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. The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.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. Most people will have a week off , thus, this time is known as golden week.春节，又叫农历新年，是中国民间最隆重、最热闹的一个节日，是举家欢庆团团圆圆的大好时节，就像西方的圣诞节一样。春季是每年农历正月初一，通常比公历新年要晚一个月。它起源于殷商时期年头岁尾的民间祭祖活动。严格来讲，春节不只是一天的庆祝，而是从农历的12月底到新年的正月十五，不过最重要的几天当属除夕夜和新年头三天。春节是法定假日，大家一般都会放七天假，又叫做黄金周。
春节传统风俗
Spring Festival Traditions
1Spring Cleaning
大扫除
“Dust”（尘）is homophonic with “chen”（陈）in Chinese, which means old and past. In this way, “sweeping the dust” before the Spring Festival means a thorough cleaning of houses to sweep away bad luck in the past year. Chinese People believe that in order to receive the new luck, you have to swipe the bad luck. All the cleaning has to be done before the end of New Year’s Eve, that’s what Chinese people always called “Ci Jiu Ying Xin”: saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.“Dust” 与“尘”是谐音（尘在汉语中的意思是旧的和过去的）。这样，“在春节前扫尘”是指彻底清洁房屋扫除过去闰年的厄运。勤劳勇敢的中国人民相信，只有把旧的坏运气赶走了，才能迎接美好新生活。所有的大扫除必须要在除夕夜之前完成，干干净净整整齐齐迎接新年，就是我们常说的辞旧迎新。
2Paper Cut
贴窗花
After the thoroughly clean up, people will paste paper-cut decorations on the windows and doors. Paper-cuts, usually with auspicious patterns, give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival and express the good wishes of Chinese people looking forward to a good life. It is common for Chinese to paste the character “fu（福）”, big and small, on walls, doors and doorposts around the houses. “Fu（福）” shows people’s yearning toward a good life. Some people’s yearning toward a good life. Some people even invert the character “Fu（福）” to signify that blessing has arrived because “inverted” is a homonym for “arrive” in Chinese.在大扫除之后，大家会在家中门窗上贴上窗花。通常带有吉祥图案的窗花，传递节日喜庆和执闹的气氛和表达中国人期待幸福生活的美好愿望。除了贴窗花，在墙上，门上和房子周围的门框上巾大小福字是中国人表达对美好生活渴望的普遍习俗。一些人甚至倒贴福字来表示福到了，因为在汉语中“倒”是“到”的谐音。
3Spring Couplet
贴春联
“The Spring Couplet”, also called “couplet” and “a pair of antithetical phrases”, is a special form of literature in China. The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription, usually an auspicious phrase, above the gate. Whether the family is rich or poor, educated or ignorant, everyone must put on the Spring Couplet to symbolize the hopes for the coming new year.“春联”或“对联”对立在中国是一种特殊的文学形式。春联是由贴在门口两侧两组对仗的句子组成，在门上面的横批通常是一个吉祥的短语。不论是大富大贵还是贫困潦倒，学富五车还是乡野村夫，每家每户都要在新年时门前贴春联，以寄托对新年的美好祝愿。
4Family Reunion Dinner
年夜团圆饭
The Spring Festival is a time for the Chinese to have family reunion, on Chinese New Year’s Eve (Chu Xi), the whole family must sit at the table to eat the New Year’s Supper together. This meal is usually made from scratch with the entire family working together, and this meal is usually the most sumptuous meal of the year. In the New Year’s Supper, it is essential that some dishes contain the family wishes for the New Year.春节是一个合家团圆的日子，在除夕夜，全家都合家团圆一起共享除夕大餐。这顿饭通常是全家总动员，每个人都要参与，也通常是一年之中最丰盛美味的一餐。在年夜饭中，有一些美好象征意义的美食是必备的年糕，or the New Year’s Cake, is very common in Southern China, it Is made of sticky rice. In Chinese, niangao sounds like “getting higher year by year”. In Chinese people’s mind, the higher you are, the more prosperous your business is.