TheSpringFestivalxīnniánhǎo新年好TheOriginWhy:Inancienttimes,thereisaferociousmonstercalledyear,inordertodriveit,peoplewearreddresses,setofffirecrackers.Laterthishabitwassurvived.TheOriginWhen:Thenearestnewmoonday(朔月日)aroundthebeginningofspringiscalledtheSpringFestival.Moonsituationisuncertain,sotheChineseNewYearalsouncertain.Thisyear?Whenthemoonorbitingbetweenthesunandtheearth,darkhemisphereofthemoonfacingtheEarth,thencalledthenewmoonday,itisthefirstdayoflunarmonth.Thecustom“Dust”ishomophonicwith“chen”inChinese,whichmeansoldandpast.(陈旧)Thiscustomshowsagoodwishofputtingawayoldthingstowelcomeanewlife.SweepingtheDust扫尘Customs年夜饭(niányèfàn)thedinneronNewYear'sEve吃饺子(chījiǎozi):eatdumplings;eatstuffeddumplings穿新衣(chuānxīnyī):putonnewclothes;拿压岁钱(náyāsuìqián):getLuckymoney;贴春联(tiēchūnlián):pasteSpringFestivalcouplets;舞狮wwǔshīǔshīliondance舞龙wǔlónɡwǔlónɡdragondance守岁shǒusuìshǒusuìstaying-uptempletemplefairmiàohuì庙会SettingoffFirecrackers放鞭炮PastingSpringCoupletsSpringFestivalcoupletschūnlián春联贴春联:pasteSpringFestivalcouplets;年画NewyearpictureItiscommonforChinesetopastethecharacter“fu(福)”onwallsanddoorsintheSpringFestival.Itshowspeople'syearwishtowardsagoodlife.PastingChinesecharacter“Fu”贴“福”字Somepeopleeveninvertthecharacter“fu”tosignifythatblessinghasarrivedbecause“inverted”isahomonymfor“arrive”inChinese.(福到)StayUpLateonNewYear'sEveshǒusuì守岁CelebratingtheSpringFestivalisalsocalled“passingtheYear”,andthedinneriscalled“reuniondinner”(团圆饭)NewYear'sVisitbàinián拜年OnthefirstdayoftheChinesenewyear,everybodyputsontheirbestclothesandpaysceremonialcallsontheirrelativesandfriends,wishingthemalltheluckinthecomingyear.Luckymoneyhónɡbāo红包luckymoneyhónɡbāo红包redpacketshónɡbāo红包Fish“Fish”ishomophonicwith“abundance(余)”inChinese.Itsymbolizesawishforabundanceineveryyear.(年年有余)TheTraditionalNewYearFoodsNewyearpicturesBraiseinsoysaucefishAnnualthereissuperabundantniánniányǒuyú年年有余-familyhappinessdòufu——quánjiāxìnɡfú豆腐——全家幸福Tang-yuan/dumpingsmadeofsweetsJiaozi/dumpingMoneyandtreasurewillbeplentiful-招财进宝DumplingTheshapeofdumplingislikegoldingot(金元宝)fromancientChina.SopeopleeatdumplingsintheSpringFestivaliswishformoneyandtreasureinNewYear.•DumplingSomekindsofdumplingsDumplings南方SouthernChineseeat年糕(niánɡāo)(NewYearcakemadeofglutinousriceflour)onthisoccasion,becauseasahomophone,niangaomeanshigherandhigher,oneyearafteranother.ThefirstfivedaysaftertheSpringFestivalareagoodtimeforrelatives,friends,andclassmatesaswellascolleaguestoexchangegreetings,giftsandchatleisurely.AuspiciouswordsspkokenfrequentlyduringtheNEWYEARɡōnɡxǐfācái恭喜发财繁荣,旺盛;suìsuìpínɡān岁岁平安jíxiánɡrúyì吉祥如意xīnxiǎnɡshìchénɡ心想事成WishingYouProsperityMayAllYourWishesComeTrueEverythingGoesWellPeaceAllYearRound——TheEnd——