The Qingming(Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.

清明节是中国24个节气之一，每年4月4-6日。节后，气温会升高，降雨量也会增加。现在是春耕播种的好时节。但清明节不仅是指导农活的季节性节日，更是一个纪念节日。

The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.

清明节是悲伤和快乐的结合。

This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.

这是最重要的牺牲日。此时，汉族和少数民族都会祭祀祖先，并为患病者扫墓。此外，他们不会在这一天做饭，只供应冷食。

The Hanshi(Cold Food) Festival was usually one day before the Qingming Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the Qingming, they were later combined.

寒食节通常在清明节前一天。由于我们的祖先经常将这一天延长到清明，他们后来被结合在一起。

On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.

每个清明节，所有的墓地都挤满了前来扫墓祭祀的人。前往墓地的路上交通变得异常拥挤。今天，海关大大简化了。在略微扫墓后，人们会献上食物、鲜花和死者的最爱，然后烧香、烧纸钱，在牌位前鞠躬。

In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.

与扫墓者的悲伤相反，人们在这一天也享受着春天的希望。清明节是一个阳光明媚、树木和草地变绿、大自然再次活跃的日子。自古以来，人们就有春游的习俗。这时到处都是游客。

People love to fly kites during the Qingming Festival. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not only during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars, and therefore, are called "god's lanterns."

人们喜欢在清明节放风筝。放风筝其实并不局限于清明节。它的独特之处在于人们不仅在白天放风筝，而且在晚上也放风筝。绑在风筝或线上的一串小灯笼看起来像闪闪发光的星星，因此被称为“上帝的灯笼”。

The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.

清明节也是植树的时候，因为树苗的成活率很高，树木生长速度也很快。在过去，清明节被称为“植树节”。但自1979年以来，“植树节”被定为公历的3月12日。

Tomb Sweeping Day is popularly associated with Jie Zi Tui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend has it that Jie saved his starving lord's life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small principality, he invited his faithful follower to join him. However, Jie declined his invitation, preferring to lead a hermit's life with his mother in the mountains.

清明节通常与介子推联系在一起，介子推于公元前600年生活在山西省。传说中，介子推用自己的一条腿救了饥饿的主人（晋文公）的命。当晋文公成功成为一个国家的统治者时，他邀请了他的忠实追随者加入他的行列。然而，介子推拒绝了他的邀请，宁愿和母亲在山里过隐士的生活。

Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. To his consternation, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death. To commemorate Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out on the anniversary of Jie's death. Thus began the "Cold food festival feast", a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.

晋文公相信他可以通过火烧山把介子推赶出来，于是命令手下放火焚烧森林。令他惊愕的是，介子推选择留在原地，被烧死。为了纪念介子推，晋文公下令在介子推去世纪念日扑灭每家每户的火灾。于是开始了“冷食节”，这是一个因为不能生火而不能烹饪食物的日子。

The "Cold food festival" festival occurs on the eve of Tomb Sweeping Day and is often considered as part of the Tomb Sweeping Day festival. As time passes, the Tomb Sweeping Day festival replaced the "Cold food festival". Whatever practice is observed，the basic observation of Tomb Sweeping Day is to remember one's elders by making a special way to visit their graves, ashes or ancestral tablets. To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of the lives and contributions of their ancestors, and the story of Jie Zi Tui.

“寒食节”发生在清明节前夕，通常被认为是清明节的一部分。随着时间的推移，清明节取代了“寒食节”。无论遵守什么习俗，清明节的基本习俗都是通过特殊方式祭扫长辈的坟墓、骨灰或祖先牌位来缅怀长辈。为了使这次访问更有意义，应该花一些时间提醒年轻的家庭成员他们祖先的生活和贡献，以及介子推的故事。

Last Tomb Sweeping Day, I return home to worship my grandfather. Tomb Sweeping Day is a folk Festival. The day before Tomb Sweeping Day is called Cold Food Festival. But Today, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown. Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money. Unlike the sacrifices at a family's home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food. One theory is that since any number of ghosts roam around a grave area, the less appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers.

去年清明节，我回家祭拜我的祖父。清明节是一个民间节日。在清明节前一天被称为寒食节。但是今天，中国人会去拜扫祖先的坟墓，清除长出的杂草，扫去灰尘，家人会摆出食物和纸钱作为供品。与在家中祭祀祖先的供品不同，坟墓中的供品通常是干巴巴的食物。有一个理论是，因为许多鬼魂在坟墓周围游荡，不太吸引人的食物会被祖先消耗掉，而不会被陌生人抢走。

With the passing of time, this celebration of life became a day to the honor past ancestors. Following folk religion, the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.

