An Interpretation of the Origin and Customs of the Chinese Spring Festival

Table of Contents

1. Overview of the Spring Festival

- Definition and time of the Spring Festival
- Origin and significance of the Spring Festival
- Cultural influence of the Spring Festival

2. Historical changes of the Spring Festival

- The prototype of the Spring Festival in ancient times
- Harvest festivals and sacrificial activities
- Sacrificial ceremonies at the end of the year and the beginning of the year
- Qin and Han Dynasties
- October New Year and the first day of the first month
- Royal celebrations and folk customs
- Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
- New Year's etiquette and the first day of the first month
- Folk celebrations and divination customs
- Sui and Tang Dynasties
- New Year's Day legal holiday
- Folk and royal celebrations
- Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
- Court etiquette and folk customs
- Festival evolution in different periods

3. Changes of the Spring Festival in modern times

- The Xinhai Revolution and the naming of the Spring Festival
- Calendar changes in the Republic of China
- The positioning of the Spring Festival after the founding of New China

4. Customs and celebrations of the Spring Festival

- Traditional customs
- Eating Laba porridge
- Pasting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures
- Staying up all night on New Year's Eve and giving lucky money
- Modern celebrations
- Different customs in cities and rural areas
- Spring Festival activities at home and abroad

5. The cultural value and global influence of the Spring Festival

- The status of the Spring Festival as an intangible cultural heritage
- The craze for celebrating the Spring Festival overseas

6. Conclusion

- The cultural heritage and future development of the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is one of the most solemn and distinctive traditional festivals in the Chinese folk. Most people also call it the Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year. It is the most famous and important festival in Chinese culture.

Chinese culture, as well as some other Asian cultures such as Japan and Korea, use the lunar calendar instead of our standard Gregorian calendar. The lunar calendar has only 354 days, while the Gregorian calendar has 365 days. Due to this difference, the Chinese New Year is not on January 1st every year, but on the first day of the first lunar month. The Gregorian calendar date is different every year, but it is always between January 21st and February 20th.

The Spring Festival has a long history. It originated from the primitive beliefs and nature worship of early humans. It evolved from the ancient times of praying for the year. It is a primitive religious ritual. People will hold sacrificial activities at the beginning of the year to pray for a good harvest and prosperity of people and livestock in the coming year. This sacrificial activity gradually evolved into various celebrations over time, and eventually formed today's Spring Festival. The term "Spring Festival" began to be used after the famous Xinhai Revolution.

During the Spring Festival, the Han Chinese and many ethnic minorities in China hold various activities to celebrate. These activities are mainly about worshipping ancestors, praying for thanksgiving, family reunion, getting rid of the old and bringing in the new, welcoming the New Year and praying for a good harvest, and have strong ethnic characteristics. There are many folk customs during the Spring Festival, including drinking Laba porridge, worshiping the Kitchen God, sweeping the house, pasting Spring Festival couplets, pasting New Year pictures, pasting the word "Fu" upside down, staying up on New Year's Eve, eating dumplings, giving lucky money, paying New Year's greetings, and visiting temple fairs.

Influenced by Chinese culture, some countries and regions in the world also have the custom of celebrating the New Year. From Egypt in Africa to Brazil in South America, from the Empire State Building in New York to the Sydney Opera House, the Chinese Lunar New Year has set off a "Chinese style" all over the world. The Spring Festival is rich and colorful, and has important historical, artistic and cultural values. In 2006, the Spring Festival folk customs were approved by the State Council of China to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists.

On December 4, 2024, the 19th Ordinary Session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Asuncion, Paraguay, passed the review and decided to include "Spring Festival - Chinese Social Practice of Celebrating the Traditional New Year" in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Since the Spring Festival is the most important festival among all Chinese festivals, a lot of preparation is required, and the festival itself is not just one or two days, but a total of 15 days. Not only that, on the 15th day after the Lunar New Year, we also celebrate another important festival, which is the Lantern Festival.

In order to further understand the importance of the Spring Festival and how to celebrate it, let's first discuss the history and legends behind the celebration of the Chinese New Year, which will help us understand why the Spring Festival is so important to Chinese culture and various Asian cultures around the world.

