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

中國的春節，也被稱為農曆新年，迄今已有四千多年的歷史。對於中國人來說，這是規模最大，最重要的傳統節日。就如同西方的聖誕節一樣，春節是團聚的日子。春節起源於商朝(公元前11-17世紀)，為了慶祝全家團圓和表達對春暖花開的期盼，節日期間會準備豐富多彩的活動。不同地區和不同少數民族人們會用自己獨特的方式慶祝這一傳統節日。

Festival Time 節日時長

It comes on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar and lasts for almost half of a month. But in folk custom, this traditional holiday lasts from the 23rd day of the twelfth month to the 15th day of the first month (Lantern Festival) in the lunar calendar. Among these days, 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。

春節從農曆新年第一天開始，幾乎要持續一整個月。但在民間傳統中，這一節日從臘月23日就開始了，直到正月十五(元宵節)。在這些天裡，除夕和春節第一天是最熱鬧的時候。根據農曆，每年除夕和春節所在的公曆日期都有所不同。

History 春節由來

It is said that the custom of Spring Festival started in when people offered sacrifice to ancestors in the last month of Chinese lunar calendar. At that time, people prepared the sacrifice by doing thorough cleaning, having bathes and so on. Later, people began to worship different deities as well on that day. It is the time that almost all the farm works were done and people have free time. The sacrificing time changed according to the farming schedule and was not fixed until the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD). The customs of worshipping deities and ancestors remains even though the ceremonies are not as grand as before. It is also the time that spring is coming, so people held all kinds of ceremonies to welcome it。

據說，春節起初源於人們在農曆臘月祭祀先祖，在那期間，人們為了祭祀會做大掃除，沐浴換衣等等。後來人們開始在那一天敬奉神明。春節期間正好各種農耕活動結束，人們有空餘時間。最開始的祭祀日期由於農耕活動並不固定，直到漢朝(公元前202年-公元220年)才固定下來。祭祀神明和先祖的傳統延續下來，但並不像以前那樣浩大。春節也是春天的開始，所以人們會舉辦各種儀式迎接春天的到來。

Customs and Practices 傳統習俗

Every family does a thorough house cleaning and purchases enough food, including fish, meat, roasted nuts and seeds, all kinds of candies and fruits, etc, for the festival period. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. Red scrolls with complementary poetic couplets, one line on each side of the gate, are pasted at every gate. The Chinese character 'Fu' is pasted on the center of the door and paper-cut pictures adorn windows。

過年期間，每家每戶都會做大掃除，購買豐富的食物，包括魚肉堅果，水果糖果等。另外，春節必須買新衣服，尤其是給小孩子購買。門上貼上新對聯和福字，窗戶上還要貼上窗花。

Taboos 春節禁忌

The Spring Festival is a start for a new year, so it is regarded as the omen of a year. People have many taboos during this period. Many bad words related to 「death」， 「broken」， 「killing」， 「ghost」 and 「illness」 or 「sickness」 are forbidden during conversations. In some places, there are more specific details. They consider it unlucky if the barrel of rice is empty, because they think they will have nothing to eat in the next year. Taking medicine is forbidden on this day, otherwise, people will have sick for the whole year and take medicine constantly。

春節是新的一年的開始，預示著一年的運氣，所以過年期間有很多禁忌，比如「死」「破」「殺」「鬼」「病」這類字眼是談話中要避免的。在某些地方還有一些特殊的禁忌，比如新年米缸空了不是好兆頭，因為這預示著新的一年將沒東西吃，春節那天也不能吃藥，這會預示著新的一年疾病產生，醫藥不斷。