春節(jié)習(xí)俗（二）

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.

對中國人來說，春節(jié)是最重要的節(jié)日，春節(jié)是家里所有的成員相聚的時刻，就像西方的圣誕節(jié)一樣。所有遠(yuǎn)離家鄉(xiāng)的人都會回來，因此春運(yùn)交通系統(tǒng)最繁忙的時刻大約持續(xù)半個月。機(jī)場，火車站和長途汽車站擠滿了回家的人們。

The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month, often one month later than the Gregorian calendar. It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600 BC-c. 1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.

Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days. The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.

春節(jié)是陰歷的第一天，通常比陽歷晚一個月。春節(jié)起源于商朝（公元前1600-公元前1100年）人們在年末歲初的時候供奉上帝和祖先。嚴(yán)格來講，春節(jié)每年于陰歷第十二個月的早些時候一直持續(xù)到下一年的陰歷第一個月。在這段期間，最重要的日子就是除夕和正月初一至初三這幾天。中國政府現(xiàn)在規(guī)定人們在春節(jié)休假七天。

Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.

有許多伴隨春節(jié)的風(fēng)俗。一些習(xí)俗今天仍然被延續(xù)著，而有一些風(fēng)俗已經(jīng)漸漸被遺忘了。

 On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.

在陰歷臘月初八，許多家庭煮由糯米，小米，薏米，紅棗漿果，蓮子，豆類，龍眼，銀杏組成的美味八寶粥。

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

After the Preliminary Eve, people begin preparing for the coming New Year. This is called "Seeing the New Year in".

臘月二十三被稱作小年。在這一天，人們會祭拜灶神。然而現(xiàn)在，許多家庭會做可口的飯菜自個享受。小年以后，人們開始準(zhǔn)備即將到來春節(jié)的年貨，翹首迎新年。

Store owners are busy then as everybody goes out to purchase necessities for the New Year. Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.

Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

商店店主在那個時候會很忙因為每個人都出去購買春節(jié)的必需品。所買東西不僅包括食用油，大米，面粉，雞鴨魚肉，還有水果，糖果和各種堅果。尤為重要的是各種各樣的裝飾品，比如給小孩買新衣服和新鞋和給老人，朋友和親戚買禮物。在新年到來之前，人們徹底地清掃室內(nèi)和室外以及洗衣服，床上用品和所有的餐具。

Then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

然后人們開始裝飾干凈的房間，營造喜慶和歡樂的節(jié)日氛圍。把所有的門板上貼上突出中國書法的紅紙黑字春聯(lián)。春聯(lián)內(nèi)容豐富多彩有房主希望錦繡前程和期盼來年好運(yùn)。為了避開惡鬼在前門上也會貼上門神和財神來歡迎和平與富足。

The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

People attach great importance to Spring Festival Eve. At that time, all family members eat dinner together. The meal is more luxurious than usual. Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness. After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV. In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad. According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.

意味著祝福和快樂的福字不可缺少。福字可以正著糊也可以倒著粘貼，因為在漢語中，‘倒福’和‘福到’是同音的，發(fā)的音都是‘福到了’。尤其是，房子前門口的兩邊可以吊兩個大紅燈籠。在窗戶玻璃上可以看到紅色剪花和在墻上可以掛具有吉祥含義的顏色鮮艷的年畫。

Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

春節(jié)早晨早點起床然后每個人打扮好穿上新衣服。首先向父母送出問候，然后每個孩子都會得到作為新年禮物的紅包。北方人早晨會吃餃子，因為他們認(rèn)為餃子的聲音意味著告別舊年，迎接新年，同樣餃子的形狀像中國古代的金元寶，因此人們吃餃子來盼望財富。南方人在春節(jié)早晨吃年糕（由糯米粉制作的新年年糕），因為年糕的同音是每年節(jié)節(jié)高升。春節(jié)后的前五天是拜訪親戚，朋友，同學(xué)，同事來互致問候，互送禮物和悠閑聊天的好時候。

Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits. However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.

The lively atmosphere not only fills every household, but permeates to streets and lanes. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days. The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.

China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

放鞭炮曾經(jīng)是春節(jié)最典型的習(xí)俗。人們認(rèn)為噼里啪啦的鞭炮聲可以幫助趕走壞運(yùn)惡鬼。然而由于政府考慮到安全，噪音和污染放鞭炮在一些大城市已經(jīng)被部分和徹底禁止了。取而代之，一些人買鞭炮聲的錄音帶聽，一些人弄破小氣球來制造聲音，而其他人買鞭炮手工藝品掛在客廳里。不僅每一個家庭，而且街道上和小巷里都彌漫著春節(jié)喜慶熱鬧的氛圍。一系列的慶祝活動例如舞獅，燈節(jié)和廟會將會持續(xù)幾天。當(dāng)燈展進(jìn)入尾聲的時候，春節(jié)也就結(jié)束了。中國一共有56個民族，少數(shù)民族和漢族人們幾乎是在同一天慶祝春節(jié)而且他們有不同的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣。

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