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 coodination 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.
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 harrassed people and their domestic animals from time to time.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
Many customs accompany the Spring Festival. Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
起源農歷新年
農歷新年是現在俗稱春節，因為它是從春天開始的（第壹個04年計算， coodination與大自然的變化） 。其來源是太老進行追蹤。若幹解釋遊逛。大家都同意，但是，這個字念，而這僅僅是指現代漢語“壹年” ，最初的名稱怪物猛獸開始掠奪人民的前壹天晚上進入了壹個新的壹年。
壹個傳奇的野獸不用念了非常大嘴巴，將吞噬了許多人壹咬。人很害怕。有壹天，壹位老人來到他們的救援，提供制服念。要念他說， “我聽到說，妳很能幹，但是妳能接受的其他動物的捕食而不是地球上的人誰絕不是妳值得的對手？ ”因此，沒有吞下許多動物在地球上的獵物，也騷擾人民和他們的家畜不時。
在這之後，老人消失騎馬野獸念。他原來是壹個不朽的神。現在念走了和其他野獸的獵物，也害怕到森林，人們開始享受和平的生活。在老人離開，他告訴人們要忍受紅紙裝飾他們的窗戶和門在每年的年底嚇跑念的情況下，悄悄地回來了，因為紅色是顏色野獸最擔心的。
從那時起，傳統的觀測征服念是進行代代相傳。所謂“過妮安” ，這可能意味著“生存念”變成今日“慶祝（新）年”改為“國”在中國有兩個意義上的“傳遞了”和“觀察” 。自定義的張貼紅紙和射擊消防餅幹嚇跑念應該有機會運行松散仍然存在。然而，今天人們早已忘記了為什麽他們在做這壹切，除非他們認為的顏色和聲音添加到興奮的慶祝活動。
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春節是最重要的節日，中華民族是在所有家庭成員聚在壹起，就像西方的聖誕節。所有生活遠離家鄉回去，成為最繁忙的交通系統的時間約半個月的春節。機場，火車站和長途客車站，擠滿了主頁返回。
嚴格地說，春節開始，每年發展的初期，月球的第12個月，將持續到1月中期月份到下壹年。其中，最重要的日子是春節除夕前三天。我國政府現在規定人民有7天假的農歷新年。
許多海關伴隨春節。有些人仍然遵循今天，但其他人削弱。
第8天的第12正月，使許多家庭臘八粥，美味種粥用糯米，小米，種子工作的眼淚，紅棗漿果，蓮子，豆類，龍眼，銀杏。
23日12日是農歷正月稱為初步除夕。在這個時候，人們祀竈君。但是現在，大多數家庭做出美味享受。
經過初步除夕，人們開始準備為即將到來的新年。這就是所謂的“看到新的壹年” 。
店主正忙著然後大家出門購買必需品的新年。材料不僅包括食用油，大米，面粉，雞肉，鴨，魚，肉，而且水果，糖果和各種堅果。更重要的是，各種裝飾品，新衣服和鞋子的兒童以及老人的禮物，朋友和親戚，都在名單上的購買力。
在新年到來時，人們徹底清潔室內和室外的家園以及他們的衣服，床上用品和所有的器皿。
然後人們開始裝修自己的特色潔凈室的氣氛中進行的喜悅和歡慶。所有門板將貼有春聯，強調書法與黑色字符的紅紙上。不同的內容房屋業主祝願壹個光明的未來，以好運氣的新年。此外，照片，神門和財富將張貼在前門抵擋邪靈，並歡迎和平與豐富。
漢字“賦” （意思是祝福或幸福）是必須的。字符寫在紙面上，通常可以粘貼或上下顛倒，因為在中國的“反富”的諧音為“福來” ，都被宣布為“ fudaole 。 ”更重要的是，兩個大的紅燈籠可以提高雙方的前門。紅紙，剪報中可以看出在窗戶玻璃和鮮艷新年吉祥畫的含義可能是放在墻上。
人民高度重視春節前夕。在那個時候，所有家庭成員壹起吃晚飯。吃飯更豪華比平常多。食品，如雞，魚和豆腐不能排除，因為在中國，他們的發音，分別為“冀” ， “玉”和“豆腐” ，意味著吉祥，豐度和豐富度。晚餐後，全家人會坐在壹起，聊天和看電視。近年來，春節晚會播出的中央電視臺（中央電視臺）是必不可少的娛樂為中國在國內和國外。按照慣例，每個家庭將保持看到新年英寸
起床的新年，每個人都打扮。首先，他們延長問候他們的父母。然後每個兒童將得到錢作為新年禮物，結束了在紅紙上。人民將在北方吃餃子，或餃子，吃早餐，因為他們認為“餃子”的聲音的意思是“告別舊的，迎接新的” 。此外，餃子形狀像金元寶從我國古代。所以，人們吃，並祝願金錢和財富。
南中國吃niangao （新年蛋糕的糯米粉）在這壹時刻，因為作為壹個同音字， niangao的意思是“高，壹年後是另壹套。 ”頭五天後，春節是壹個很好的時間，親戚，朋友和同學以及同事們互致問候，饋贈和聊天悠閑。
燃燒的煙花曾經是最典型的自定義的春節。人們認為spluttering聲音可以幫助驅除邪靈。然而，這樣的活動是完全或部分禁止在大城市，壹旦政府采取了安全，噪音和汙染的因素考慮在內。作為替代，壹些購買磁帶的鞭炮聲聽，有些打破小氣球，以獲得良好的太多，而另壹些購買爆竹手工藝品掛在客廳。
在活潑的氣氛不僅填補每家每戶，而且貫穿到街道和小巷。壹系列的活動，如舞獅，舞龍，花燈歌舞，花燈節和廟會將舉行兩天。然後在春節即將結束時，燈節已完成。
我國56個民族。少數慶祝他們春節幾乎同壹天，漢族人，他們有不同的習俗