The meaning of the Spring Festival

Spring Festival refers to the traditional New Year in China, commonly known as "Chinese New Year". People in China have celebrated the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years. During the Spring Festival, people try to go home and reunite with their loved ones, expressing their ardent expectations for the coming year and their best wishes for life in the new year. Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China.

The Origin of the Spring Festival

The most widely accepted view is that the Spring Festival began in the period of Yu Shun.

One day more than 2000 years ago, Shun became emperor and led his men to worship heaven and earth. Since then, people have regarded this day as the beginning of a year. It is said that this is the origin of the Lunar New Year, which was later called the Spring Festival.

Traditional folk customs of the Spring Festival

Sweep the dust-"On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust sweeps the house". According to folk sayings, as "dust" and "Chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and replacing the new", and its original intention is to sweep away all unlucky and bad luck.

Shousui-everyone stays up all night waiting for dawn, which is called Shousui.

Happy New Year-Happy New Year is a traditional folk custom in China. It is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new and express their best wishes to each other.

Sticking Spring Festival couplets-Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival.

Setting off firecrackers-that is, when the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers and use firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

Eat dumplings

There is a tradition of eating jiaozi on New Year's Eve in the north, and eating jiaozi is a unique way for people to express their prayers for good luck when they bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Jiaozi means getting married at an older age, and eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival is considered a great luck. In addition, jiaozi is shaped like an ingot, wrapping jiaozi means wrapping good luck, while eating jiaozi symbolizes prosperity.