The oldest and most important festival in China is the Spring Festival, which marks a new year on the lunar calendar. The Spring Festival represents the desire for a new life. It´s called the Spring Festival because it marks the beginning of spring and the end of winter.
For Chinese people, it is very important to go back home to celebrate the Spring Festival no matter how far away from home they are. About half a month from the Spring Festival is the busiest time for transportation systems.
The most important festival of the year in China is the Spring Festival, which starts from December 8th on the lunar calendar and lasts until January 15th. There are many customs people observe during the festival, and some are related to specific dates.
The name of the Spring Festival in Chinese is ´guo nian´. ´Guo´ means pass, and ´nian´ means year. The origins of ´Guo Nian´ can be traced back thousands of years.
After the reunion dinner on New Year´s Eve, or Chuxi in Chinese, it is the New Year! In northern China, dumplings are always the main dish on the dining table, while, in southern China, there is a wide variety of choices in difference provinces.
Fu, one of the Chinese characters that best epitomize China´s time-honored culture, is a necessity in Spring Festival celebrations. Nowadays, fu, literally meaning auspiciousness, blessing or happiness, usually appears as a cultural symbol to express people´s wishes for the coming new year.
Papercuts refer to handicrafts made by cutting paper with scissors to form different patterns and pasting them on walls, windows, doors and ceilings. With their long history, papercuts, which originated in China, have been very popular among the ordinary people of China.
On the Chinese New Year, while pairs of the door gods are pasted in the center of the door, spring couplets are pasted on each side of the door and propitious words across the lintel at the top, expressing the feeling of life´s renewal and the return of spring.
A Chinese New Year celebration would not be complete without fireworks. In China firework are set off to express joy and happiness during the Spring Festival. It is meant to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new.
Door gods are pictures of deities posted on the door outside and inside the house. They are expected to keep ghosts away, protect the family and bring peace and good fortune. They are named according to function.