随着时间的流逝，这个庆祝生命的日子成为纪念过去祖先的日子。遵循民间宗教，中国人相信先人的灵魂会照顾家庭。牺牲食物和精神财富可以让他们保持幸福，家庭将因丰收和更多的孩子而繁荣。

Preparations for the Chinese New Year in old China start well in advance of the New Year's Day. The 24th of the twelfth month is set aside for the annual housecleaning. Every household will give a thorough cleaning to their houses, clothes, bedclothes and all utensils, to bid farewell to the old year and to usher in the new. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes the house ready for good luck to enter. All brooms and dustpans are put away on New Year's Eve so good luck cannot be swept away.

在旧中国，元旦之后就开始提前准备过年的东西了。十二月二十四是留给年度大扫除的。家家户户都会彻彻底底的打扫他们的房子，衣服，被褥和所有的器具，来辞旧迎新。据说，打扫可以赶走坏运气，使房子有好运气。在除夕夜，所有的扫帚和簸箕都会被放在一边，免得好运被扫走了。

Spring couplets, written in black ink on large vertical scrolls of red paper, are put on the walls or on the sides of the doors. These couplets, short poems written in classical Chinese, are expressions of good wishes for the family in the coming year. In addition, symbolic flowers and fruits are used to decorate the house. Animated door gods, scrolls of happiness, beautiful window flowers, colorful New Year paintings and flower-decorated red lanterns, all gives a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival.

春联，用黑墨水写在垂直滚动大红纸上，是贴在墙壁上或在门边。这些对联和短诗是用繁体字写的，都是表达了对家庭在新的一年里的良好祝愿。此外，象征性的鲜花和水果是用来装饰房子。生动的门神，充满幸福的卷轴，美丽的窗花，丰富多彩的年画和用花装饰的红灯笼，都展示出了一个喜庆和热闹的节日气氛。

Storeowners are busy as everybody goes purchasing for the New Year, from edible oil, rice, chicken, fish and meat, to fruit, candies and nuts, and to various decorations, new clothes and shoes for children as well as gifts for friends and relatives.

当每个人都去采购新年食品时，店主们都忙得不可开交，从食用油、大米、鸡肉、鱼和肉，到水果、糖果和坚果，再到各种装饰品、给孩子们的新衣服和鞋子，以及给亲朋好友的礼物。

Dreaming of winter holiday for months, many students can't help to design their vacation journey while some of them have no plan but kill time at home. It is said that male student tend to spend all his time and money playing Internet games while the female students tend to watch episodes without worry and pressure.

许多学生梦想着几个月的寒假，忍不住设计他们的假期旅程，而其中一些人却没有计划，只能在家消磨时间。据说，男学生倾向于把所有的时间和金钱都花在玩网络游戏上，而女学生则倾向于毫无顾虑和压力地观看剧集。

Such cozy life might lead to post-holiday syndrome, a large number of students tend to overindulge themselves in eating, merrymaking and playing around during the holidays, which makes it difficult to adjust to their routine study schedule and life pace on the campus.

这种舒适的生活可能会导致节后综合症，大量学生在假期中会过度放纵自己的饮食、娱乐和玩耍，这使得他们很难适应日常的学习日程和校园生活节奏。

My suggestions to deal with this syndrome are as follows. First, make a specific to-do-list and stick to it. Without a clear purpose, one might easily waste crucial years neglecting one's studies. Second, join one or two volunteering activities and make some friends cause you don't know what surprise will wait for you when you do something new.

我对治疗这种综合征的建议如下。首先，制定一份具体的待办事项清单并坚持下去。如果没有明确的目标，一个人很容易浪费关键的几年时间而忽视自己的学业。第二，参加一两次志愿活动，交一些朋友，因为你不知道当你做一些新的事情时会有什么惊喜等着你。

How time flies, unconsciously the next winter vacation will soon come. In order to improve myself as well as enjoy a happy holiday, I made the winter vacation plan.

时间过得真快，不知不觉得下一个寒假就要到了，为了提高我自己同时快乐的度过假期，我制定了寒假计划。

Firstly I want to continue with my study, I think study is a life process, so no matter what the situation I am in, I will look for chances to continue it. I have bought several new books, including those books on my major and some novels, I will try to finish reading them in the holiday and write notes.