Historical Changes

Ancient Spring Festival Prototype

The Harvest Festival is the original origin of the Spring Festival. The development direction of China's agricultural life was established in the Neolithic Age. The seasonal festivals in agricultural China follow the rhythm of life in agricultural society. The sacrifices and celebrations after the harvest naturally became the boundary of the annual cycle. In ancient society, people understood the daily time process from the perspective of divinity. The seasonal sacrificial activities accompanied the four seasons. People used various seasonal sacrificial rituals to interrupt their daily lives to communicate with the gods of heaven, earth, and ghosts. The winter and spring seasons at the end of the year and the beginning of the year are particularly concerned. Traditional large-scale seasonal sacrificial ceremonies are often held at this specific time. The so-called sacrifice, according to the explanation of "Shuowen", is to offer meat to the gods. Offering food to the gods is the basic way of traditional Chinese sacrifice. The Chinese believe that offering the best or seasonal food to the gods is like entertaining guests with delicacies in the world, which can well express their sincerity. The seasonal activities of the ancient Spring Festival were mainly to sacrifice to the gods and pray for a good harvest of grain.

The ancient Spring Festival sacrifices were mainly group public sacrifices at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. The objects of sacrifice were the heaven, earth, mountains and rivers, ancestral temples and the land. The offerings were rich and the ceremonies were grand and regular. It was an important part of the tribal group or national ritual system. The sacrifice was presided over by the emperor, and the participants were civil and military officials.

The year-end sacrifice was a grand summary sacrifice to the gods of heaven, earth and the world at the end of the year. In the historical material "Book of Rites", there are two forms of the year-end sacrifice: one is "Da Yin Zheng", which is a grand sacrifice in the ancestral temple, and at the same time, sacrifices are made to the sun, moon, stars, public community gods, door gods, and the five daily sacrifices of door, door, Zhonglu, stove, and travel. The time is in the tenth month of the Xia calendar, which is the last month of the Zhou calendar, so a grand sacrifice is made to the gods. One is the Da La sacrifice, which is the end-of-year Da La sacrifice. It was called Jiaping in the Xia Dynasty, Qingsi in the Shang Dynasty, and Da La in the Zhou Dynasty. It was sacrificed to eight gods, including Xianse, Sise, Baizhong, Nong, Youbiao, Qinshou, Fang, and Shuiyong.

The emperor must go to the east suburbs to welcome the air on the day of the beginning of spring. On the Spring Festival, the Zhou Emperor wore green clothes, rode a green carriage, and led the three dukes, nine ministers, princes, and doctors to the eastern suburbs to welcome the spring. Then, an auspicious day of the Heavenly Stems was chosen this month, such as the Xin Day, to hold a suburban sacrifice to the Heaven and pray for a good harvest to the God. After the suburban sacrifice, the Zhou Emperor also chose an auspicious Earthly Branch day, such as the Hai Day, to hold a farming ceremony. The Emperor personally brought farming tools such as plows and hoes, and surrounded by the three dukes, nine ministers, princes, and doctors, entered the fields to carry out symbolic farming. This is what is often mentioned in history books as "Gonggen Di Ji", that is, the King of Zhou personally went to the fields to work for the Heavenly Emperor and prayed for a good harvest this year. This ritual of praying for a good harvest in the suburban area after the Spring Festival in the first month of the year became a political event for dynasties.

In ancient society, people worshipped nature, and their seasonal beliefs reflected people's respect for the mysterious nature. Although the Spring Festival has not yet appeared as an official name, its significance as a seasonal festival has been formed. People regard the end of the year and the beginning of the year when the Spring Festival falls as a period of special divine significance, and through pious rituals, they achieve communication and exchanges with the heaven and earth.

After the Qin and Han Dynasties

After the Qin and Han Dynasties, Chinese society gradually broke away from the influence of early primitive religious beliefs, and the coordination of seasonal festivals and social life received attention. As the beginning of the year, the Spring Festival has obvious social significance after the Qin and Han Dynasties. The court regards the beginning of the year as an opportunity to show and strengthen the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects, and the folks regard it as a good time for family gatherings in the countryside.

