文/长沙新航道 尹雯

    “金风送喜来，迎春花已开，二月大地春雷锣鼓敲起来……” ——正如一首大家耳熟能详的歌曲中所唱的那样，一年一度的新春佳节又要在数亿中华儿女的欢呼中红红火火地热闹起来了。近些年来，中国独特的文化传统及民族习俗越来越多地受到国际友人的关注，其中，春节作为代表性的中国传统节日之一，更是随着千千万万的海外华人华侨的脚步传到了世界的各个角落。那么，值此辞旧迎新之际，让我们一起来盘点一下和春节有关的英语单词，如果你的身边恰巧有想要了解中国春节文化习俗的国际友人，相信此文能给你提供一定的话题素材。

Chinese New Year (or the Spring Festival) 春节

This is the time when all family members get together to celebrate the end of the old year and the start of the coming year. Millions of people who are away from home will choose to go back for this special period in a year, which often causes the busiest time of transportation systems in China.

Lunar Calendar (or Agricultural Calendar) 农历

According to the Lunar Calendar, which farmers rely on to plan planting and harvesting, Chinese New Year is not on a fixed date every year. It usually falls in the period between January and February of the Western Calendar. Generally speaking, a series of customs and practices for the Spring Festival is observed from the early days of the 12^th lunar month till the middle of the 1^st lunar month of the next year.

New Year’s Eve 除夕

One of the most important days during the Spring Festival is the night before Chinese New Year. After cleaning the house, people often put up decorations such as couplets (春联), the Chinese character ‘福’ and other special paintings, which usually contains words or pictures that express the house owners’ good wishes for the New Year. All family members will sit for a big dinner and after the dinner children may go out to set off firecrackers (or fireworks) or the family may watch the TV show specially designed for the Spring Festival.

The 1^st Day of the 1^st Lunar Month 正月初一

Dressed up in new clothes, people usually visit the elders and other relatives to extend their New Year’s greetings since this day. Children will receive special pocket money sealed in red envelops. A large variety of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing and temple fairs will be held for days, especially in rural areas.

The Lantern Festival 元宵节

On this day, apart from the celebrations and performances mentioned above, people like to go out for a walk with lanterns in hands. Normally, there will be a big exhibition of all kinds of beautiful lanterns in the local parks. Some people also enjoy guessing the riddles that are post on the lanterns. The Spring Festival comes to an end when the Lantern Festival, the 15^th day of the 1^st lunar month, is finished.

Traditional Food传统吃食

During the Spring Festival, there is a vast amount of traditional food on offer. People in northern China often eat jiaozi, or dumplings with meat and vegetable fillings, whereas most southern Chinese eat niangao, which is a kind of cake made of glutinous rice flour. For the Lantern Festival, another traditional food called yuanxiao is served. It is a kind of sweet dumpling made from sticky rice flour and filled with sweet stuffing.

Animal of the Year (or Chinese Zodiac) 生肖

There has been no exact date or origin of when and why animals are used as signs to represent a 12-year cyclic concept of time. The Chinese Zodiac consists of Rat (鼠), Ox (牛), Tiger (虎), Rabbit (兔), Dragon (龙), Snake (蛇), Horse (马), Goat (羊), Monkey (猴), Rooster (鸡), Dog (狗), and Pig (猪). To many Chinese, especially the elderly ones, the animal sign that a person was born under is just as important as his or her constellation in telling the person’s personality and other characteristics (Well, if you believe in horoscope…). The coming year, 2013, is the Year of the Snake.

    文章的最后，为大家附上几种最常用的春节祝福语及吉祥话，祝大家节日快乐，健康幸福！

    恭贺新禧 Happy New Year

    吉祥如意 Everything Goes Well

    恭喜发财 Wish You Prosperity

    年年有余 Surplus Year after Year

    岁岁平安 Peace All Year Round

    新春大吉 Good Luck in the New Year

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