年糕在中文的发音里意味着年年高升。因此中国人总认为，如果一个人地位较高，其财富就越多。饺子，or the stuffed Dumpling, is a very common Northern Chinese Dish, Chinese dumplings look like silver ingots. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during New Year celebration, the more money you can make in the New Year. Ehen making these dumplings, coins and pennies are usually put into selected few, those lucky family members that happen to eat those special dumplings are believed to have special good fortune in the upcoming year.饺子的开关酷似一个元宝，并且在传统观念里认为饺子吃得越多，那么来年钱就挣得越多。在做饺子的时候，人们喜欢在一些饺子里放上硬币，吃到硬币的幸运儿就意味着来年会有特殊的好运。
5Firecrackers
放鞭炮
Lighting Firecrackers used to be one of the most important customs in the Spring Festival celebration. However, concerning the danger and the negative noises that lighting firecrackers may bring, the government has banned this practice in many major cities. But people in small towns and rural areas still hold to this traditional celebration. Right as the clock strike 12 o’ clock midnight of New Year’s Eve, cities and towns are lit up with the glitter from fireworks, and the sound can be deafening.放鞭炮曾是春节庆祝活动中最重要的习俗之一。然而，担心燃放鞭炮可能会带来危险和烦人的噪音，政府已在许多大城市下令禁止燃放鞭炮。但在小城镇和地区的人们仍然坚持这种传统的庆祝活动。除夕夜一旦撞响午夜12点钟，城市和乡镇都被烟花的闪闪光芒映亮，鞭炮声震耳欲聋。
6Red Packet/ Lucky Money
红包/压岁钱
Children love Spring Festival because they can receive red packet! A red packet is simply a red envelope with lucky money in it, which symbolizes luck and wealth. In traditional Chinese cultural, red is considered a lucky color, red packet is believed to ward off evial spirits and to bring good fortune to the receiver. Traditionally, older generations give the red packet to the younger generation. Nowadays, this practice extends to close friends, neighbors, and even some companies give away year- end bonus in the red packets.孩子们最爱过春节，因为春节有红包！红包就是在一个红包的小红包里装上压岁钱，寓意为幸运和财富。在中国传统文化中，红色是幸运色，大家相信红包能帮人赶走霉运， 带来幸福富贵。在过去，都是长辈给晚辈红包，但是现在这个概念已经扩大到朋友之音，有些公司也会把年终奖金放到红包里面发放。 下面这个5分钟英文视频能帮助你介绍得更加地道和全面 春节相关表达 腊八节“腊八节”的英文可以直接翻译为“Laba Festival”。腊八粥就是the laba Rice Porridge。 小年有人建议“小年”可以翻译为“Minor New Year”，但“New Year”指的是阳历过年，所以“小年”翻译为“Minor Spring Festival/Chinese New Year”更为合适一些。 除夕“除夕”的英文可以翻译为“Chinese New Year's Eve”，也可以表示为“Lunar New Year's Eve”.
正月初一农历新年的第一天，可以翻译为“Lunar New Year's Day”.
元宵节因为元宵节”又称“灯节”，所以“元宵节”的英文说法就是“Lantern Festival”. 春节习俗扫尘：sweep the dust贴春联：paste spring festival couplets贴倒福：paste the Chinese character "Fu" upside down剪纸：paper-cut买年货：special purchases for the Spring Festival放烟花：set off fireworks放鞭炮：set off firecrackers春晚：Spring Festival Gala/Chinese New Year Gala守岁：stay up拜年：pay a New Year's call红包：red envelopes/packets压岁钱：lucky/gift money 春节传统美食年糕 rice cake; New Year cake团圆饭 family reunion dinner年夜饭 New Year's Eve dinner饺子 Jiao-zi;dumplings汤圆 dumplings made of sweet rice八宝饭：eight-treasure rice pudding糖莲子 candied lotus seed花生糖 peanut candy 春节祝福语恭喜发财：Wishing you prosperity岁岁平安：Peace all year round心想事成：May all your wishes come true吉祥如意：Everything goes well 国泰民安：The country flourishes and people live in peace 招财进宝：Money and treasures will be plentiful金玉满堂：Treasures fill the home生意兴隆：Business flourishes和气生财：Harmony brings wealth一帆风顺：Wishing you every success步步高升：Promoting to a higher position出入平安：Safe trip wherever you go