoziandcelebratetheSpringFestival Theshapeofjiaoziislikegoldingot 金元宝 fromancientChina Sopeopleeatthemandwishformoneyandtreasure YoucannothaveacompleteSpringFestivalwithouthavingjiaozi SettingoffFirecrackers 放鞭炮 ThefirecrackerisauniqueproductinChina InancientChina thesoundofburningbambootubeswasusedtoscareawaywildanimalsandevilspirits Withtheinventionofthegunpowder firecracker isalsocalled 鞭炮bi np o 炮 inChinesemeansgun andusedtofosterajoyfulatmosphere ThefirstthingeveryChinesehouseholddoesistosetofffirecrackersandfireworks whicharemeanttobidfarewelltotheoldyearandusherinthenew SettingoffFirecrackers 放鞭炮 Inthepastfewyears suchanactivitywascompletelyorpartiallyforbiddeninbigcitiesincludingBeijingduetofireandpersonalcasualtycausedbyburningfirecrackers However someChinesethoughtthataSpringFestivalwithoutfirecrackerswasnotlivelyenoughandtheyburnedfirecrackersbystealth Soinrecentyears thebanwascanceledagain ThisshowsthatburningfirecrackersisaveryimportantactivityduringtheSpringFestival 贴窗花和 福 字PastingPaper cutsand Up sidedFu Paper cuts usuallywithauspiciouspatterns giveahappyandprosperousatmosphereoftheFestivalandexpressthegoodwishesofChinesepeoplelookingforwardtoagoodlife Inadditiontopastingpaper cutsonwindows itiscommonforChinesetopastethecharacter fu 福 bigandsmall onwalls doorsanddoorpostsaroundthehouses Fu 福 showspeople syearningtowardagoodlife Somepeopleeveninvertthecharacter fu 福 tosignifythatblessinghasarrivedbecause inverted isahomonymfor arrive inChinese Nowmanykindsofpaper cutsand fu 福 canbeseeninthemarketbeforetheFestival 守岁StayingUpLateonNewYear sEve ThetraditionofstayinguplatetoseeNewYearinoriginatedfromaninterestingfolktale InancientChinatherelivedamonsternamedYear whowasveryferocious YearalwayswentoutfromitsburrowonNewYear sEvetodevourpeople Therefore oneveryNewYear sEve everyhouseholdwouldhavesuppertogether Afterdinner noonedaredgotosleepandallthefamilymemberswouldsittogether chattingandemboldeningeachother GraduallythehabitofstayinguplateonNewYear sEveisformed ThusinChina celebratingtheSpringFestival isalsocalled passingovertheyear guonian However nowtherearelessandlesspeopleincitieswhowillstayuplatetoseeNewYearin 看春节联欢晚会TheCCTVNewYear sGala TheNewYear sGalaisavarietyshowheldbyChinaCentralTelevision CCTV since1983 ForeveryyearsincethenattheturnoftheLunarNewYear theprogrambeginsat8 00PMandlastsfiveorsixhours Itbringslaughtertobillionsofpeople createsmanypopularwo