Global Talk丨Spring Festival Celebrated Worldwide, Episode I

Global Talk丨Spring Festival Celebrated Worldwide, Episode I

Global Talk新春特别版丨世界共享中国年①

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Do you know what are the customs on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year?

你知道大年初一有什么习俗吗？一起来看！

The first day of Chinese New Year, also known as the "day of chicken", officially begins at midnight.

午夜零点时分，人们正式跨入新年第一天，也叫“金鸡报晓”。

It is traditional to light firecrackers and make as much of a din as possible to chase off the evil monster Nian.

燃放鞭炮是传统习俗，其目的是为了制造大的喧闹声，从而赶走邪恶的妖怪“年”。

Fundamentally the oldest and most senior family members are visited for the sake of strengthening the family kinship.

还有一项更重要的习俗，那就是晚辈一定要去长辈家里走亲戚，以增强家人之间的亲情。

Senior members of the family hand out red envelopes containing cash (also known as ya sui qian in Chinese), a form of blessing to suppress aging and the challenges of the coming year, mostly given to the junior members, teenagers and childrenof the family.

家中的长辈则会给晚辈（主要是儿童和青少年）红包（中国人称之压岁钱），代表着对晚辈的祝福，也是祈祷自己在来年身体康健、万事如意。

The visitor will bring a small gift to the household which will be visited - usually two mandarin oranges, as the fruit symbolizes gold, alternatively wealth and good fortune. Giving oranges in pairs because of the preference of number two in Chinese culture as there is an idiom saying hao shi cheng shuang or good things come in pairs.

来访者会给到访的家庭带去一份小礼物——通常是两个橙子，因为橙子是金色的，象征着财富和好运。在中国文化中，之所以会送一组橙子，是因为人们更喜欢双数，因此有一个成语——好事成双。（杨佳欣）