Preparation
At the Spring Festival, people spend huge sums on presents, decorations, food, and clothing. It is also a tradition that every family thoroughly cleans their house to sweep away ill-fortune in the hope of making way for good luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red paper decorations and couplets, themes of which tend to include happiness, wealth, and longevity.
Lanterns
Spring Festival lanterns differ from those of the Mid-Autumn Festival, being red in color and oval in shape. These lanterns, used on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year for the Lantern Festival, are bright, colorful, and come in many different sizes and shapes.
Decorations
Decorations generally convey a New Year’s greeting. New Year’s posters are inscribed with Chinese idioms written in calligraphy. Other decorations include New Year’s pictures, Chinese knots, papercutting and couplets. In South China, where the temperature is much warmer than in the North, people buy fresh flowers for decoration, symbolizing luck, prosperity, and longevity.
Prayer
On the second day of the New Year, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to the gods. Cantonese business people will say a prayer for their business on this day.
The 13th day of the New Year is dedicated to the General Guan Yu, also known as the Chinese God of War. Guan, born in the Han Dynasty, represents loyalty, strength, truth, and justice. Almost every organization and business in China prays to Guan on this day. Guan is also regarded as the God of Wealth or the God of Success.
Reunion dinner
A reunion dinner is held on Spring Festival Eve, for which members of the family, from near and far, get together. The dinner is usually held in the home of the most senior member of the family. However, in recent years, restaurants have become the preferred venue.
Spring Festival dinner is extravagant. Dishes can include pork, duck, chicken and sweet delicacies. In some areas, fish is included, but not eaten completely (the remainder being stored overnight), as the Chinese phrase “may there be surpluses every year” (年年有余) sounds the same as “may there be fish every year.” Some particularly auspicious foods are consumed to usher in wealth, happiness, and good fortune.
In North China, many families celebrate by making dumplings in the hours before midnight. In the past few decades it has become popular to do this while watching the CCTV Spring Festival Gala. Families then welcome the New Year by eating dumplings at midnight and ending the night with firecrackers. Dumplings symbolize wealth because their shape resembles a Chinese tael.
By contrast, in the South, it is customary to make a New Year’s glutinous rice cake after dinner and send pieces of it as gifts to relatives and friends. After the dinner, some families go to local temples, hours before the start of the New Year, to pray for prosperity. However, it has become popular for many modern households to hold parties and even hold a countdown to the Lunar New Year.
Fireworks
Bamboo stems filled with gunpowder, burnt to create small explosions, were once used in ancient China to drive away evil spirits. In modern times, this method has evolved into the use of firecrackers during the festive season. Setting off firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Spring Festival celebrations. In recent years, many cities, including Shenzhen and Hong Kong, have enacted laws completely banning the use of firecrackers for safety reasons.
Red envelopes
Traditionally, red envelopes or red packets are handed out during the Spring Festival celebrations, from married couples and the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults and young couples to give red envelopes to children.
Red envelopes almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of yuan to several hundred. According to custom, the amount of money in the envelopes should be of an even number, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals.
Odd and even numbers are determined by the first digit, rather than the last. However, it is common and quite acceptable to have cash gifts made up of a single bank note — with 10- or 50-yuan bills often used.
Dragon dance and lion dance
Dragon and lion dances are common features of the Spring Festival. It is believed that the beating of drums and cymbals, together with the faces and aggressive dancing of the dragon or lion, can drive away bad or evil spirits. Lion dances are also popular for the opening of businesses in Hong Kong.
Greetings
The Spring Festival is often celebrated with loud, enthusiastic greetings, auspicious words or phrases. The most common example is 新年快乐
Pinyin: Xīnnián kuàilè
Cantonese: San nin faai lok
English: Happy New Year
When children request red packets from adults, or singles request them from married couples, they will say:
Pinyin: Gōngxǐ fācái, hóngbāo nálái
Cantonese: Gung hei faat choi, lai see dau loi
English: Congratulations and be prosperous, now give me a red envelope!
Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year by English speakers. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar and ends on the 15th day of that month; this day is called the Lantern Festival. The origin of the Spring Festival is itself centuries old and gained significance through several myths and traditions. Although regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration vary widely in China, the Spring Festival is a great way to spread a message of peace and happiness for everyone.
West Halloween - Halloween
In Western countries, the annual October 31, there's "Halloween", Dictionary interpreted as "The eve of All Saints'Day", English translation: "Halloween Night." Halloween is a traditional festival in Western countries. This night is the year the most "haunted" in the night, so it called "Halloween."
