編者按：本期《英語學(xué)習(xí)》將繼續(xù)連載程曉堂教授、張祖春研究員共同主編、湖北教育出版社出版的《學(xué)英語 講中國故事》的選篇，旨在豐富教師教學(xué)材料的同時，表達(dá)和傳播中華優(yōu)秀文化，培養(yǎng)學(xué)生的中國情懷。

本篇選自《學(xué)英語 講中國故事——傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日篇》，介紹了關(guān)于春節(jié)的起源傳說、慶祝活動、相關(guān)習(xí)俗的知識。從遠(yuǎn)古先民時期發(fā)展而來的中華傳統(tǒng)節(jié)日，清晰地記錄著中華民族豐富而多彩的社會生活文化內(nèi)容，也積淀著博大精深的歷史文化內(nèi)涵。

The Chinese New Year is now popularly known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the beginning of spring. It is one of the important traditional festivals celebrated by the Han people and many of the ethnic minorities of China on the first day of the first lunar1 month. According to the Han custom， the festival usually lasts from the eighth of the twelfth lunar month of the old year up to the fifteenth of the first lunar month of the new year. Its origin is too early to be traced. Several explanations are available. Some believe， however， that the word Nian （年）， which in modern Chinese means “year”， is originally the name of a monstrous beast that started to eat people the night before the beginning of a new year.

Legends

One legend goes that the beast Nian， with a very big mouth， was extremely fierce， which made people scared. But people found that the red color and the noise of firecrackers would scare away Nian. So people chose to put up red paper decorations on their windows and doors at the end of each year to scare away Nian in case it came back again. From then on， the tradition of observing the conquer of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term Guonian， which may mean “Survive the Nian”， means“Celebrate the （new） Year” today as the word guo in Chinese means “pass-over” or “observe”. The custom of putting up red paper and setting off firecrackers to scare away Nian continues today.

Through thousands of yearsdevelopment， customs are spreading far and wide. Sweeping the dust is widely accepted as New Year cleaning. “Dust”shares the same sound with chen （陳 ） 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.

After the house is thoroughly cleaned， some decorations follow. Putting up Spring Festival couplets （春 聯(lián)） is a very popular way of decorating house in China. It consists of two lines of Chinese characters on both sides of the door and one short line above the door. And all the lines convey the idea of good luck. In the past， the Chinese people usually wrote their own couplets with a brush or asked others to do it for themselves. Nowadays， it is common for people to buy the printed couplets in the market. In addition to the Spring Festival couplets， it is common for the Chinese to put up paper-cuts and the character fu （福） on walls， doors and the windows around the house. Fu shows peoples longing for a good life. Do you still remember Fuwa—the Beijing Olympic mascots2？ Some people even invert the character fu to show that blessing has arrived because“inverted” is a homophone3 for “arrive”in Chinese.

Activities

1. Waiting for the New Year

Throughout New Years Eve， all members of a family get together to enjoy themselves through various entertainments while all rooms are decorated by red candles and colorful lanterns. This custom is referred to as “waiting for the New Year”， an expression of a strong attachment to the old year and looking forward to the coming new year. However， now there are fewer and fewer people in cities who will stay up late to see New Year in.

2. Taking a family reunion feast4

As we know， the festive activities are various and colorful. Taking a family reunion feast is a symbol of a family reunion. Even those on business would hurry back for it. Two typical foods on the menu are the New Year cake for the southerners and jiaozi for the northerners. Both foods symbolize luck， as the Chinese term for the New Year cake is niangao（年糕）， which has the same sound as the Chinese expression meaning“senior”. The shape of jiaozi is like ancient Chinese currency made of gold， so people eat them and wish for money and treasure. The tradition of having jiaozi is very important during the Spring Festival. You cannot have a complete Spring Festival without having jiaozi.

3. Watching the CCTV New Years Gala

You may wonder what the family members usually do while taking the family reunion feast. The CCTV （China Central Television） New Years Gala in China ranks the first in the audience rating on the New Years Eve. The New Years Gala is a variety show held by CCTV since 1983. Every year since then on the lunar New Years Eve， the program begins at 8 p.m. and lasts five to six hours. It brings laughter to billions of people， creates many popular words and produces lots of TV phenomena. For over thirty years， its value has gone far beyond a variety show. It is an entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad.

4. Setting off firecrackers

The firecracker is a unique product in China. Setting off firecrackers is one of the most popular customs among the kids in the Spring Festival celebration.

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”， also called bianpao （鞭炮）， is used to develop a joyful atmosphere. In the past few years， such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities including Beijing due to fire and injury as well as air pollution caused by setting off firecrackers. However， some Chinese thought that a spring festival without firecrackers was not lively enough and in recent years， the ban was canceled again in some places. This shows that setting off firecrackers is a very important activity during the Spring Festival.

5 .Paying a New Years Visit

Another custom popular in the Spring Festival is paying a New Years visit. On the first day of the Chinese lunar year， everybody puts on their best clothes and pays ceremonial calls on their relatives and friends， wishing them all the luck in the coming year. Juniors will greet seniors， wishing them health and longevity5， while seniors will give juniors some Gift Money as a wish for their safety in the coming year. When friends meet， they will wish each other happiness and prosperity6 with a big smile. With the development of new technology， there is a change in the way of giving New Years greetings. In recent years， it has become a tendency for relatives and friends to send short messages on WeChat （微信） or QQ to greet each other during the Spring Festival. With best wishes， the warm greetings of text messages give a happy and joyful atmosphere of the Festival.

Temple Fair

Temple Fair（廟會）， 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 acrobatics7 and martial arts8， 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.

Festival Greetings

Happy Chinese New Year 恭賀新春

Everything Goes Well 吉祥如意

Wishing You Prosperity 恭喜發(fā)財

Surplus Year After Year 年年有余

Peace All Year Round 歲歲平安

Good Luck in the New Year 新春大吉

Notes

1. lunar adj. 陰歷的

2. mascot n. 吉祥物

3. homophone n. 同音異形異義詞

4. feast n. 宴席

5. longevity n. 長壽

6. prosperity n. 繁榮；成功

7. acrobatic n. 雜技

8. martial arts n.武術(shù)