Qin Dynasty to the middle of the Han Dynasty

From the Qin Dynasty to the middle of the Han Dynasty, the beginning of the year was in the tenth month of the Xia calendar, and the first day of October was the New Year. In the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (104 BC), the month of the beginning of the year was determined to be the month of Jianyin (the first month of the Xia calendar), and it has been followed by successive generations since then. This is close to the beginning of spring in the four seasons, and the time of the beginning of the year and the beginning of the four seasons is basically in sync, and the beginning of the year and the New Year are celebrated at the same time. The October New Year of the Qin Dynasty was called "Qin Suishou" in the Han Dynasty, and its celebration rituals were also preserved. "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" still records that "Qin Suishou" in the Southern Dynasties ate millet and meat soup, and then evolved into "Cold Clothes Festival" in later generations.

After the middle of the Han Dynasty

After the middle of the Han Dynasty, the beginning of the year was on the first day of the first lunar month, called the first day of the first lunar month, the first day of the first lunar month, and the first day of the first lunar month. The beginning of the first lunar month was determined after the royal family established the calendar, so "Historical Records·Book of Heaven" said: The first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of the king's year. The first day of the first lunar month was an important celebration day for the royal family in the Han Dynasty. The court held a large-scale court meeting, "every year at the beginning of the first lunar month is a grand court to receive congratulations." The emperor went to court early in the morning of the first lunar month to accept the congratulations of civil and military officials, and at the same time, the officials also received the gift of New Year's banquets.

Under the influence of the court, the king's year gradually became a major folk festival. In the Han Dynasty, the folk customs of the New Year festival were moved from the traditional La Day and La Ming Day to the "Zheng Day" of the first lunar month. Cui Shi of the Eastern Han Dynasty recorded the sacrificial ceremonies and celebrations of the first day of the year in the folk during the Eastern Han Dynasty. Predicting the year at the beginning of the year was one of the main customs of the first day of the Han Dynasty. People in the Han Dynasty predicted the drought and flood, and the harvest of the year on the first day of the first month.

Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the beginning of the year was called Yuanzheng, Yuanri, and Yuanhui. The first day of the year was still a grand ceremony of the court. Due to the lack of records in historical books, only a general situation of the Yuanhui ceremony in the Wei Dynasty can be known.

On the evening before the first day of the first month, court officials sat outside the Duanmen Gate, and ceremonial guards such as big music and drums were set up in front of the palace. Before the fifth hour of the night, the ministers entered the hall and took their seats. The emperor sat down, and the ministers stood up, and then congratulated in turn until dawn. The emperor accepted the congratulations of the vassal kings, envoys, and officials in several stages, and the officials bowed and said long live the emperor. The emperor gave everyone wine and food. During the New Year's Day in the Six Dynasties, a white tiger jar was set up in the palace courtyard. There was a white tiger on the jar cover. If you could speak out and give advice in the palace courtyard, you could open this jar and drink. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the winter solstice celebration ceremony was abolished.

Sui and Tang Spring Festival

The Sui and Tang Spring Festival was called New Year's Day, Sui Day, and Yuanzheng. New Year's Day is the festival of the New Year. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Spring Festival has been designated as a government statutory holiday. The "Fake Ning Order" during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty stipulated that New Year's Day and Winter Solstice would each be given a seven-day holiday. The seven-day New Year's Day holiday is three days before the New Year and three days after the New Year. Every New Year's Day, the court held a morning court ceremony as usual to celebrate the New Year.

Due to the prosperity of the officials in the morning court, Chang'an was like a "fire city". The Zhongshu Menxia led the civil and military officials to pay tribute and celebrate, and the eunuchs announced the answer. The congratulatory letters from various local roads were accepted by the Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Rites, who took the congratulatory letter from the highest-ranking official and knelt down to read the congratulatory letter. On the New Year's Day, families gather together and celebrate with banquets. Bai Juyi spent the festival with his family in Jiangnan and felt the warmth of family affection, as evidenced by the poem "New Year's Day Family Banquet Playfully Showing My Brothers and Nephews and Presenting to Zhang Shiyu Yin Judge" .

