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SpringFestival———themostgrandfestivalTheoriginoftheLunarNewYearFestivalcanbetracedbackthousandsofyears,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”.Itsapperancelooksferocious,thebornnatureisbloodthirsty,eatingthebirdsandbeasts,thefishandshellfishinsectwithoutfeetparticularly.TheSpringCouplet”,alsocalled“couplet”and“apairofantitheticalphrases”.OntheeveoftheSpringFestival,everyhouseholdwillpasteondoorsaspringcoupletwrittenonredpapertogiveahappyandprosperousatmosphereoftheFestival.Inthepast,theChineseusuallywrotetheirownspringcoupletwithabrushoraskedotherstodoforthem,whilenowadays,itiscommonforpeopletobuytheprintedspringcoupletinthemarket.•ThecustomofpastingNewYearPrintsoriginatedfromthetraditionofplacingDoorGodsontheexternaldoorsofhouses.•Withthecreationofboardcarvings,NewYearpaintingscoverawiderangeofsubjects.ThemostfamousonesareDoorGods,SurplusYearafterYearThreeGodsofBlessing,SalaryandLongevity,AnAbundantHarvestofCrops,ThrivingDomesticAnimalsandCelebratingSpring.•FourproducingareasofNewYearPrintareTɑohuɑwuofSuzhou,YɑngliuqingofTianjin,WuqiɑngofHebeiandWeifangofShangdong.NowthetraditionofpastingNewYearpaintingsisstillkeptinruralChina,whileitisseldomfollowedincities.OnNewYear’sEve,thewholefamilywillsittogethertomakejiaoziandcelebratetheSpringFestival.Theshapeofjiaoziislikegoldingot（金元宝）fromancientChina.Sopeopleeatthemandwishformoneyandtreasure.YoucannothaveacompleteSpringFestivalwithouthavingjiaozi.Inthepastfewyears,suchanactivitywascompletelyorpartiallyforbiddeninbigcitiesincludingBeijingduetofireandpersonalcasualtycausedbyburningfirecrackers.However,someChinesethoughtthataSpringFestivalwithoutfirecrackerswasnotlivelyenoughandtheyburnedfirecrackersbystealth.Soinrecentyears,thebanwascanceledagain.ThisshowsthatburningfirecrackersisaveryimportantactivityduringtheSpringFestival.贴窗花和“福”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'sEveThetraditionofstayinguplatetoseeNewYearinoriginatedfromaninterestingfolktale.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'sGalaTheNewYear’sGalaisavarietyshowheldbyChinaCentralTelevision(CCTV)since1983.ForeveryyearsincethenattheturnoftheLunarNewYear,theprogrambeginsat8:00PMandlastsfiveorsixhours.Itbringslaughtertobillionsofpeople,createsmanypopularwordsandproduceslotsofTVphenomenameritingattention.Forovertwentyyears,itsvaluehasgonefarbeyondavarietyshow.ItisessentialentertainmentfortheChinesebothathomeandabroad.ManyChinesewouldliketowatchthegalawhilehavingthedinneronNewYear’sEve.Whenfriendsmeet,theywillwisheachotherhappinessandprosperitywithabigsmile.Withthedevelopmentofthenewtechnology,thereisachangeonthewayofgivingNewYearsgreetings.Inrecentyear,itiscommontosendNewYearsgreetingsbysuchmodernmeansofcommunicationastelephones,emailsandtextmessages.WeiXinhongbao逛庙会TempleFairTemplefair,usuallyheldoutsidetemples,isakindoffolkcustominChina.DuringtheSpringFestival,templefairisoneofthemostimportantactivities,inwhichtherearesuchperformancesasacrobaticsandWushu,numerouskindsoflocalsnacksandmanykindsofthingsforeverydaylife.Inrecentyears,thetemplefairhasbecomeaplaceforpeopletoappreciatethetraditionalartandexperi