专题 03中国文化读写专项：春节+元宵节- 2024年高考英语常考中国文化读写专练+素材积累

Chapter II Traditional Festivals 传统节日 Lesson 1 Spring Festival春节 The first day of the first lunar month is regarded as the New Year of the Chinese – the Spring Festival. It is the most important and ceremonious traditional festival in China, just as Christmas Day to the westerners.  During the Spring Festival, every family is busy cleaning house in the hope of getting rid of defilements and preventing diseases. Also, they need to paste door-god, spring festival couplets, and the reversed Chinese character "福" (means blessing), and hang flags in the hope of praying for auspiciousness in the New Year. On the New Year's Eve, every family enjoys a grand dinner, shoots off firecrackers, plays dragon dance and lion dance, and stays up late or all night. People will pay a New Year call to one another from the first day, and it is not until the 15th day of the 1st lunar month, namely, the Lantern Festival, that the Spring Festival is ended. On the New Year's Eve, people working far away from home will manage to come back, regardless of long-distance travel, so the "Grand Dinner on New Year's Eve" is also called "Family Reunion Dinner". Whatever the financial condition is, every family will make the dinner the most sumptuous and ceremonious one in the year. Hostesses will fetch out foodstuffs prepared in early time and all family members will sit together and make dumplings with happiness. At twelve o'clock, when a new year drives off the old, every family will shoot off firecrackers to greet new days and send off old ones. Following the New Year's Eve is the first day of the Spring Festival, a day for paying a New Year call (bainian), during which people will be busy in giving best wishes to one another by saying such auspicious phrases as "Happy New Year" and "May you be prosperous", etc. In New Year's days, elders will put some money in a red pocket (yasuiqian) and give it to children as a gift. It is believed that on New Year's Day attention should be paid to ensure no