春节将至，看着满大街的红灯笼，是时候给“歪果仁"扫扫盲了。但要是有个歪果仁问你春节的故事解释不明白，那真是糗大了。

快来看看怎样用“高逼格”的方式给老外讲春节的故事。

春节 

Spring Festival/Lunar New Year /Chinese New Year

春节是中国人每年最重要的节日，犹如西方的圣诞节。春节意指农历新年的第一天。而春节的庆祝一般从农历旧年的12月1日开始，意指持续到农历新年的1月中。而其中最重要的就是除夕以及新年的前三天。

The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. The Spring Festival falls on the 1st day of the 1st lunar month. Strictly speaking, the Spring Festival starts every year in the early days of the 12th lunar month and will last till the mid 1st lunar month of the next year. Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days.

腊八粥

Laba Porridge

在农历12月8日这天，很多中国家庭要吃腊八粥。是用8种谷梁包括：糯米、小米、薏米、大枣、莲子、豆类、龙眼、银杏等制作的一种美食。

On the 8th day of the 12th lunar month, many families make laba porridge, a delicious kind of porridge made with glutinous rice, millet, seeds of Job's tears, jujube berries, lotus seeds, beans, longan and gingko.

小年

Preliminary Eve

农历12月23日这天也被称为小年。在这个时候，人们通常要献祭给厨神。但是现在，大多数家庭仅仅是一家人团聚一起享用一顿美食大餐。

The 23rd day of the 12th lunar month is called Preliminary Eve. At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god. Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.

扫尘 Dust Sweep

新年前，人们会为自己的家或商铺进行一次内外大扫除，并换上全新的床单，穿上新衣，表示“除旧迎新”。

Before the New Year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.

贴春联 & 贴年画  

Pasting Spring Couplets & Pasting New Year Prints

小年以后，家家户户都要贴春联。一般是在大门的两侧贴上对应的祈福之言，但每家每户的春联内容可能都不相同。也有一些人家将印有门神或财神的年画贴在正门上，以迎接新一年好运的到来。

People begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels will be pasted with Spring Festival couplets, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. The content varies from house owners' wishes for a bright future to good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.

接福Up-sided Fu

在中文里，福字寓意吉祥美好。而很多中国家庭喜欢将福字倒过来贴在家里的墙上或门口大门上。寓意迎接福气进门，或福气到家。而也有人家将代表美好期望的窗花贴在窗上或玻璃上迎接崭新的一年。

The Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. The character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in Chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." What's more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. Red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored New Year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.

饺子 & 年糕

dumpling/ jiaozi & rice cake/ nian gao

新年的第一天，中国北方人要吃饺子，意思为新旧交替的“交子”。另外，由于饺子的形状非常想中国旧时的货币元宝，因此吃饺子也有招财进宝的意思。

People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, in the first day of new year, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

中国的南方在新年则要吃年糕，是一种用米面制作的糕点。因为年糕的发音与年高同音，因此也有“一年更比一年高的吉祥寓意”。

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour) on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one year after another."

放鞭炮

Setting off Firecrackers

放鞭炮几乎是春节期间不可缺少的活动之一，人们希望用炮竹声赶走上一年的恶运。

Burning fireworks was once the most typical custom on the Spring Festival. People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits.

拜年& 压岁钱 & 红包

New Year's Visit & lucky Money & red packet

春节后的前五天，很多人家会在这时拜亲访友，交换礼物。

The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to visit each other, exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

人们见面时，会将准备好的放有现金的红包送给亲朋好友以示美好的祝福。在中国的南方，一般是结婚的给未结婚的人发红包。在中国的北方，则是年龄稍长的人给25岁以下的年轻人，或没有结婚没有工作的人发红包。

People put lucky money in red envelopes and give to their relatives and friends, to represent their best wishes and blessing of the new year. In Southern China, red envelopes are typically given by the married to the unmarried, most of whom are children. In Northern China, red envelopes are typically given by the elders to the youngers under 25 who does not have a job, regardless of marital status.