Far and away the most important holiday in China is the Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year.

很久以来，中国最盛大的节日就是春节，也就是中国年。

To the Chinese people it is as important as Christmas to people in the West.

这一节日对中国人来说就像圣诞节对西方人一样重要。

The dates for this annual celebration are determined¹ by the lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, so the timing² of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

节日以中国农历而不是公历确定的，因此春节可能是1月底或2月初。

To the ordinary Chinese, the festival actually begins on the eve of the lunar New Year’s Day and ends on the fifth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.

一般说来春节真正开始于新年除夕而于正月十五结束。

But the 15th of the first month, which normally is called the Lantern Festival, means the official end of the Spring Festival in many parts of the country.

正月十五，也叫元宵节，也是我国大部分地区正式结束春节的那一天。

Preparations for the New Year begin in the last few days of the last moon，when houses are thoroughly³ cleaned, debts repaid, hair cut and new clothes purchased.

新年准备始于旧年最后一月的几天,此时通常是房子也打扫过，欠的债也清了，理发并买了新衣服。

Houses are festooned with paper scrolls⁴ bearing auspicious⁵ antithetical couplet and in many homes, people burn incense⁶ at home and in the temples to pay respects to ancestors and ask the gods for good health in the coming months.

房子也装饰上了祝福吉祥做春联，于是人们在家或庙宇焚上香叩拜先人或祈求诸神保佑家人来年身体健康。

“Guo Nian，”which means “passing the year, ” is the common term among the Chinese people for celebrating the Spring Festival. It actually means greeting the new year.

“过年”，又叫“过年关”，是中国人庆贺春节时互相道贺的语言。

At midnight at the turn of the old and new year, people used to let off fire-crackers which serve to drive away the evil spirits and to greet the arrival of the new year.

在新旧年交替的半夜吋分，人们便燃放鞭炮以驱除邪恶，迎接新年的到来。

In an instant the whole city would be engulfed⁷ in the deafening⁸ noise of the firecrackers.

瞬间，整座城市便被震耳欲聋的鞭炮声包围。

On New Year's Eve, all the members of families come together to feast.

除夕之夜，家里所有人聚在一起吃大餐。

Jiao-zi, a steamed dumpling, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous⁹ rice pudding called nian gao.

通常北方人吃饺子，而南方人则吃美味可口的年糕。