I.discuion of The Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival
In China, there are a number of old traditional festivals, such as the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming(Pure Brightne), Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.The dates of these festivals are determined by the lunar calendar.Many minority nationalities also celebrate other festivals with their ethnic characteristics.
The Spring Festival
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is the most important national holiday.It always falls on the date which marks the beginning of the spring, according to the lunar calendar.The celebration of the Spring Festival starts from the New Year’s Eve and ends on the 15th of the first month determined by the lunar calendar.To the Chinese the holiday is as important as Christmas in the West.By tradition, Chinese people will be busy buying presents, decorating their houses, preparing food and making new clothes for the New Year.All transportation, in particular the railway, will be busy taking Chinese back to their home town for a family reunion.
Preparations for the New Year begin the last few days of the last moon, when houses are thoroughly cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased.And in many homes, people burn incense at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.
Days before the New Year, all families thoroughly clean their houses hoping to sweep away all the ill-fortune and make way for good luck.People repaint their doors and windowpanes in red colour, which means good luck.They decorate the doors and windows with paper-cuts and couplets which usually show very popular themes such as “happine”, “wealth”, “longevity”and “satisfactory marriage with more children”.Paintings of the similar themes are also put up in the house.
The New Year’s Eve is very carefully observed.All family members sit together having a feast.One of the most popular courses in the north is jiaozi, or dumplings and southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao.In the old days, various kinds of delicious food were presented as tributes to the ancestors.After dinner, most people will sit up watching Spring Festival Gala Evening, special programs of Spring Festival staged by CCTV.Light is kept on the whole night.At midnight, there are usually fireworks lighting up the sky and fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year.
Getting up very early in the next morning, children will greet their parents, saying “guo nian hao”, which is the Chinese version of “Happy New Year”.The term “guo nian” means paing or surviving the year.After their greetings, children usually receive money wrapped with red paper as a gift.The neighbors will also pa greeting from door to door.The air is permeated with warmth and friendline.It is a great time for reconciliation.In the following days before the Lantern Festival, people will visit their relatives and friends and exchange gifts.
The Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival is an occasion of lantern show and folk dance.One of the typical food for the occasion is yuanxiao, sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice
flour and stuffed with fillings.Each year, there is an exhibition of coloured lanterns at night.Every family hangs red lanterns over their gates.Children carry all kinds of coloured laterns and in streets and squares, coloured lantern sheds are built for lantern exhibition.Willow trees are also decorated with coloured paper.Red lanterns are hung here and there on willow trees.The trees are called lantern trees or spark trees.Everyone goes out to see the lanterns and gue the riddles on the lanterns.
The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year season.Customs of observing the Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival vary from place to place acro the country, considering China is a large country, both demographically and ethnically.However, the spirit underlying the diverse celebrations is the same: a sincere wish of peace and happine for the family members and friends.Notes
1.lunar calendar 阴历，农历
2.ethnic characteristics民族特征
ethnic (=ethnical) adj.人种的, 种族的
3.family reunion 亲属的团聚
reunion重聚; 团圆a college reunion (大学)校友联欢会
burn incense: 烧香；焚香敬神
4.ill-fortune n.厄运
5.windowpanes n.窗玻璃
6.paper-cuts n.剪纸
7.couplets n.对联
8.longevity n.长寿，长命
9.observe vt.纪念; 庆祝(节日、生日等)
10.glutinousadj.粘的; 粘质的glutinous rice糯米
11.tribute n.贡物, 礼物, 颂辞
12.Spring Festival Gala Evening春节联欢晚会
13.stage vt.上演, 表演, 筹划
14.fireworks n.烟火
15.fire-crackers n.鞭炮
16.money wrapped with red paper 压岁钱
17.permeate vt..弥漫, 渗透, 充满Water will easily permeate a cotton dre
18.reconciliation n.和解, 和好, 复交,
19.stuffed with fillings.带馅的
stuff ---with用…把…堵住
filling n.充填物, 填料the filling of a pie
20.demographically adv.人口的
21.underlie vt.位于...之下, 成为...的基础
Does some personal difficulty underlie his lack of interest in work?
是否有某种个人困难引致他对工作缺乏兴趣？
II.The main fairs in Qingdao
Qingdao boasts a lot of festivals scattered in every month and each season.Annu ally, from January to March is \"Folks Tour in spring\".For example, Qingdao Turnip and Glutinous Rice Dumpling Fair; interesting match of turnip-carving will be held.It\'s a good chance to appreciate the folk art.Hai Yun An Temple Haw Festival and Tian Hou Temple Fair are also the main festivals.
1.turnipn.萝卜
Qingdao Turnip and Glutinous Rice Dumpling Fair 萝卜·元宵会
2.hawn.山楂
HaiYun An Temple Haw Festival 海云庵糖球会
3.TianHou Temple Fair 天后宫民俗会
Spring Festival Words
春节 The Spring Festival
农历 lunar calendar
正月 lunar January; the first month by lunar calendar
除夕 New Year\'s Eve; eve of lunar New Year
初一 the beginning of New Year
元宵节 The Lantern Festival
Customs:
过年 Guo-nian; have the Spring Festival
对联 poetic couplet: two succeive rhyming lines in poetry
春联 Spring Festival couplets
剪纸 paper-cuts
年画 New Year paintings
买年货 special purchases for the Spring Festival ; do Spring Festival shopping 敬酒 propose a toast
灯笼 lantern: a portable light
烟花 fireworks
爆竹 firecrackers (People scare off evil spirits and ghosts with the loud pop.)
红包 red packets (cash wrapped up in red paper, symbolize fortune and wealth in the coming
year.)
舞狮 lion dance (The lion is believed to be able to dispel evil and bring good luck.) 舞龙 dragon dance (to expect good weather and good harvests)
戏曲 traditional opera
杂耍 variety show; vaudeville
灯谜 riddles written on lanterns
灯会 exhibit of lanterns
守岁 staying-up
拜年 pay New Year\'s call; give New Year\'s greetings; New Year\'s visit
禁忌 taboo
去晦气 get rid of the ill- fortune
祭祖宗 offer sacrifices to one\'s ancestors
压岁钱 gift money; money given to children as a lunar New Year gift
Culture Note: In the old days, New Year\'s money was given in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together on a red string and symbolized the hope that one would live to be a hundred years old.Today, money is placed inside red envelopes in denominations considered auspicious and given to represent luck and wealth 辞旧岁 bid farewell to the old year
扫房 spring cleaning; general house-cleaning
Bleings:
金玉满堂 Treasures fill the home
生意兴隆 Busine flourishes
岁岁平安 Peace all year round
恭喜发财 Wishing you prosperity
和气生财 Harmony brings wealth
心想事成 May all your wishes come true
吉祥如意 Everything goes well
国泰民安 The country flourishes and people live in peace
招财进宝 Money and treasures will be plentiful
一帆风顺 Wishing you every succe
步步高升 Promoting to a higher position
出入平安 Safe trip wherever you go
祝你新的一年快乐幸福: Wish you happine and prosperity in the coming year!
事业成功，家庭美满: Wish you succe in your career and happine of your family! Food names:
年糕 Nian-gao; rise cake; New Year cake
团圆饭 family reunion dinner
年夜饭 the dinner on New Year\'s Eve
汤圆 Tang-yuan; dumplings made of sweet rice, rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or spicy fillings
八宝饭 eight treasures rice pudding
糖果盘 candy tray