More than 2000 years ago, Europe's Catholic Church November 1 as the "world day Saints" (ALL HALLOWS DAY). "HALLOW" meaning that the saints. Five hundred years since the BC legend, living in Ireland, Scotland and other places of the Celtic (CELTS) moved forward this festive day, that is, 10 31. They feel that the day is the formal end of the summer days, that is, the new year, the harsh winter, the day began. At that time people believed that the spirits of the enemy on this day back in the house to find him in the living creatures, so as to regeneration, and it is people can be reborn after the death of the only hope. The living dead who are afraid to come to seize the soul of Health, so people will put out the fire on this day, candlelight, so that the soul can not find the living dead, gets himself dressed as ghosts and goblins to scare away the dead souls. Later, they will rekindle the fire candle to start the new year of life. Celtic tribe that time, there are legends in the October 31 to pay homage to the dead to kill the living customs.
By the 1st century AD, Celtic tribes occupied the territory of the Roman people have gradually accepted the Halloween customs, but has since abolished the firing of the brutal practices of the living dead festival. Romans celebrate the harvest festival and the Celtic ritual combination of wearing a frightening mask, dressed as animals or monsters, they are wandering around them in order to get rid of the demons. This is what most people in today's global trivial dressed, to celebrate the origin of Halloween. The passage of time, the meaning of Halloween has changed gradually, becoming an active happy together, happy flavor into the mainstream. Dead souls back to the World claims to find a substitute has gradually been abandoned and forgotten. Even today, a symbol of Halloween images, pictures, such as witches, black cats, etc., there usually is lovely and friendly, funny face. Florida: Underwater Halloween
Face Make-up is a Halloween tradition of programs
"Halloween" the word generation
Many people are in a Halloween celebration party, which in turn is called "All Hallow E'en", "The Eve of All Hallows", "Hallow e'en", or "The eve of All Saintas'Day". Ultimately established by usage evolved into "Halloween", the Chinese translation became a Halloween night.
Halloween customs - would not go to the trouble to eat
One interesting content is Halloween "Trick or treat", this custom is not from Ireland, but in Europe began in the ninth century AD Christian Church. At the time November 2, was a Christian who is called "ALL SOULS DAY" (All Souls Day). On this day, the faithful journey to Pirang countryside, stay in the village begging door to door, made with flour and raisins, "soul cakes." Said that the families who donated cakes monks believe that the Church's prayer and look forward to this to be God You Hu, so that the dead loved ones as soon as possible to enter heaven. This tradition spread went house to house begging actually evolved into today's kids went house to house, carrying her pumpkin lantern discuss candy game. The meeting, dressed as Guijing Ling look like children should be routinely issued a "do not you ask to eat on the trouble," the threat, but not neglect the natural host, he kept saying "Please eat! Invited to eat!" At the same kids into the candy to carry a large pocket.
There are also empty when the lantern pumpkin carving story. This in turn stems from the ancient Irish. The story is that a person named JACK is a drunkard and the love of mischief. JACK day, the devil deceived on the tree, then the tree stump on which are engraved a cross and intimidation so that he was afraid the devil down, and then JACK pledge with the devil, so that the devil promised to magic so JACK will never let him to commit a crime under the condition of the tree. JACK's death, his soul is neither heaven can not go to hell, so he had to rely on the souls of a small candle shining on the guidelines, he wandered between heaven and earth.
Dancing ghosts
October 30, 2004, a holding balloons Romania
Children to participate in Halloween activities in the capital, Bucharest.
In the ancient Irish legend, which is the root of small candle inside a hollowed radish stood, called "JACK LANTERNS", while the evolution of the old turnip lamps to this day, this is pumpkin done a Jack-O-Lantern . Said the Irish to the United States soon discovered that pumpkin is carved from both sources and wins a chip than the carrot, then became a Halloween pumpkin pet. Brussels Halloween
Children's favorite holiday
Halloween is a fun children a good time to indulge. It is the children's eyes, is a festival full of mystery. As night fell, the children could not wait to put on make-up of colorful clothes, wearing strange masks, put on a "Jack Light" Paochuquwan. "Jack Light" looks very cute, action would be hollowed out pumpkin outside engraved smiling eyes and a big mouth, and then plug in Guatemala in a candle, lit it, people will be able to see very far away This charmingly naive faces.
Tingdang clean up after, groups of children dressed as ghosts and goblins, hand-held "Jack Light," went to the door neighbors, threatening a camel shouted: "Trick or to entertain," "give money or give to eat." If adults do not have candy, coins entertain them, and those naughty children have said to do: Well, you do not entertain, I'll make fun of you. They sometimes put other people's door handles painted with soap, and sometimes other people's cats painted colors. These small prank often makes adults between tears and laughter. Of course, most people are very happy to honor these innocent little guests. So, Halloween is always the children of Sierra Leone have belly full stomachs, and pockets packed full.
Halloween the most popular game is "bite the apple." The game, people make apple floating in a basin filled with water and then let kids under the conditions of hands-mouth
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