Far and away the most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year. To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West. The dates for this annual celebration are determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

　　To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year's Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar. But the 15th of the first month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival, means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.

　　總的來說在中國最重要的節(jié)日是春節(jié),亦稱中國新年。對中國人民來說它的重要性就如方圣誕節(jié)對于西方人民。這個一年一次的節(jié)日日期取決于陰歷而不是格里歷，因此假日的時間變化從一月下旬到上旬2月。對普通的中國人，節(jié)日總是在除夕夜開始,結束于陰歷的第一個月的第五天。 但1第一個月的15號，通常稱燈會，在國家的大部分地區(qū)意味春節(jié)的正式結尾。

　　"Guo Nian," meaning "passing the year," is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival. It actually means greeting the New Year. At midnight at the turn of the old and New Year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the New Year. In an instant the whole city would be engulfed in the deafening noise of the firecrackers.

　　“過年”意義為“度過這一年”，是中國百姓慶祝春節(jié)的共同術語。它事實上意味著歡迎新的一年。在新舊年交替的午夜，百姓習慣的放會趕走怪物的煙火，并且歡迎新年的到來。在那一瞬間，整個城市都響徹爆竹的震耳欲聾的聲音。