Spring Festival
春节 or 除夕
chūnjié or chúxī

Spring Festival begins on the January 1 of the lunar calendar, and ends on Lantern Day, or the January 15 of the lunar calendar. The Chinese New Year falls on different dates in the Gregorian calendar every year. Many confuse their Chinese birth year with their Gregorian Birth-year. As the Chinese New Year starts in Late January to mid-February, anyone born before the Chinese New Year takes the Zodiac of the previous year. According to legend, Chinese New Year began with a fight against a beast called Nian, or “year” in Chinese. Nian would come out the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves villagers put bowls of food outside their doors so Nian would eat the food instead of their children. Once, the villagers saw a child in the street with a red coat on. When Nian saw the child he was scared away, so the villagers realized that Nian was afraid of red. From then on, the villagers wore red, placed red scrolls over their doors, and lanterns outside their homes. Nian never came back to the village. During the Spring Festival fireworks are set off at midnight, red envelopes filled with money are given to children, and friends and family are visited. It is also considered bad luck to get one's hair cut during the first lunar month but sweets should be eaten to ensure a “sweet year.” A placard with the character 福should also be hung upside down on one’s front door to invite good luck into the house.

春节是中国民间最隆重最富有特色的也是最热闹的一个古老的传统节日。一般指除夕和初一，是一年的第一天,又叫阴历年，俗称“过年”。但在民间，传统意义上的春节是指从腊月二十三或二十四，一直到正月十五，其中以除夕和正月初一为高潮。在春节期间，我国的汉族和很多少数民族都要举行各种活动以示庆祝。这些活动均以祭祀神佛、祭奠祖先、辞旧迎新、祈求丰年为主要内容。活动丰富多彩，带有浓郁的民族特色。传说，中国古时候有一种叫“年”的怪兽，头长触角，凶猛异常。每到除夕会吞食牲畜伤害人命。因此，每到除夕这天，人们就会逃往深山，以躲避“年”兽的伤害。有一年除夕，从村外来了个乞讨的老人，在民居门上贴了大红纸，屋内点上烛火，再放出 “砰砰啪啪”的炸响声，“年”就浑身战栗，再不敢往前凑，狼狈逃走了，人们这才知道了驱赶“年”兽的办法。从此每年除夕，家家贴红对联、放爆竹，点烛火。初一一大早，走亲访友道喜问好。这风俗越传越广，成了中国民间最隆重的传统节日。