首先，我会继续学习，我认为学习是一种终身的过程，所以不管我处在哪种情况之下，我都会寻找机会学习。我已经买了一些新书，这些书有的跟我的专业有关，也包括一些小说。我将努力读完他们并写下读书笔记。

Secondly, since it is the holiday, I will share it with my family and friends. You know the spring festival will soon come, I believe I would chatting and play games with my friends and family. I think I will enjoy the vacation.

其次，既然是放假，我将和我的家人朋友一起度过，你知道春节就要来临了，届时我会和我的家人朋友一起聊天啊，玩游戏啊等等，我相信我定会度过一个快乐的假期。

Winter holiday is coming, many students are looking forward to a wonderful long vacation so that they are busy making a vacation plan. According to a survey, students who go traveling and do social practices during vacations increase greatly while those who stay at home decrease a lot.

寒假即将到来，许多学生都期待着一个美好的长假，因此他们正忙于制定假期计划。根据一项调查，在假期外出旅行和进行社交活动的学生人数大大增加，而呆在家里的学生人数则大大减少。

There are many reasons account for that. Firstly, with the fast development of economy, many people have become rich, which makes it possible for more students to go traveling. Also, modem transportation has made it easier for students to go out to travel. Secondly, the authorities of Chinese university have been encouraging their students to do social practices in the hope that college students would broaden their view to know more about the society and become more adaptable to the future work after they graduate.

原因有很多。首先，随着经济的快速发展，许多人变得富有，这使得更多的学生有可能去旅行。此外，现代交通使学生更容易外出旅行。其次，中国大学当局一直鼓励学生进行社会实践，希望大学生能够开阔视野，了解更多社会知识，并在毕业后更适应未来的工作。

In my opinion, it's good to let more students go out traveling or doing social practices during the vacations for they have become much mature to realize how to spend our vacations meaningfully and practically.

在我看来，让更多的学生在假期外出旅游或进行社交活动是很好的，因为他们已经非常成熟，能够意识到如何有意义地、切实地度过我们的假期。

In addition to the Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures, ShouSui, lion dance, new year's Eve and other national customs, there are also some unique customs among the people of Jiangsu Province. Now the collection is for the readers.

春节的江苏民间，除了贴春联、挂年画、守岁、舞狮子、大拜年等和全国一样的习俗外，还有一些独特的习俗，现辑录数则以飨读者。

On the new year's eve of Suzhou people put cooked water chestnuts in their meals and dig them out when eating, which is called "digging Yuanbao". When friends and relatives come and go, they put in two green olives when making tea, which is called "drinking Yuanbao tea". Congratulations on getting rich.

苏州人除夕在饭内放进熟荸荠，吃时挖出来，谓之“掘元宝”，亲友来往，泡茶时要置入两只青橄榄，谓之喝“元宝茶”，恭喜发财。

On the morning of the first day of the new year of Wujin people, the portraits of ancestors were hung in the nave for tea and fruit and rice cakes. The whole family followed in turn with the new year's ceremony, which was called "worship shadow" They are not allowed to sweep the floor from home, for fear of sweeping out the "wealth" and "Ruyi". They can only sweep the floor from the outside.

武进人年初一早晨，将先祖画像悬挂中堂，供上茶果、年糕，一家老小依次行拜年礼，谓之“拜神影子。”他们扫地不许从家里往外扫，惟恐把“财气”、“如意”扫了出去，只能从外往里扫。

Jiangning people have the custom of "beating the spirit drum" during the Spring Festival, which is led by a big flag. Gongs and drummers beat the drum vigorously to boost their spirits. On the third day of the third year, they played the night drum, on the seventh day of the seventh year, and on the thirteenth to the fifteenth year, they played the shirtless drum. The atmosphere was warm.

江宁人有春节“打神鼓”之习俗，由大旗开路，锣鼓手浑身使劲地擂鼓助兴，初三“打夜鼓”、初七“上七鼓”，十三至十五打“赤膊鼓”，气氛热烈。

Nantong people have the custom of planting sesame stalks, Holly and cypress in front of their homes or halls. They choose to live a life of high flowering and green all the year round.

南通人有在家门口或堂前插芝麻秆、冬青、柏枝的习俗，取意生活开花节节高，长年青翠。

Huaiyin people also have the custom of "baking the head wind" for their children on the sixth day of the lunar new year. It's the night to take the child to the field to light a torch, dispel the pathogenic factors for the child, while baking and singing: "bake the head, wake up the brain, bake the feet, step by step, bake the belly without thinning, bake all over the body, never see the disease."

