The Spring Festival

In China, New Year's Day is a solemn occasion. This is the time for a family reunion. All family quarrels have been amiably settled and forgotten. Before the eve of the New Year, everyone tries to come back home from every corner of the country to join the entire family, just like Americans' practice for Christmas, to greet the New Year. A New Year family banquet is served. After the meal, the table is cleared, dishes washed and put away. Then it is time to undertake final preparations to meet the New Year.

The burning of long strings of firecrackers accompanies the Eve of the New Year. Firecrackers are usually strung on a long fused string so it can be hung down. Each firecracker is rolled up in red papers, as red is auspicious, with gunpowder in its core. Once ignited, the firecracker lets out a loud popping noise and as they are usually strung together by the hundreds, the firecrackers are known for its deafening explosions that it is thought to scare away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations. Most adults and children do not touch their bed the whole night, busying at all kinds of activities welcoming the New Year.

Starting from the New Year's Day, people go out to visit friends and relatives, taking with them gifts such as fruits, wines, flowers, etc. and spreading their good wishes for the coming year. The entire fornight is a time of socializing and amusement. Common expressions heard at this time are: Xin Nian Hao (Happy New Year)!

Foods

Since the Sping Festival marks the first day of a brand new year, the family banquet is very important. In Northern China, people usually eat Jiaozi or dumplings shaped like a crescent moon. It is said that dumplings were first known in China some 1,600 years ago. Jiaozi means midnight or the end and the beginning of time. According to historical records, people from both north and south ate dumplings on Chinese New Year's Day. Perhaps because Southern China produced more rice than any other area, gradually, southern people had many more other choices on New Year's Day.

In additon to Jiaozi, the most common foods for the first meal of the Spring Festival are noodles, New Year Cakes and Tangtuan, a kind of round sweet dumplings. Both the cakes and dumplings are made of glutinous rice flour. In China, the noodle symbolizes longevity. The New Year Cake is called Niangao in Chinese. It conveys the hope of improvement in life year after year; the round sweet dumpling is a symbol of reunion.