The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and it is when many family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, making it the busiest time for transportation systems for about half a month from the Spring Festival. Airports, railway stations, and long-distance bus stations are crowded with home returnees.
Then people begin decorating their cleaned rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. All the door panels are 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 and good luck for the New Year. Also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth are posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance. 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 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.
Boiled dumplings are traditionally served at a Chinese New Year dinner. In northern China, the dumplings are filled with meat and are eaten to usher in wealth and good luck for the New Year. We are not only celebrated in household also on the street. A series of activities such as lion dancing, dragon lantern dancing, lantern festivals, and temple fairs are held for days.