The first day of the first lunar month is Spring Festival， the beginning of a new year for Chinese. Spring Festival is Chinas biggest extravaganza and a day for family reunion.

The Spring Festival celebration is a continuous process， starting from the 23rd or 24th of the 12th lunar month. People often worship the Kitchen God， clean their houses， do their shopping， and put up Spring Festival couplets… until New Years Eve on the Lunar Calendar.

農歷正月初一是春節(jié)，對中國人來說是新一年的開始。春節(jié)是中國最盛大的節(jié)日，也是家庭團聚的日子。

春節(jié)是一個持續(xù)的慶祝過程，從農歷臘月二十三或二十四的小年起，就算春節(jié)的開始了。人們祭灶神、大掃除、買年貨、貼春聯(lián)……

一直忙碌到農歷除夕。

In addition to staying up late on NewYears Eve， having a New Years Eve dinner and watching the Spring Festival Gala are two important customs of Spring Festival. New Years Eve dinner are manifested in different ways in different parts of China.

Those in South China must have a dish of fish. Because “fish” in Chinese sounds similar to the character for “prosperity”，

symbolizing an abundant and comfortable l i f e . Those in North China often eat dumplings， which symbolize “reunion” and“fortune”.

The Spring Festival Gala is a variety TV program broadcast annually to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The gala attracts the largest audience in the world， and runs for more than four hours. It is often hailed as a cultural feast for Chinese people on New Years Eve.

除夕夜守歲是一項重要的習俗，除此之外，吃年夜飯和看春晚也是中國人在春節(jié)的兩項重要習俗。在中國的不同地區(qū)，年夜飯有著不同的講究。

南方的年夜飯必有一道魚，因為“魚”在漢語中寓意“年年有余”的富足生活。北方則吃餃子，有“喜慶團圓”和“吉祥如意”的寓意。

春節(jié)聯(lián)歡晚會是每年除夕夜為慶祝農歷新年舉辦的綜藝性文藝晚會。春晚吸引了世界上最多的觀眾，節(jié)目時長超過四個小時。它是中國人在除夕夜經歷的一場文化盛宴。

Theres also a custom of giving and receiving red envelopes， or hongbao.

Traditionally， adults placed money into red envelopes， and gave them to the children to wish them peace and good luck in the coming year.

Nowadays， with the popularization of mobile payment in China， it is a trend to send red envelopes digitally. The Internet can deliver New Years wishes to each and every loved one quickly， even if they are thousands of miles away.

春節(jié)還有收發(fā)紅包的習俗。傳統(tǒng)上，長輩把錢放進紅包，然后把它們分發(fā)給孩子們，祝愿他們在新的一年里平安、好運。

如今，隨著中國移動支付的普及，用手機發(fā)紅包成為潮流。通過網絡，人們能迅速地將新年祝福發(fā)送給每一位親友，即使他們遠在千里之外。

Word Bank

lunar adj. 月球的；月亮的

reunion n. 相聚；團圓

worship v. 崇敬，崇拜

annually adv. 一年一次地

feast n. 盛宴；宴會

deliver v. 遞送；傳送