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S:HiEvan,what’sup?E:Notmuch,whataboutyou?S:Prettygood.Thespringfestivaliscomingsoon.DoyouknowtheoriginofChineseNewYear?E:Yeah,alittle.Springfestivalisthefirstdayoflunarcalendarandalsoisthefirsttermofthetwenty-fourincoordinationwiththechangesofnature.S:Yeah,SpringFestivalisalsomyfavorite.AsfarasIknow,SpringFestivaloriginatesfromtheword“Nian”,whichinmodernChinesemeans“year”.Nianisamonsterthatstartstopreyonhumanatthenightbeforethenewyear,sopeopleputupredpaperandfirefirecrackerstoscareawaythemonsterNian.E:Whatdoyouusuallyprepareforthefestival?S:Inmyfamily,weneedtocleanthehouseandbuyenoughvegetablesandmeattoguaranteehavingagoodholiday.E:Yeah,wewilldothesamethingandIamaskedtodothecleaning,becausemymothersaiditcouldgetridoftheill-fortune.Itissoboring.S:Oh,whatapity.WhatdoyouusuallydoonNewYear’sEve?E:Weusuallyhaveafamilyreuniondinner,ofcourse,includingbeef,fish,chicken,andsomuchdeliciousfood.Afterthat,weusuallyseethespringfestivalgalaandstayupuntilthedawn.ThenthefirstdayoftheNewYeariscomingandweeatdumplingsforbreakfast.Whataboutyou?S:Thesameasyou.Ourfamilyhavesuppertogetherandplaycardsandtalkallnight.Andtheseniorwouldgivethejuniorpocketmoney,whichismyfavoritetime.Afterthenewyear’eve,doyouvisityourrelatives?E:Yes,everyyearwedressnewclothesandcallonmygrandparents,unclesandaunts.Doyouhaveaplanthisyear?S:Yes,thisyearourfamilyintendtotraveltoHaiNanislandandcelebratethespringfestivalthere.Iamexcitedwhenmymothertoldmethedecision.Andyou?E:Ihavenoplan.Ithinkstayingathomewithmyparentsisbetter.Canyoutellmesomethingaboutthetraditionalcustomofthespringfestival,suchaspastingspringcouplets,setofffirecrackersandsoon?S:Ofcourse,thereisalotoffunwhenpastingspringcouplets.Springcoupletsareapairofredpaperwithblessingcharacters.Itcanconstructthecheerfulatmosphereofthefestival.E:Irememberthatourfamily’scoupletswerealwaysmadebymygrandpainthepast.However,recently,weboughtthespringcoupletsinthemarket.S:Yeah,fire-crackersareindispensibleduringthefestival,whicharemeanttosaygoodbyetotheoldyearandgreetthenewyear.ThefirecrackerisauniqueproductinChina.Itcanalsofosterajoyfulatmosphere.It’sawonderfulinvention,whatdoyouthink?E:Indeedgood.Thereisalsoplentyofdeliciousfoodwaitingforyou.Thetraditionistohavedifferentmaincourseseverydayfromthe1stdaytothe15thdayoftheNewYear,fromJiaoZi(dumplings),noodles,springrolls,stickyricecakes,andTangYuan(stuffedriceballs).S:Oh,yes.Youknow?Besidesthedelicioustaste,eachfoodhasameaningaswell:forinstance,Jiaozilookslikegoldingot,implyingawealthyyearahead.YoucannothaveacompleteSpringFestivalwithouthavingJiaozi!E:Absolutely.