Drinking on New Year's Day is a congratulation to young people for their new year, and it is also a blessing to the elderly. The custom of praying for longevity on New Year's Day is popular. In the second year of Huichang (842) of Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty, Japanese monk Ennin spent the Spring Festival in Chang'an. He recorded the situation at that time in "Travels to Tang Dynasty to Seek Dharma and Pilgrimage": On the first day of the first month, every family set up bamboo poles and hung banners. Pray for longevity in the new year. The custom of cutting ribbons and wearing a phoenix was very common in the Tang Dynasty. The phoenix is ​​a headdress with special religious significance. At that time, most of the phoenixes were cut from colored silk.

Song Dynasty

In the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the Spring Festival was called New Year's Day or New Year's Day. The New Year's Day court ceremony was still an important ceremony for the royal family. The "New Year's Day Grand Court Meeting" in Dongjing (now Kaifeng) of the Northern Song Dynasty was grand and majestic. The emperor sat in the Daqing Hall, and four burly warriors stood in the corners of the hall, called "Generals of the Palace". The hall was decorated with ceremonial guards, and all officials wore court robes and crowns. The top candidates of various provinces also wore official uniforms and stood in the court. Officials from various states presented tributes with local specialties. The New Year's Court Meeting in the Song Dynasty was more solemn than that in the Tang Dynasty, showing the majesty of imperial power.

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty learned the Han Dynasty's rituals, and the New Year's Court Meeting was also grand and grand. On the first day of the first month, all officials waited for the time at Chongtian Gate, and also entered the court at five o'clock in the evening. The emperor and the empress successively entered the Daming Hall, and waited for the morning official to announce the time. All officials entered the hall from the Rijing Gate and Yuehua Gate on the left and right, standing in two shifts, bowing and kneeling to the emperor and the empress. The prime minister presented a blessing: All the heavens and the earth, pray for the great blessings of heaven and earth, and wish the emperor and the empress a long life.

Then the emperor was given three servings of wine, and the music was played by the Jiaofang. Then the congratulatory letters and gift lists from the central and local officials were read out, and monks, Taoist priests, elders, and foreign guests came to congratulate one after another. After the ceremony, the kings, clan members, princes-in-law, and ministers were given a banquet in the palace. The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty inherited the ritual of the Chinese New Year's court meeting, showing a peaceful atmosphere in the grand New Year celebration.

Ming Dynasty

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, frugality was advocated, and the ceremony of court meetings was not very particular. Court meetings were just routine affairs and had little impact on national life. People hurried to court and leave court on New Year's Day, while the private interactions between court officials seemed more lively. Even in the palace, people valued daily festival activities rather than court ceremonies.

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the New Year, and the palace New Year celebration was very luxurious. First, all officials entered the palace to kneel down, then there was a tea ceremony, singing and dancing performances, and variety shows, and finally ended with Shao music. If it is the emperor's birthday or the tenth anniversary of the National Day, a "special banquet" will be held, and the ceremony and content will be more grand and rich.

Modern times

After the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China in 1911, Chinese society underwent major changes. Official festivals and folk traditional festivals separated, and the status of the Spring Festival in public society often changed. Of course, folk society still enjoys its own traditional festivals as always.

On January 1, 1912, after Sun Yat-sen took office as the provisional president in Nanjing, he officially sent a telegram to all provinces, and the Republic of China switched to the solar calendar, with November 13, 4609 in the Yellow Emperor's era as the first year of the Republic of China. After Yuan Shikai was elected as the provisional president, he continued to promote the new calendar. There are two calendar systems in China. One is the Western solar calendar system promoted by the government, which is used as the time standard for public administration, law enforcement, and international exchanges; the other is the traditional society's yin-yang calendar system, which people are accustomed to using to serve farming time and daily social life. In the early years of the Republic of China, although the government vigorously promoted the new calendar, it also took into account the needs of people's lives and adopted a compromise approach.

