Two Features of Spring Festival

Equal to Christmas of the West in significance, the Spring Festival is the most important holiday in China. Two features distinguish it from the other festivals. One is seeing off the old year and greeting the new. The other is family reunion.

Two weeks before the festival the whole country is permeated with a holiday atmosphere. On the 8th day of the twelfth lunar month, many families will make the Laba Congee, a kind of congee made from more than eight treasures, including the glutinous rice, lotus seed, beans, gingko, millet and so on. Shops and streets are beautifully decorated and every household is busy at shopping and preparing for the festival. In the past, all families would make a throughout house cleaning, settling accounts and clearing off debts, by which to pass the year.

Customs of Spring Festival
Paste couplets(Chinese: 贴春联): it’s a kind of literature. Chinese people like to write some dual and concise words on red paper to express their new year’s wishes. On the arrival of New Year, every family will paste couplets.

Family reunion dinner(Chinese: 团圆饭):

people travelling or residing in a place far away from home will back to their home to get together with their families.

Stay up late on New Year’s Eve(Chinese: 守岁): it’s a kind of way for Chinese people to welcome New Year’s arrival. Staying up late on New Year’s Eve is endowed with auspicious meaning by people. The old do it for cherishing their past time, the young do it for their parents’ longevity.

Hand out red packets(Chinese: 发红包): elders will put some money into red packets, and then hand out to the younger generation during spring festival. In recent years, electric red packets are popular among younger generation.
Set off firecrackers: Chinese people think the loud sound of the firecrackers can drive away devils, and the fire of the firecrackers can make their life thriving in the coming year.

• A family Reunion Dinner