Chinese Spring Festival?which is also called Chinese New Year, is now popularly recognized as the most important festival by the Chinese people. Surrounding the spirit that getting rid of the old things and welcoming the new ones, spring festival, through thousands of years, has developed so many of rich and colorful rites and formed a culture with unique characteristics.

According to the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year starts from the Beginning of Spring (the New Moon of the first lunar cycle of a year) and ends 15 days later (on the first full moon day). After an elaborate preparation like pasting couplets and buying special purchases for the Spring Festival, real celebration begins at the New Years’ Eve. The dinner on New Year’s Eve is named nián yè fàn, which originates from the historical ritual of sacrificing to the ancestors. Now it has become a pure celebrative banquet of reunion and thanksgiving for the whole family. A traditional nián yè fàn usually contains many dishes that many people attribute various symbolic meaning. For example, being homophonic with the Chinese characters yú, a whole fish is taken for a symbolization of the affluent life in the next year. And wán zi in south of China also called yuán zi is a symbolization of tuán yuán meaning the hope of togetherness year by year. In some part of China, people even put cleaned coin or candy into several dumplings. For those who find the special ones while they are eating are considered to be lucky for the entire next new year.

When the dinner is finished, families close their doors, sit around the fire stove, have a chat with each other and keep vigil until the dawn’s coming. The fire is burning all-night in the courtyard or inside the room to dispel demons and pray peace, safety as well as health. One legend goes that, the beast Nian had a very big mouth that always swallow a great many people in the New Years’ Eve. People were very scared, so they close the doors, hanging red lumps and lighting fire. As Nian is frighten by the red light, it never get close to people any more so that their safeties are finally guaranteed. Along with the fire, the firecrackers are also used to carry out devils before closing and after opening the door. This tradition can be dated back to 6 A.D. while at that time, people got airproof bamboos burnt in fire to make blast sounds.

From the first day of the Lunar New Year to the fifteenth, each day once has its celebration aims in the past, e.g., the fifth day is called Po Woo for welcoming the God of Wealth. And the ninth day is the day for people to make offerings to the Jade Emperor. At the present time, those conventions have become not so strict. However, people still would like to pay a New Year call with each other, especially in a family. The New Year call does not really denote a phone call but some wishing words such as happy new year, perfect health or lasting prosperity, which is always performed from the junior to the eldership. Meanwhile, money are given to children as a lunar New Year gift (tuán yuán), ones literally ya suì qián, to help them keep away from ghost and grow up healthily. Another delightful tradition is to stroll in the temple fairs. On the day that temple fairs are held, children as well as other familial members all well dressed come together, buying diversified goods, eating different snack and enjoying various performance. In each part of China, people will play their local arts e.g. lion dance in Guangdong province and doing the yangko dance in many northern countries of China.

15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival yuán xiao jié, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. In this day, the favorite and most typical dish is yuán xiao, sweet steamed glutinous rice nuò ml pudding with sugar or nut stuffing. As the climax of the whole festival, afterwards people will proceed to the normal working state in another promising and brand new year.