In January 1914, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Beijing government proposed in a petition to Yuan Shikai: It is proposed to set the lunar calendar (Lunar New Year) as the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival as the Summer Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival as the Autumn Festival, and the Winter Solstice as the Winter Festival. All our citizens can rest, and public servants are also allowed to take a day off. Yuan Shikai approved the petition. As a result, the traditional Lunar New Year was officially renamed "Spring Festival" in an official sense, and the traditional New Year's Day and New Year were placed on January 1 of the Gregorian calendar. However, ordinary people do not pay attention to the Gregorian New Year's Day, and still call the first day of the first lunar month the New Year. There are two New Years in Chinese society, one is the Gregorian New Year's Day of the "Republic of China New Year", and the other is the Lunar New Year of the "National New Year".

On the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference stipulated on September 27, 1949: "The People's Republic of China adopts the Gregorian calendar." On December 23, 1949, the State Council passed the "National Holidays and Memorial Days Holidays Regulations", which stipulated the holiday dates for statutory holidays such as Spring Festival and New Year's Day. Spring Festival as the name of the Lunar New Year is more widely used throughout the country, so there are two New Years in a year: New Year's Day of the Gregorian calendar and Spring Festival of the Lunar New Year.

Legends and folklore behind the Chinese New Year

Like other Chinese festivals, there are many different legends and traditions behind the Spring Festival. However, one of the most popular and well-known folklore of the Spring Festival is about the mysterious monster named Nian.

Legend has it that Nian always appears on New Year's Eve. Nian always brings trouble to the people of this land: eating cattle, destroying crops, and even eating people. One day, an immortal hermit predicted that Nian was actually afraid of the color red and the loud noise made by firecrackers. After hearing this, the people prepared to drive Nian away.

They began to wear all kinds of red accessories, red clothes, red paper amulets, red lanterns, and even painted their houses red. They also prepared firecrackers to scare away Nian. Long story short, after they did all these things, Nian stopped attacking the village, so people could live a peaceful life.

This folklore became the basis for various traditions and activities during the Spring Festival. That's why people have the tradition of wearing red clothes and accessories to celebrate the Chinese New Year, as well as setting off firecrackers, etc.

Festival preparations for celebrating the Spring Festival

Since the Chinese New Year is the most important of all Chinese festivals, there are quite a lot of preparations every year, just like Western countries prepare for Christmas. Here are some of the important preparations:

Buying New Year's goods

China's New Year culture has a long history, and various New Year's customs have evolved across the country, which are very different from north to south and each has its own characteristics. Although customs vary from place to place, preparing New Year's goods and sending New Year's gifts are "must-haves" for almost all parts of the country.. Buying New Year's goods, including food, clothing, accessories, things to use, things to post (New Year's red), gifts to send (New Year's greetings), etc., are collectively called "New Year's goods", and the process of purchasing New Year's goods is called "making New Year's goods". Making New Year's goods is an important activity for Chinese people to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Cleaning and dust removal

Before the Spring Festival, Chinese people often let the whole family clean the environment and wash various utensils together. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of cleaning and welcoming the New Year in a clean manner. Sweeping the dust before the New Year means "removing the old and bringing in the new". The purpose of sweeping the dust is to sweep away all the bad luck and bad luck, so as to pray for a clear and auspicious year in the coming year. They also believe that replacing old furniture with new furniture is a way to bring good luck and good fortune to their home.

Decorating the house

Another important preparation is to decorate the house with all the Spring Festival decorations and accessories: red lanterns, spring couplets, pictures, etc. This is considered a kind of prayer to invite good luck to the house and fill it with good luck energy, expressing good wishes, and is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, whether in the city or in the countryside, every household will decorate and select a big red couplet to paste on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival.

Return to the family for reunion during the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival every year has a very important meaning of family reunion. Even if family members live in different cities and countries, they must return to their parents' home for reunion during the Spring Festival.

