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All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival.
Airports, railway stations and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.
It originated in the Shang Dynasty (c.
1600 BC-c.
1100 BC) from the people's sacrifice to gods and ancestors at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one.
Of them, the most important days are Spring Festival Eve and the first three days.
The Chinese government now stipulates people have seven days off for the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Some are still followed today, but others have weakened.
At this time, people offer sacrifice to the kitchen god.
Now however, most families make delicious food to enjoy themselves.
This is called "Seeing the New Year in".
Materials not only include edible oil, rice, flour, chicken, duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts.
What's more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.
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.
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.
At that time, all family members eat dinner together.
The meal is more luxurious than usual.
Dishes such as chicken, fish and bean curd cannot be excluded, for in Chinese, their pronunciations, respectively "ji", "yu" and "doufu," mean auspiciousness, abundance and richness.
After the dinner, the whole family will sit together, chatting and watching TV.
In recent years, the Spring Festival party broadcast on China Central Television Station (CCTV) is essential entertainment for the Chinese both at home and abroad.
According to custom, each family will stay up to see the New Year in.
First they extend greetings to their parents.
Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in red paper.
People in northern
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Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot from ancient
So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.
" The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.
People thought the spluttering sound could help drive away evil spirits.
However, such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities once the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration.
As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.
A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals and temple fairs will be held for days.
The Spring Festival then comes to an end when the Lantern Festival is finished.
Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.