每年农历的正月初一，是中国最重要的传统节日——春节。这个节日已经有三四千年的历史了。中国民间习惯把过春节叫过年，从上一年的腊月二十三到第二年的正月十五，都可以称为“过年”，这段时间的民俗活动非常丰富。

The first day of the first month of every Chinese lunar New Year is the time for the Spring Festival, a very important traditional festival in China, which has been observed for three or four thousand years. Chinese folks have the habit of calling “celebrating the Spring Festival” as “celebrating New Year”. The festival spans a period of time from the 23rd day of the last lunar month of the previous year to the 15th day of the first lunar month of the new year. It is an occasion for all sorts of entertainment and social activities.

　　春节前一天，一般要贴春联。春联包括上联、下联和横批，内容大多包含除旧迎新或招财纳福的意思。过去的春联都是专门请人写的，现在商店里也可以买到现成的。

The day before the Spring Festival, spring couplets will be pasted on the doorways. Usually in the form of a verse, a couplet consists of the left scroll, the right scroll and the horizontal scroll (over the door). The themes of these couplets mostly express people’s desire of replacing the old with the new and their expectation of wealth and good luck. In the past, spring couplets were written by special scribers; but nowadays they are available in shops nearby.

　　到了除夕，也就是农历大年三十的晚上，不管离家多远，人们都会赶回家，与亲人一起吃年夜饭。年夜饭用各种各样的年货做成，非常丰盛。在北方，除了年夜饭，饺子也是除夕必不可少的食品。吃完饺子，远处零点的钟声传来，人们知道新的一年到了。这时，你能听到窗外噼噼啪啪的爆竹声，看到天空五颜六色的烟花，人们为新年而欢呼。第二天一早，孩子们给老人拜年，说吉利话，老人们笑呵呵地给孩子压岁钱。春节追求的就是热闹、喜庆与吉祥。

On the eve of the Spring Festival, namely, the last day of the last lunar month, all family members will gather together, no matter how far away they are from home, to enjoy the so called “New Year Eve’s family reunion dinner”. For that occasion, a large amount of food of various kinds will be prepared. In the north, jiaozi, small dumpling stuffed with meat and/or vegetable, are indispensible to the family dinner. When the meal of jiaozi is over, it is almost mid-night. Distant bells start to strike, telling people that New Year has come. Then firecrackers begin to resound in the streets and fireworks will make a colorful display in the night sky. People jump for joy and hail the approach of the New Year. Early next morning, kids pay New Year’s calls to elderly people and make auspicious remarks to them. In return, the elderly gladly offer gift money to the kids. The Spring Festival highlights jubilation, propitiousness and good luck.

　　从大年初一到十五，最重要的民俗活动是庙会。庙会起源于宗教祭祀活动，后来逐渐成为娱乐性的集会。各地庙会风格不同，但其中一定会有花样繁多的表演、美味可口的小吃和丰富多彩的艺术品，让人流连忘返。

The most important folk event is the temple fair, held from the first day of the first lunar month of New Year. The fair originated in religious sacrifices and has later been transformed into an amusement occasion. Fairs of different localities vary in style, but they all aim to entertain visitors with a myriad of performances, local delicacies and a colorful show of artifacts. People linger there with great enjoyment.