The Spring Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and also the most important one of the whole year. It's close coming up at the end of this month. That will be no more than 14 days from now on. We start the long trudge home.
As all we know, Every year the traffic is very busy during the Spring Festival.
Although it will be very tired, But they are very happy, because they know spring festival holiday is a rare chance to go back home to see their parent.
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.
All the station were full of people with suit cases who were eager to get home.
You probably won't believe me, but...it’s the true...
OK, next...Some may wonder---What do people do?
Eat, eat again, and then eat some more! As the old Chinese saying goes: food is everything.Besides eating, young people visit older family members and kids are blessed with a red pack of "lucky" money. And then, people gather and eat again. Ha ha..
Through the evolvement of thousands of years, a series of customs are spreading far and wide. Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.
1.Sweeping the Dust
"Dust" is homophonic with "chen" in Chinese, which means old and past. In this way, "sweeping the dust” before the Spring Festival means a thorough cleaning of houses to sweep away bad luck in the past year. This custom shows a good wish of putting away old things to welcome a new life. In a word, just before the Spring Festival comes, every household will give a thorough cleaning to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new.
2. Pasting Spring Couplets
“The Spring Couplet”, also called "couplet” and"a pair of antithetical phrases”, is a special form of literature in China. On the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will paste on doors a spring couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival. In the past, the Chinese usually wrote their own spring couplet with a brush, while nowadays, it is common for people to buy the printed spring couplet in the market.
3. Pasting Paper-cuts and "Up-sided FU(福)
Paper-cuts, usually with auspicious patterns, give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival and express the good wishes of Chinese people looking forward to a good life. "Fu” shows people’s yearning toward a good life. Some people even invert the character "Fu” to signify that blessing has arrived because "inverted” is a homonym for "arrive” in Chinese.
4. Setting off Firecrackers
unique product in China. In ancient China, the sound of burning bamboo tubes was used to scare away wild animals and evil spirits. With the invention of the gunpowder, "firecracker” is also called "biānpào”and used to foster a joyful atmosphere. The first thing every Chinese household does is to set off firecrackers and fireworks, which are meant to bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new.
5. Temple Fair
Temple fair, usually held outside temples, is a kind of folk custom in China. During the Spring Festival, temple fair is one of the most important activities, in which there are such performances as acrobatics and Wushu, numerous kinds of local snacks and many kinds of things for everyday life. In recent years, the temple fair has become a place for people to appreciate the traditional art and experience the traditional life.
6.Eat dumpling--- Jiaozi
On New Year’s Eve the whole family will sit together to make dumpling ( jiaozi )and celebrate the Spring Festival. The shape of dumpling( jiaozi ) is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure. The tradition of having dumpling( jiaozi ) is very important during the Spring Festival. You cannot have a complete Spring Festival without having dumpling( jiaozi ).
7. The CCTV New Year‘s Gala
The New Year’s Gala is a variety show held by China Central Television （CCTV） since 1983. For every year since then at the turn of the Lunar New Year, the program begins at 8:00PM and lasts five or six hours. It brings laughter to billions of people, creates many popular words and produces lots of TV phenomena meriting attention. For over twenty years, its value has gone far beyond a variety show. It is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. Many Chinese would like to watch the gala while having the dinner on New Year’s Eve.
Now, i felt the spring festival holiday getting closer and closer to us.
ICUSTOMNATION Creative Team hope that everyone can catching train go home.
At last, remember: Get together with your family and eat the most important meal of the year---reunion dinner.
There is a place where the air is sweet.
Today, ICUSTOMNATION bless all of you Good Luck in the Rooster Year!
Happy Chinese new year. See you next time...
