2011-3-2口语springfestival.pptVIP

Spring Festival Could you tell me something about spring festival? the time the reason we celebrate it the way to celebrate it the origin auspicious words The time Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon（新月）on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon（满月）15 days later. How to celebrate New Years Eve and New Years Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. How to celebrate The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals（仪式）, unites the living members with those who have passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family. The Origin of Chinese New Year The Chinese New Year is now popularly known as the Spring Festival, because it starts from the Beginning of Spring (the first of the twenty-four terms in coordination with the changes of Nature). The Origin of Chinese New Year Its origin is too old to be traced. Several explanations are hanging around. All agree, however, that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese solely means year, was originally the name of a monster beast that started to prey on people the night before the beginning of a new year. The Origin of Chinese New Year One legend goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would swallow a great many people with one bite. People were very scared. One day, an old man came to their rescue, offering to subdue Nian. The Origin of Chinese New Year To Nian he said, I hear say that you are very capable, but can you swallow the other beasts of prey on earth instead of people who are by no means of your worthy opponents? Then it did swallow many of the beasts of prey on earth that also harassed people and their domestic animals from time to time. The Origin of Chinese New Year After that, the old man disappeared riding the beast Nian. He turned out to be an immortal god