The Origin of the Spring Festival 春节起源

春节，即农历岁首的第一个节日，在中国民间被习惯性地称为“过年”。一般认为，春节起源于上古尧舜时代。当时人们是为了答谢保佑他们一年农事顺利的神灵，人们便在四季走完一个轮回，新的轮回即将开始时，用上一年人们所收获的最好的食品献祭给神灵，报答神灵的恩赐。同时，人们也通过各种狂欢娱乐活动来庆祝丰收。中华民族所历经的五千年历史长河中，中国新年的礼俗经历了萌芽、基本形成、裂变和转型等发展阶段（先秦时期萌芽 - 祭祀；唐朝 - 裂变， 从祈祷、迷信转变成娱乐型、礼仪型节目；明清时期 - 转型：互相拜访、馈赠礼品，各种娱乐活动层出不穷）。中华民族的传统文化在春节中得以延续了数千年，而且在不同时期具有时代特征的社会文化也通过春节为后人所了解。
The Spring Festival is the first festival in lunar calendar. Chinese folks habitually referred to New Year as “Guo Nian (Spending the year)”.
It is generally accepted that Chinese New Year originated in the Yao and Shun period. In order to pay respect to the gods who granted people a smooth farming harvest,
they offered the best of harvest to sacrifice to the gods at the time when four seasons completed a cycle and a new cycle was about to begin. At the same time, people enjoy a variety of carnival entertainment to celebrate the harvest.
These primitive practices gradually developed into a set of custom or tradition through such a long history of 5000 years. Chinese traditional culture has been handed down in the celebration of the Spring Festival. More importantly, not only are social cultural characteristics of different times revealed in the process of the Spring Festival, but also future generations could explore more from close inspection.