Posted 2018/1/29
With more than 4,000 years history, the Spring Festival is the most important festival among four traditional Chinese festivals. It is the most grand and busiest festival in China.
The Spring Festival, also called Yuanri in ancient times, is the lunar New Year, popularly known as Guo Da Nian (passing a year). Spring Festival generally refers to New Year Eve and the First Day of New Year. However, the traditional Spring Festival starts from the 8th day of the 12th lunar month—the Laba Festival or the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month for worshipping for kitchen god, to the 15th day of the first lunar month. During this period, the New Year Eve and the First Day of New Year are the climax to celebrate.
As a comprehensive folk culture, there are many celebrating activities during the Spring Festival, such as worship, ceremony, holiday decoration, food and related entertainment activities. The main activities include eating porridge on the Laba festival, worshiping kitchen god on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, eating candies featured in Northeast flavor and sweet porridge, making dumplings, rice dumplings and rice cakes and having family reunion dinner on the New Year Eve, as well as pasting spring festival couplets, new year paintings, paper cutting and setting off fireworks, new year greetings and god worship on the first day of new year, starting business, welcoming fortunate gods, eating sweet dumplings, visiting lantern shows and guessing lantern riddles on the Lantern Festival.
In the long history, Spring Festival has continuously developed, experiencing a development from the beginning to maturity. Various customs have been formed with unique Chinese national characteristics. The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Han nationality. Other minority ethnical groups such as Manchu, Mongolia, Yao, Zhuang, Bai, Gaoshan, Hezhe, Hani, Dawoer, Dong and Li have their own customs to celebrate the New Year. Their celebrations are more colorful with distinctive ethnical characteristics.