During this reunion, a family dinner is indispensable, and they often share stories of the year at the table. The following are some important activities during the family reunion:

Set off firecrackers

There is a saying among the Chinese people that "open the door firecrackers", that is, when the new year comes, the first thing every household does when opening the door is to burn firecrackers, and use the sound of beeping firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers", "firecrackers", and "firecrackers". The original purpose of firecrackers was to welcome gods and drive away evil spirits. Later, with its strong festive color, it developed into a symbol of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. It can create a festive and lively atmosphere. It is a kind of entertainment activity during festivals and can bring joy and auspiciousness to people.

New Year's Eve dinner

New Year's Eve dinner, also known as New Year's dinner, reunion dinner, etc., specifically refers to the family dinner on New Year's Eve at the end of the year. New Year's Eve dinner originated from the ancient year-end sacrificial ceremony, worshiping gods and ancestors and then reuniting for dinner. New Year's Eve dinner is the highlight of the year before the New Year. It is not only colorful, but also very particular about the meaning. Before eating the reunion dinner, worship the gods and ancestors first, and then eat after the worship ceremony. The banquet usually includes chicken (meaning good luck), fish (meaning surplus every year), dried oysters (meaning good business), hair algae (meaning getting rich), bean curd (meaning abundance), lotus root (meaning intelligence), lettuce (meaning making money), Chinese sausage (meaning longevity), etc. for good luck. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is a family reunion dinner. This is the most abundant and important dinner at the end of the year.

Eating dumplings

Dumplings are a must-have dish for the New Year's Eve dinner in the north during the Spring Festival. They symbolize reunion, harmony, and wealth.

Stay up and set off firecrackers

In China, an important tradition that many families still adhere to is to stay up together. (Firecrackers and fireworks are set off again at midnight) The custom of staying up has a long history. All houses light the New Year's fire, the family gathers together, and keeps the "New Year's fire" from going out, waiting for the moment to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new. On New Year's Eve, lights are kept on all night, which is called "lighting the year" or "lighting the fire of the year". All houses are lit with candles, and candles are specially lit under the bed to enrich the family's wealth in the coming year.

New Year's money

After dinner, the elders will distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger generations. In historical folk culture, New Year's money means to ward off evil spirits and bless peace. The original intention of New Year's money was to suppress evil and exorcise evil spirits. Because people believed that children were easily harmed by ghosts, they used New Year's money to suppress evil spirits and exorcise evil spirits. But in modern times, its meaning has gradually changed to the expression of the elders' deep concern and sincere blessings for the younger generations, and the inspirational effect has emerged. Another type is that the younger generation gives the old people. The "year" in this New Year's money refers to the age, which means to hope that the old people will be healthy, long-lived, happy and well-off.

New Year's greetings

Visit and pay New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival. On the second and third days of the Chinese New Year, people start visiting relatives and friends, wishing each other a happy new year and sending each other congratulations. New Year greetings are a way for relatives and friends to visit and keep in touch, wish each other a happy new year, and express their feelings for each other and their best wishes for the new year.

Dragon and lion dances

Another important tradition is watching lion and dragon dances during the festival, which symbolize wealth, nobility and bravery. These dances also contribute to the overall grand theme of the festival, and they are still important entertainment activities even in this modern era.

Temple fairs

Visiting temple fairs is one of the folk activities during the Spring Festival. The Cantonese Temple Fair and the Ditan Temple Fair in Beijing are known as the two major temple fairs in China. It covers theme activities such as puppet gatherings, Chinese unique skills, martial arts conferences, and Lantern Festival, and contains rich content such as blessing culture, folk culture, food culture, and business and leisure culture.

Final thoughts

As one of the most important traditional festivals in Chinese culture, the Spring Festival not only carries thousands of years of historical memory and cultural heritage, but also reflects the Chinese people's deep recognition of traditional values ​​such as family reunion, gratitude and blessing, and getting rid of the old and starting anew. From ancient nature worship to modern social celebrations, the connotation of the Spring Festival has been continuously enriched and diversified. In today's globalized world, it has become one of the important cultural symbols for the world to understand China. Whether it is the multiple evolutions in historical changes or the new expressions of modern society, the Spring Festival has always been a link between the past and the future, carrying the common expectations of the Chinese people for a better life, and constantly showing the unique charm and infinite vitality of Chinese culture to the world.