day 31festivals

festivals

Advise a foreign friend spending the Spring Festival in China, with 与其……不如……; say how traditions carry on with 下来, 下去 and 起来, and link events with the written 便; retell a story about two travellers and one map; read a reflection on home.

words to say

• 习俗 xísú · custom, tradition
• 传统 chuántǒng · tradition; traditional
• 风俗 fēngsú · custom(s)
• 拜年 bàinián · to pay a New Year call
• 除夕 chúxī · New Year’s Eve (lunar)
• 年夜饭 niányèfàn · New Year’s Eve dinner
• 吉祥 jíxiáng · lucky, auspicious
• 象征 xiàngzhēng · to symbolise; symbol
• 讲究 jiǎngjiu · particular about; refined
• 红包 hóngbāo · red envelope (with money)

sentences

• 每个地方都有自己的风俗。 · Every place has its own customs.
• 除夕晚上，全家人一起吃年夜饭。 · On New Year’s Eve the whole family has the reunion dinner together.
• 新年的第一天，人们互相拜年。 · On the first day of the New Year, people visit each other with New Year greetings.
• 在中国，红色象征着吉祥。 · In China, red stands for good luck.
• 这个传统一直保留了下来。 · This tradition has been kept up ever since.

say it after the voice

• 除夕晚上，不管离家多远，很多人都会想办法赶回家，跟家人一起吃年夜饭。 · On New Year’s Eve, however far from home they are, many people find a way to get back and eat the reunion dinner with their families.
• 春节的很多习俗都是从过去传下来的，比如贴红纸、包饺子和给孩子红包。 · Many Spring Festival customs have been handed down from the past, such as putting up red paper, making dumplings and giving children red envelopes.
• 新年的第一天早上，孩子们穿上新衣服，高高兴兴地跟着父母去亲戚家拜年。 · On the morning of the first day of the New Year, children put on new clothes and go with their parents to wish their relatives a happy New Year.
• 现在很多人用手机发红包，有人觉得方便，也有人觉得少了一点儿过年的味道。 · Nowadays many people send red envelopes by phone; some find it convenient, others feel it has lost a bit of the New Year feeling.

questions to answer

• 红包里该不该放很多钱？ · Should there be a lot of money in a red envelope?
• 你喜欢热闹的春节还是安静的春节？ · Do you like a lively Spring Festival or a quiet one?
• 如果春节不能回家，你会做什么？ · If you couldn’t go home for the Spring Festival, what would you do?

a passage to retell

• Two friends went travelling in a mountain town and took only one map. One wanted to see the famous sights; the other only wanted to go to the side streets and see how ordinary people live. They argued for ages and finally decided to go their separate ways and meet in the evening. To their surprise, at dusk they ran into each other in the same little restaurant. One talked about the scenery on the mountain, the other about the snacks in the streets, and both listened intently. So, seeing the world with two pairs of eyes, one trip brought twice the rewards.

a passage to read aloud

小时候，我觉得家就是一座房子：有自己的房间，有熟悉的床，还有窗外那棵大树。我在那里学会走路，也在那里第一次跟父母吵架。每到春节，家里便热闹起来，大人们忙着打扫、贴上象征吉祥的红纸、准备年夜饭，讲究很多，规矩也很多。那时我只觉得麻烦，不明白为什么一顿饭要准备好几天。

后来我离开家乡，一年只回去一次。工作越来越忙，回家的路却越来越长。每次推开门，看到热好的饭菜，听到妈妈说一句“回来啦”，我的心便安静下来，一路上的累，好像一下子都不见了。我这才明白，家不是一座房子，而是一个等你回来的人。有人说，有人等的地方，就是家。团圆，也许就是这样：无论走得多远，总有一扇窗为你亮着。