Of all the traditional Chinese festivals, the new Year was perhaps the most elaborate, colorful, and important. This was a time for the Chinese to congratulate each other and themselves on having passed through another year, a time to finish out the old, and to welcome in the new year. Common expressions heard at this time are: GUONIAN to have made it through the old year, and BAINIAN to congratulate the new year.
众多中国传统节日中，春节或许是最隆重盛大，富有色彩，最重要的节日了。这是一个中国人共同欢度，庆祝过去的一年，辞旧迎新的节日。春节里常听到的话是：过年，意思是辞去过去的一年;拜年，意思是庆祝新的一年。
Like all Chinese festivals, the date of the New Year is determined by the lunar calendar rather than the Western calendar. Its origin is too old to be traced, but many believe the word Nian, which means “year”, was the name of a beast that preyed on people on the eve of a new year.
像中国其他节日一样，新年的日期是是由农历而不是公历决定的。它历史久远，已经无法追溯。然而大家大都相信年这个词，是一种怪兽的名字，它在每年的除夕夜里出来捕食人。
In one legend, the beast, Nian, had the power to swallow up all the people in a village in one big bite. Village people were very scared of Nian. One day, an old man came to the villagers’ rescue, offering to subdue Nian. The old man asked Nian, quot;I know you can swallow people, but can you swallow other beasts of prey instead of people who are by no means your worthy opponents?Nian accepted the old man’s challenge and swallowed the beasts that had harassed the villagers and their farm animals for years. At the end of the legend, the old man disappeared riding off on Nian. In this legend, the old man turned out to be an immortal god. In the end, Nian is gone and the other beasts of prey are scared into hiding in the forests. The villagers can once again enjoy their peaceful life.
传说中，这个怪兽，有能力一口吞掉一个村庄的人。人们都很害怕“年”。
一天，一位老人帮村民们征服了“年”。他对“年”说：“我听说你很有能耐，但你能否把地球上其它的野兽都吃掉，而不是这些根本不是你对手的人类呢?”。“年”接受了老人的挑战，若干年里吃掉了好多害人和捕食农场动物的野兽。传说的结尾，老人骑着怪兽“年”消失了。原来传说中的这个老人是一位神仙。最后，怪兽“年”被赶走了，其他捕食的.野兽也都吓得躲进了森林。村民们又过上了平静的日子。
The legend goes on to say before the old man left, he told the villagers to put red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year’s end in order to keep Nian away. It is believed Nian is afraid of the color red.
传说里讲，那位老人离开前告诉村民，每年年末都要在门窗上贴上装饰的红纸来吓唬"年"，还让年走的远远的。人们认为"年"最怕的颜色是红色。
From then on,the tradition of observing the conquest of Nian is carried on from generation to generation. The term "Guo Nian", which means "Survive the Nian" became "Celebrate the Year",and the word "guo" in Chinese means both "pass over"and "observe".
从那以后，庆祝征服"年"的传统就一代一代传下来了。"过年”(征服怪兽“年”，得以生存)现在演变成“庆祝新年”。“过”这个词在中文里面既包含逾越，度过，又包含庆祝的意思。
The custom of putting up red paper and lighting firecrackers to scare away Nian continues today.
贴红纸条，燃放爆竹吓跑怪兽“年”的风俗习惯一直延续到今天。
As part of the the Chinese New Year celebration, people buy presents, decorations, special foods and new clothing. Railroad stations throughout China are filled with travelers who take their vacation days around New Year to return home for a family reunion.
作为新年庆祝活动的一部分，人们买礼物，装饰品，特色食品和新衣裳。贯通中国的铁路，承载着爆满的旅客，旅客们都赶着回老家过春节假期，与佳人团聚。
Days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families are busy giving their home a thorough cleaning. It is believed the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes the house ready for good luck to enter. All brooms and dust pans are put away on New Year’s Eve so good luck cannot be swept away.
春节的前些天，人们忙对屋子进行一番彻底地打扫，人们认为大扫除可以驱除坏运气，然后腾出地方来让好运气进到屋里面。除夕夜人们把扫帚和簸箕(装垃圾用的)都收起来放好，这样好运气就不会被赶跑了。
In many homes, doors and windowpanes get a new coat of red paint. The home is decorated with paper-cuts and poems called couplets of“happiness”, “wealth”,“longevity” and “satisfactory marriage with children”。
家家户户的门和窗上都帖上了红对子，屋子里也用剪纸和对联装饰着，对联大多是这样的内容，“幸福”，“发财”，“长寿”，“婚姻和美，儿孙满堂‘。
The New Year’s Eve supper is a feast with all the members of the family getting together. One popular food is “jiaozi”， which are dumplings boiled in water. After dinner, the whole family stays up all night playing cards, board games or watching TV programs dedicated to the New Year’s celebration. Lights in the house are kept on during the whole night. At midnight, the sky is lit up by fireworks which symbolize the sending out of the old year and the welcoming in of the new year.
新年的年夜饭是一场家里人团聚的盛宴，最受欢迎的食物是“饺子”，在沸水里煮熟了吃。晚饭过后，全家人彻夜不睡，打牌，桌面游戏，看春节联欢晚会。除夕之夜屋里彻夜通明，午夜时分，天空中燃放烟花爆竹，象征着送走过去的一年，迎来新的一年。
The public holiday for New Year lasts 3 days in China , but the festival traditionally lasts till the 15th day of the lunar month and ends with Lantern Festival. Here , houses are decorated with colorful lanterns, and yuanxiao is eaten.
在中国，新年的公共假期有三天，但传统上春节一直要持续到正月十五，即元宵节后结束。这时房子用各式各样的灯笼装饰起来，大家又开始吃元宵了。
Chinese New Year customs vary from place to place in China because China is a big country geographically, demographically and ethnically. But the spirit underlying the diverse celebrations of the New Year is the same, a sincere wish of peace and happiness for family members and friends.
中国新年的习俗因地域不同而有所改变，因为中国幅员辽阔，人口、种族众多。但是不同形式的庆祝新年，最根本的思想，是希望家庭成员以及亲朋好友能幸福平安!