春节(chūnjié) Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most traditional and grand festival in China. It falls on the first of every January in the lunar calendar. 除夕(chúxī) Chinese New Year's Eve is the last day of last year and means ringing out the old year and ringing in the new. There are three main activities in Chinese New Year's Eve: having 团圆饭(tuányuánfàn) family reunion dinner or 年夜饭(niányèfàn) the dinner on new year's evening, 祭祀(jìsì) offering sacrifices to ancestors and 守夜(shŏuyè) staying up. You can taste all kinds of food for Chinese New Year including different dishes, which includes dumplings and new-year's rice-cake which is very popular in the south of China. When staying up, children can gain 压岁钱(yāsuìqián) gift money from their 长辈(zhăngbèi) seniorities, symbolizing good wishes for safeness. Many people also will put up 春联(chūnlián) Spring Festival couplets and New Year paintings on their doors and walls this day. 大年初一(dà nián chū yī) The first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families 拜年(bàinián) visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents. Celebrations for Chinese New Year vary from different places, but basically in China people will invite 舞龙舞狮(wǔlóng wǔshī) a dragon and lion dance troupe and 放鞭炮(fàng biānpào) set off fireworks and firecrackers as symbolic rituals to usher in the Lunar New Year as well as to evict bad spirits from the premises.
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