Mitchell Blatt

The day I arrived in China for the first time was the Lantern Festival 2011. Firecrackers exploded in alleyways， lighting up the night and adding to the already great excitement of exploring a large city with a diverse culture.

Now I am getting ready to celebrate my second Spring Festival in China （not including my 2011

celebration）. The Spring Festival is sometimes referred to by Chinese people speaking to foreigners as “the Christmas of China”. Both holidays usually involve people eating and drinking together as a family and there are some similarities， but the Spring Festival has its own characteristics and meaning.

In my view as an American in China， the Spring Festival is a beautiful two-week-long celebration when family and friends get together， which begins with Chinese New Year and ends with the Lantern Festival. It is celebrated with various Chinese cultural activities， which makes it all the more exciting for me to observe some things I do not see every day. In contrast to Christmas， the Spring Festival is a holiday that includes almost everyone in China.

During the Spring Festival in Shanghai in 2013， a friend invited me to dinner with his family on the eve of the traditional Chinese New Year. Three generations， children， fathers and mothers， uncles and cousins， and grandparents were there. Before the dinner， the youngest generation were asked to give short speeches wishing a prosperous new year. After a long procession of dishes， no one could say they were hungry.

After dinner， we went out to the street， and my friend taught me how to launch fireworks the Chinese way—lighting them with a cigarette. The fireworks exploded over the streetlights and passed cars on the road. I can't imagine doing that in America. It isn't allowed in many states to even launch fireworks in the countryside， let alone in a crowded city like Shanghai.

One year later I was celebrating the Lantern Festival in Beijing with some Chinese friends. We purchased fireworks and set off to Houhai， a crowded bar district by Houhai lake. The area was already raucous with explosions on every corner. We only added to the crack. Luckily， setting off fireworks has been strictly prohibited in many cities so far！

Reading check

1. What is the difference between the Spring Festival and Christmas according to the author？

A. Starting time.

B. Different beliefs.

C. The festival's duration.

D. People's participation.

2. What might seem unacceptable to the author about the Spring Festival？

A. Preparing so many dishes.

B. Multiple-generation gathering.

C. Lighting fireworks in an urban district.

D. Speeches by the youngest generation.

3. What does the underlined word “raucous” in the last paragraph mean？

A. Messy and alive.

B. Terrible and noisy.

C. Loud and unpleasant.

D. Powerful and constant.

Cultural Background

燃放鞭炮的歷史淵源

《荊楚歲時記》中記載到：“正月一日，是三元之日也。謂之端月，雞鳴而起，先于庭前爆竹、燃草，以辟山魈惡鬼?！?這也是后來人們在春節(jié)燃放鞭炮的由來。由此可見，“爆竹”一詞的本意是焚竹而爆。放鞭炮有著辭舊迎新之說，寓意著對新的一年的美好向往。

相傳在遠(yuǎn)古時代，有一種兇猛的怪獸叫“年”，它一年四季都待在深海里，但每逢新舊歲之交，便出來糟蹋莊稼，傷害人畜，百姓叫苦連天。有一次它又跑到村莊里為非作歹，但被一戶人家門口晾的大紅衣服嚇跑了。到了另一處，又被燈光嚇得抱頭鼠竄。于是人們掌握了“年”怕聲音、怕紅色、怕火光的弱點。每至年末歲首，人們就在家門口貼紅聯(lián)、放鞭炮、掛紅燈，院子里燒柴禾、攏旺火，用菜刀剁菜、剁肉，發(fā)出聲音。