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Chinese Spring Festival, also called Lunar
New Year, has more than 4,000 years of
history. Being one of the traditional
Chinese festivals, it is the grandest and the
most important festival for Chinese
people. It is also the time for the whole families
to get together, which is similar with
Christmas Day to the westerners. Originating
during the Shang Dynasty (about 17th -
11th century BC)
，
Spring Festival, which
celebrates family reunion, is full of
rich and colorful activities, and hopes with
the advent of spring and flowers
blossoming. People from different regions and
different ethnic groups celebrate it in
their unique ways
。
中国的春节，也被称为农历新年，迄今已有四千多年的历史。
对于中国人来说，这是
规模最
大，最重要的传统节日。
就如同西方的圣诞节一样，春节
是一家团聚的日子。春节起源于商
朝
(
公元前
11-17
世纪
)
，
为了庆祝全家团圆和表达对春暖花开的期盼，
节日
期间会准备丰富
多彩的活动。不同地区和不同少数民族人们会用自己独特的方式庆祝这一
传统节日。
Festival
Time
节日时长
It
comes on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar
and lasts for almost half of a
month.
But in folk custom, this traditional holiday lasts
from the 23rd day of the
twelfth month
to the 15th day of the first month (Lantern
Festival) in the lunar
calendar. Among
these days, the New Year’s Eve and the first day
of the New Year
is the peak time. The
exact days are different in every year according
to the lunar
calendar
。
春节从农历新年第一天开始，几乎要持续一整个月。但在民间传统中，这一节日从腊月
< br>23
日就开始了，直到正月十五
(
元宵节
)
。在这些天里，除夕和春节第一天是最热闹的时候。
根
据农历，每年除夕和春节所在的公历日期都有所不同。
History
春节由来
It is said
that the custom of Spring Festival started in when
people offered sacrifice
to ancestors
in the last month of Chinese lunar calendar. At
that time, people
prepared the
sacrifice by doing thorough cleaning, having
bathes and so on. Later,
people began
to worship different deities as well on that day.
It is the time that
almost all the farm
works were done and people have free time. The
sacrificing time
changed according to
the farming schedule and was not fixed until the
Han
Dynasty (202BC-220AD). The customs
of worshipping deities and ancestors
remains even though the ceremonies are
not as grand as before. It is also the time
that spring is coming, so people held
all kinds of ceremonies to welcome
it
。
据说，
春节起初源于人们在农历腊月祭祀先祖，在那期间，人们为了祭祀会做大扫除，
沐浴<
/p>
换衣等等。
后来人们开始在那一天敬奉神明。
春节期间正好各种农耕活动结束，
人们有空余
时间。最开始
的祭祀日期由于农耕活动并不固定，直到汉朝
(
公元前
202
年
-
公元
220
年
)
才
固定下来。
祭祀神明和先祖的传统延续下来，
但并不像以前那样浩大。
春节也是春天的开始，
所以人们会举办
各种仪式迎接春天的到来。
Customs and Practices
传统习俗
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