淮阴人还有初六给孩子“烤头风”之习俗。是夜带孩子到田头空地点燃火把，为孩子驱除病邪，边烤边唱：“烤烤头，醒醒脑，烤烤脚，步子矫，烤烤肚皮不拉稀，满身都烤遍，疾病永不见。”

On the eighth day of the beginning of the year, fishermen in Wuxi took a boat to the west mountain to worship the Yuwang temple, praying for the blessing of the God of water and offering sacrifices to the aodan Buddha, which was called "Shangyao". After the Yuwang temple was demolished, the custom gradually faded.

无锡渔民年初八有乘船去西山祭拜禹王庙之习，祈求水神保佑，祭鳌赕佛，称为“上尧”，禹王庙拆除后，此俗渐渐淡漠。

During the Spring Festival, there are many taboos in the old customs of Jiangsu, such as not using scissors at the beginning of the year to avoid the quarrel between mouth and tongue; not using kitchen knives to avoid the disaster of killing the body; not eating porridge, afraid of going out in the rain; not sweeping the floor, afraid of sweeping away the wealth and so on. With the popularization of scientific knowledge, many unscientific customs have been gradually forgotten; healthy and beneficial recreational activities have continued.

春节期间，江苏地区的旧习俗中还有许多禁忌，诸如年初一不动剪刀，免得口舌之争；不动菜刀，以免杀身之祸；不吃稀饭，怕出门遇雨；不扫地，怕把财运扫光等等。随着科学知识的普及，有很多不科学的习俗也逐渐被人淡忘；健康有益的娱乐休闲活动，却一直延续下来。

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.

春节是中国人最重要的节日，是所有家庭成员聚在一起的时候，就像西方的圣诞节一样。所有住在外地的人都会回家，这将成为距离春节半个月左右交通系统最繁忙的时候。机场、火车站和长途汽车站挤满了返乡者。

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.

春节在农历一月一日，通常比公历晚一个月。它起源于商朝（约公元前1600年至公元前1100年），起源于人们在旧年结束和新一年开始时对神灵和祖先的祭祀。

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.

严格来说，每年的春节从农历十二月初开始，一直持续到次年的农历一月中旬。其中，最重要的日子是春节前夕和前三天。中国政府现在规定，中国农历新年有七天假期。

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

春节有许多习俗。有些人今天仍在关注，但其他人已经减弱。

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.

在农历十二月初八，许多家庭都会做腊八粥，这是一种美味的粥，由糯米、小米、薏米籽、枣子、莲子、豆类、龙眼和银杏制成。

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.

农历12月23日称为初夜。此时，人们向灶神献祭。然而，现在大多数家庭都制作美味的食物来享受。

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

初夜过后，人们开始为即将到来的新年做准备。这就是所谓的“新年快乐”。

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.

商店老板那时很忙，因为每个人都出去购买新年必需品。材料不仅包括食用油、大米、面粉、鸡、鸭、鱼和肉，还包括水果、糖果和各种坚果。此外，各种装饰品、给孩子的新衣服和鞋子，以及给老人、朋友和亲戚的礼物都在购买清单上。

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.

在新年到来之前，人们会彻底清洁家里的室内外，以及衣服、床上用品和所有用具。

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，人们开始装饰他们干净的房间，营造出欢乐和喜庆的气氛。所有的门板都将贴上春联，用红纸上的黑字突出中国书法。内容从房主对美好未来的祝愿到新年的好运都不尽相同。此外，门神和财神的照片将张贴在前门，以驱邪，迎接和平与富足。

Christmas arouses increasing attention year by year in China. Christmas cards become popular with students. People hold Christmas parties and exchange Christmas girts. A lot or TV and radio programs about Christmas are on. Meanwhile the Spring Festival is less appealing to youngsters. Thus some people wonder whether Christmas will replace the Spring Festival.

圣诞节在中国引起了越来越多的关注。圣诞卡受到学生的欢迎。人们举行圣诞派对，交换圣诞礼物。很多关于圣诞节的电视和广播节目都在播放。与此同时，春节对年轻人的吸引力降低了。因此，一些人怀疑圣诞节是否会取代春节。

This worry is fairly unnecessary. Why? One reason lies that Christmas only affects Christians, college students and joint-venture workers. Another reason is that Christmas is mostly celebrated in cities. Few people in countryside show extreme interest in this exotic festival. By contrast, the Spring Festival is the most influential traditional festival in every family.

