The Spring Festival 用英语讲中国22|春节

Far and away the most important holiday in China is the 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.

Preparations for the New Year begin in the last few days of the last moon, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased. Houses are festooned with paper scrolls bearing auspicious antithetical couplet and in many homes, people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.

"Guo Nian," which means "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 firecrackers 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.

On New Year's Eve, all the members of families come together to feast. Jiao-zi, a steamed dumpling, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao.

春节

很久以来，中国最盛大的节日就是春节，也就是中国年。这一节日对中国人来说就像圣诞节对西方人一样重要。节日以中国农历而不是公历确定的，因此春节可能是1月底或2月初。

一般说来春节真正开始于新年除夕而于正月十五结束。正月十五，也叫元宵节，也是我国大部分地区正式结束春节的那一天。

新年准备始于旧年最后一月的几天，此时通常是房子也打扫过，欠的债也清了，理了发并买了新衣服。房子也装饰上了祝福吉祥做春联，于是人们在家或庙宇焚上香叩拜先人或祈求诸神保佑家人来年身体健康。

“过年”，又叫“过年关”，是中国人庆贺春节时互相道贺的语言。在新旧年交替的半夜时分，人们便燃放鞭炮以驱除邪恶，迎接新年的到来，瞬间，整座城市便被震耳欲聋的鞭炮声包围。

除夕之夜，家里所有人聚在一起吃大餐。通常北方人吃饺子，而南方人则吃美味可口的年糕

Tips:

嘿，小伙伴们！再过一个多月，春节就来了，这可是全球华人的狂欢节！

在这个特别的日子里，不管你是在纽约的唐人街，还是在巴黎的香榭丽舍大道，或是在悉尼的歌剧院，春节的喜庆气氛无处不在。

春节，这个传统节日已经跨越国界，成为全球华人共同的狂欢。世界各地的华人社区都会举办丰富多彩的庆祝活动，从舞龙舞狮到春节庙会，从美食节到文艺演出，热闹非凡。

春节也是文化交流的盛宴。许多非华人朋友也会加入庆祝，他们穿上唐装，学习包饺子，甚至尝试写春联。这种文化的交融，让春节变得更加多元和有趣。

说到春节，怎能不提美食？从饺子到年糕，从火锅到烧烤，春节的美食让人垂涎三尺。全球各地的中餐馆都会推出春节特别菜单，让不同肤色的朋友们也能品尝到正宗的中国味道。

春节的庆祝活动已经成为全球许多城市的重要节日之一。在世界各地，你可以看到装饰着红灯笼和春联的街道，听到欢快的锣鼓声，感受到浓浓的节日气氛。

春节，这个充满欢乐和祥和的节日，已经成为连接全球华人的纽带。它不仅让我们感受到家的温暖，也让世界感受到中华文化的魅力。