The Chinese Spring Festival – Tradition, Fun & Food!
1In China there are many festivals each year. During the festivals there are certain traditions, food, and activities that are included 
in each festival. Below are the traditions and food that are part of the Chinese Spring Festival.
The Importance of the Spring Festival:
In China, the Spring Festival is just like Christmas in America. Everyone goes home to visit with their family and friends for the festival and the Chinese New Year. The Spring Festival falls on the first day of the first lunar month, but the festival starts in the beginning of the twelfth lunar month and ends in the middle of the first lunar month of the next year.
This is one of the busiest times of year for the transportation systems, such as airports, trains, and bus stations due to everyone coming home to visit with their family during the festival. The Spring Festival originated back in 1600 BC – 1100 BC from the sacrifices made to the gods and ancestors, by the people, at the end of one year and the beginning of the new year.
Traditions & Holidays:
During the Spring Festival there are many traditions and holidays. For example, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month many families make laba porridge as a tradition. This porridge is made with rice, millet, Job’s tears seeds, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko. Also, on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month is the Preliminary Eve holiday. On this day people make sacrifices to the kitchen god and then they will usually have a family meal. Then they begin preparing for the New Year, which is called “Seeing the New Year in”.
Decorations:
It is also a tradition that everyone cleans their entire home, indoors and outdoors. They also wash all of their clothing, bed sheets, and clean any other utensils or items in their home. Once they have cleaned their homes they begin decorating for the Spring Festival and the New Year. They decorate to create an atmosphere of rejoice and festivity.
They cover their door panels in Spring Festival couplets and they highlight Chinese calligraphy by writing in black on red paper. The decorations vary from home to home and vary from wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. They also post pictures of the gods of doors and wealth on their front doors to keep away any evil spirits and to welcome peace and abundance.
They cover their door panels in Spring Festival couplets and they highlight Chinese calligraphy by writing in black on red paper. The decorations vary from home to home and vary from wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. They also post pictures of the gods of doors and wealth on their front doors to keep away any evil spirits and to welcome peace and abundance.
Food & Fun:
At this time of year store owners become very busy due to all of the materials that are being bought by families for their New Year’s celebrations. Some of the common materials that are bought for this occasion are chicken, duck, fish, meat, rice, flour, fruit, candies, and nuts. People also buy various gifts and decorations, such as new clothes and shoes or other gifts for their family and friends.
On the day of the Chinese New Year, children receive gifts of money wrapped in red paper for the New Year. Then, the families eat their New Year’s meal together. In the Northern parts of China they eat “jiaozi”, also known as dumplings, for breakfast because they think that “jiaozi” means to bid farewell to the old and welcome in the new.
In the South parts of China they eat niangao, which is a New Year’s cake that is made of rice flour. They eat niangao because the word “niangao”, as a homophone means “higher and higher, one year after another”.
There are many traditions, food and fun involved during the time of the Spring Festival, many of which have been mentioned above. They also light of fireworks and participate in other traditions, and as you can see the Chinese Spring Festival is very important in the Chinese culture.
Renee Varney is a writer and occasionally writes for delivery.com a site she uses to find local Food Delivery Online using their Chinese Delivery Local directory.
Further Reading
