The Spring Festival
春节是中国农历新年（农历正月初一），是中华民族最隆重、最具仪式感的传统节日，核心内涵是辞旧迎新、阖家团圆、祈福纳祥，其习俗和文化细节贯穿“年前、除夕、春节当天”三个阶段：
一、春节的核心起源
春节源于上古时期的“岁首祈年祭”，古人会在岁首（农历正月）祭拜天地、祖先，祈求来年丰收；后来融合了“年兽传说”（相传“年”是凶兽，怕红、怕响，于是有贴红联、放爆竹的习俗），逐渐形成如今的节日框架，至今已有数千年历史。
二、关键习俗及细节（分阶段）
- 年前准备（腊月二十三至除夕前）
- 扫尘（腊月二十四）：俗称“扫房”，全家打扫房屋、清理杂物，寓意“扫除晦气，迎接新年”，是辞旧的重要仪式。
- 办年货：采购食品（如腊肉、糖果、春联、灯笼）、新衣，尤其讲究“穿新衣、戴新帽”，象征“新年新气象”。
- 贴春联/福字：除夕前一天贴春联，上联贴门右侧、下联贴门左侧（按面对门的方向），横批贴门楣；“福”字常倒贴，谐音“福到（倒）”，寓意福气降临。
- 祭灶（腊月二十三/二十四）：北方多为二十三，南方多为二十四，祭拜“灶王爷”，供品用糖瓜（黏住灶王爷的嘴，让他上天言好事），祈求全家平安。
- 除夕（农历十二月三十/二十九，一年中最后一天）
- 年夜饭（团圆饭）：全家团聚的核心环节，菜品有固定寓意：
- 鱼（“年年有余”，多为完整的鱼，不吃完留到明年）；
- 饺子（北方必吃，形状像元宝，寓意“招财进宝”，部分饺子会包硬币，吃到者来年有好运）；
- 年糕（南方常见，“糕”谐音“高”，寓意“步步高升”）。
- 守岁：除夕夜全家熬夜到凌晨，长辈守岁“辞旧岁”，晚辈守岁“为长辈添福寿”，期间会聊天、看春晚、放鞭炮（部分地区改为电子鞭炮，兼顾习俗与环保）。
- 发压岁钱：长辈在守岁后给晚辈红包，红包用红纸包裹，寓意“压住邪祟，保晚辈平安”，现在也有晚辈给长辈发“孝心红包”的新习俗。
- 春节当天（农历正月初一）
- 拜年：清晨先拜家里长辈，说“新年好”“身体健康”等吉祥话；之后走亲访友拜年，顺序多为“先近后远、先长后幼”，体现礼仪。
- 禁忌：当天有传统禁忌，如不扫地（怕扫走福气）、不吵架、不打碎器物（若打碎需说“岁岁平安”化解），寓意全年顺利。
三、春节的文化内涵
春节不仅是节日，更是中华民族的“文化符号”：它强化了“家庭团圆”的伦理观念，传承了“感恩祖先、祈福未来”的传统，也成为全球华人联结情感的重要纽带——无论身处何地，春节回家团圆都是多数华人的共同选择。
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year (the first day of the first lunar month), is the most solemn and ceremony-filled traditional festival of the Chinese nation. Its core essence lies in bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, family reunion, and praying for blessings and good fortune. Its customs and cultural details run through three stages: before the New Year, New Year's Eve, and the day of the Spring Festival.
I. The Core Origin of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival originated from the "New Year's First Prayer Ceremony" in ancient times. Ancient people would worship heaven and earth and their ancestors at the beginning of the year (the first lunar month), praying for a bountiful harvest in the coming year. Later, the "Nian Beast Legend" (it is said that "Nian" is a fierce beast, afraid of red and noise, so there were customs of pasting red couplets and setting off firecrackers) was integrated, gradually forming the current framework of the festival, which has a history of several thousand years to date.
Ii. Key Customs and Details (in Stages)
Preparations before the New Year (from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to before New Year's Eve)
- Sweeping the dust (the 24th day of the 12th lunar month) : Commonly known as "sweeping the house", the whole family cleans the house and clears away the clutter, symbolizing "sweeping away bad luck and welcoming the New Year", and it is an important ritual to bid farewell to the old year.
- Buying New Year goods: Purchasing food (such as cured meat, candies, couplets, lanterns) and new clothes, especially emphasizing "wearing new clothes and new hats", symbolizing "a new look in the New Year".
- Paste Spring Festival couplets/" Fu "characters: Paste Spring Festival couplets on the day before New Year's Eve. The upper couplet should be pasted on the right side of the door, the lower couplet on the left side of the door (in the direction facing the door), and the horizontal inscription on the door lintel. The character "Fu" is often pasted upside down, which sounds like "Fu arrives (upside down)" in Chinese, symbolizing the arrival of good fortune.
- Kitchen God Worship (23rd or 24th day of the twelfth lunar month) : In the north, it is mostly on the 23rd day, while in the south, it is mostly on the 24th. People worship the "Kitchen God" and offer sugar melons (sticking the mouth of the Kitchen God to let him speak good things to heaven), praying for the safety of the whole family.
- New Year's Eve (the 30th or 29th day of the 12th lunar month, the last day of the year
- New Year's Eve dinner (reunion dinner) : The core part of family gathering, and the dishes have fixed meanings:
- Fish (" surplus every year ", mostly whole fish, not eaten up and kept for next year);
- Dumplings (a must-eat in the north, shaped like ingots, symbolizing "attracting wealth and treasures", some dumplings contain coins, and those who eat them will have good luck in the coming year);
- Nian gao (common in the south, "gao" sounds like "high" in Chinese, symbolizing "continuous promotion").
- Staying up late on New Year's Eve: On New Year's Eve, the whole family stays up until the early hours of the morning. Elders stay up late to bid farewell to the old year, while younger generations do so to add longevity and good fortune to their elders. During this period, they chat, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and set off firecrackers (in some areas, they switch to electronic firecrackers to balance customs and environmental protection).
- Giving lucky money: After staying up late on New Year's Eve, elders give red envelopes to the younger generation. The red envelopes are wrapped in red paper, symbolizing "suppressing evil spirits and ensuring the safety of the younger generation". Nowadays, there is also a new custom of younger generations giving "filial piety red envelopes" to their elders.
- On the Spring Festival day (the first day of the first lunar month)
- New Year Greetings: In the early morning, first pay respects to the elders at home and say auspicious words such as "Happy New Year" and "Good health". After that, when visiting relatives and friends and paying New Year's greetings, the order is mostly "close first, then distant; older first, then younger", which reflects etiquette.
- Taboos: There are traditional taboos on that day, such as not sweeping the floor (for fear of sweeping away good fortune), not quarrelling, and not breaking objects (if broken, say "Peace and Safety every year" to resolve it), symbolizing a smooth year ahead.
Iii. The Cultural Connotations of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is not only a festival but also a "cultural symbol" of the Chinese nation: it strengthens the ethical concept of "family reunion", carries forward the tradition of "being grateful to ancestors and praying for the future", and has also become an important bond for Chinese people around the world to connect emotionally - no matter where they are, going home for reunion during the Spring Festival is the common choice of the majority of Chinese people.