这种担心完全没有必要。为什么？原因之一是圣诞节只影响基督徒、大学生和合资企业工人。另一个原因是圣诞节大多在城市庆祝。农村里很少有人对这个异国情调的节日表现出极大的兴趣。相比之下，春节是每个家庭中最具影响力的传统节日。

I think, it is natural that with increasing exchanges with the West, a lot of Western holidays have been gradually introduced into China. For us Chinese we should never neglect or even discard our own traditional festivals. For centuries Chinese have observed this traditional holiday to welcome the beginning of a new year. And we will treasure the Spring Festival forever.

我认为，随着与西方交流的增加，很多西方节日逐渐被引入中国，这是很自然的。对我们中国人来说，我们不应该忽视甚至抛弃自己的传统节日。几个世纪以来，中国人一直在庆祝这个传统节日，以迎接新的一年开始。我们将永远珍惜春节。

The Chinese New Year is now popularly known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the begining of Spring (the first of the twenty-four terms in coordination with the changes of Nature). Its origin is too old to be traced. Several explanations are hanging around. All agree however that the word Nian which in modern Chinese solely means "year" was originally the name of a monster beast that started to prey on people the night before the beginning of a new year.

中国的新年现在被普遍称为春节，因为它从春天开始（二十四个节气中的第一个，与自然的变化相协调）。它的起源太古老了，无法追溯。有几种解释流传着。然而，所有人都同意，“年”这个词在现代汉语中仅表示“年”，最初是一种怪兽的名字，它在新年开始的前一天晚上开始捕食人们。

One legend goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow a great many people with one bite. People were very scared. One day an old man came to their rescue offering to subdue Nian. To Nian he said "I hear say that you are very capable but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents?" So it did swallow many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harassed people and their domestic animals from time to time.

一个传说是，年兽有一张很大的嘴，一口就能吞下很多人。人们非常害怕。一天，一位老人来到他们的救援现场，准备制服年。他对念说：“我听说你很有能力，但你能吞下地球上的其他猛兽，而不是那些根本不是你的对手的人吗？”因此，它确实吞下了地球上的许多猛兽，这些猛兽也不时骚扰人们及其家畜。

After that the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal god. Now that Nian is gone and other beasts of prey are also scared into forests people begin to enjoy their peaceful life. Before the old man left he had told people to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end to scare away Nian in case it sneaked back again because red is the color the beast feared the most.

之后，老人骑着年兽消失了。他原来是一位不朽的神。现在，年已经走了，其他猛兽也被吓进了森林，人们开始享受他们平静的生活。在老人离开之前，他曾告诉人们每年年底都要在门窗上贴上红色的纸装饰物，以防年兽再次溜回来，因为红色是野兽最害怕的颜色。

From then on the tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term "Guo Nian" which may mean "Survive the Nian" becomes today "Celebrate the (New) Year" as the word "guo" in Chinese having both the meaning of "pass-over" and "observe". The custom of putting up red paper and firing fire-crackers to scare away Nian should it have a chance to run loose is still around. However people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this except that they feel the color and the sound add to the excitement of the celebration.

从那时起，观察年征服的传统代代相传。“过年”一词可能意味着“熬过年”，今天变成了“庆祝（新年）”，因为汉语中的“过”一词既有“过去”的意思，也有“观察”的意思。如果年岁有机会逃跑，人们会用红纸和鞭炮来吓跑年岁的习俗仍然存在。然而，今天的人们早就忘记了他们为什么要这么做，除了他们觉得颜色和声音增加了庆祝活动的兴奋。

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of “happiness”, “wealth”, and “longevity”. On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is a great way to reconcile forgetting all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

在中国，有关庆祝中国新年的地区习俗和传统差异很大。人们会倾其所有买礼物、装饰、材料、食物和衣服。这也是一个传统，每个家庭都会彻底打扫房子，扫除所有的霉运，希望为即将到来的好运让路。窗户和门将用红色剪纸和对联装饰，主题是“幸福”、“财富”和“长寿”。在中国除夕夜，晚餐是一场与家人的盛宴。食物包括猪、鸭、鸡和甜食。这家人将以鞭炮结束夜晚。第二天一早，孩子们会向父母问好，祝他们新年健康快乐，并收到红包。中国的新年传统是一种很好的方式，可以消除所有的怨恨，真诚地祝大家平安快乐。