Chinese Spring Festival, also called LunarNew Year, has more than 4,000 years of history. Being one of the traditionalChinese festivals, it is the grandest and the most important festival forChinese people. It is also the time for the whole families to get together,which is similar with Christmas Day to the westerners. Originating during theShang Dynasty (about 17th - 11th century BC), Spring Festival, which celebratesfamily reunion, is full of rich and colorful activities, and hopes with theadvent of spring and flowers blossoming. People from different regions anddifferent ethnic groups celebrate it in their unique ways.

　　中國(guó)的春節(jié)，也被稱(chēng)為農(nóng)歷新年，迄今已有四千多年的歷史。對(duì)于中國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這是規(guī)模最大，最重要的傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。就如同西方的圣誕節(jié)一樣，春節(jié)是一家團(tuán)聚的日子。春節(jié)起源于商朝(公元前11-17世紀(jì))，為了慶祝全家團(tuán)圓和表達(dá)對(duì)春暖花開(kāi)的期盼，節(jié)日期間會(huì)準(zhǔn)備豐富多彩的活動(dòng)。不同地區(qū)和不同少數(shù)民族人們會(huì)用自己獨(dú)特的方式慶祝這一傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日。

　　Festival Time

　　節(jié)日時(shí)長(zhǎng)

　　It comes on the first day of Chinese lunarcalendar and lasts for almost half of a month. But in folk custom, thistraditional holiday lasts from the 23rd day of the twelfth month to the 15thday of the first month (Lantern Festival) in the lunar calendar. Among thesedays, the New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year is the peak time.The exact days are different in every year according to the lunar calendar.

　　春節(jié)從農(nóng)歷新年第一天開(kāi)始，幾乎要持續(xù)一整個(gè)月。但在民間傳統(tǒng)中，這一節(jié)日從臘月23日就開(kāi)始了，直到正月十五(元宵節(jié))。在這些天里，除夕和春節(jié)第一天是最熱鬧的時(shí)候。根據(jù)農(nóng)歷，每年除夕和春節(jié)所在的公歷日期都有所不同。

　　History

　　春節(jié)由來(lái)

　　It is said that the custom of SpringFestival started in when people offered sacrifice to ancestors in the lastmonth of Chinese lunar calendar. At that time, people prepared the sacrifice bydoing thorough cleaning, having bathes and so on. Later, people began toworship different deities as well on that day. It is the time that almost allthe farm works were done and people have free time. The sacrificing time changedaccording to the farming schedule and was not fixed until the Han Dynasty(202BC-220AD). The customs of worshipping deities and ancestors remains eventhough the ceremonies are not as grand as before. It is also the time thatspring is coming, so people held all kinds of ceremonies to welcome it.

　　據(jù)說(shuō)，春節(jié)起初源于人們?cè)谵r(nóng)歷臘月祭祀先祖，在那期間，人們?yōu)榱思漓霑?huì)做大掃除，沐浴換衣等等。后來(lái)人們開(kāi)始在那一天敬奉神明。春節(jié)期間正好各種農(nóng)耕活動(dòng)結(jié)束，人們有空余時(shí)間。最開(kāi)始的祭祀日期由于農(nóng)耕活動(dòng)并不固定，直到漢朝(公元前202年-公元220年)才固定下來(lái)。祭祀神明和先祖的傳統(tǒng)延續(xù)下來(lái)，但并不像以前那樣浩大。春節(jié)也是春天的開(kāi)始，所以人們會(huì)舉辦各種儀式迎接春天的到來(lái)。

　　Legends

　　春節(jié)傳說(shuō)

　　There are many legends about Spring Festivalin Chinese culture. In folk culture, it is also called “guonian” (meaning“passing a year”). It is said that the “nian” (year) was a strong monster whichwas fierce and cruel and ate one kind of animal including human being a day.Human beings were scared about it and had to hide on the evening when the“nian” came out. Later, people found that “nian” was very scared about the redcolor and fireworks. So after that, people use red color and fireworks orfirecrackers to drive away “nian”. As a result, the custom of using red colorand setting off fireworks remains.

　　中國(guó)文化中有很多關(guān)于春節(jié)的傳說(shuō)。在傳統(tǒng)文化中，春節(jié)亦被稱(chēng)為“過(guò)年”。傳說(shuō)“年”是一種兇猛異常的怪物，每天都會(huì)吃一種動(dòng)物(包括人)。人們非常懼怕他，當(dāng)“年”夜間出來(lái)活動(dòng)時(shí)，人們會(huì)找地方躲起來(lái)。后來(lái)，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)“年”非常害怕紅色和爆竹，于是，人們用紅色和鞭炮來(lái)驅(qū)趕“年”。久而久之，春節(jié)用大紅色和放鞭炮的習(xí)俗就保留了下來(lái)。