The night before Chinese New Year， Li Mei’s father puts lucky money into a red envelope. He hides it in the house for Li Mei to find. Li Mei loves to hunt for the red envelope. It is so much fun!
On the last night of the year, a monster comes out of the sea. The monster’s name is Nian. The monster is hungry!
According to tales and legends， Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian . The Nian would eat villagers， especially children in the middle of the night.One year， all the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before the villagers went into hiding and said that he would stay the night and would get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The day after， the villagers came back to their town and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red and loud noises.Then the tradition grew when New Year was approaching， and the villagers would wear red clothes， hang red lanterns， and red spring scrolls on windows and doors and used firecrackers and drums to frighten away the Nian. From then on， Nian never came to the village again.
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Chinese people and is when all family members get together， just like Christmas in the West.
“The Spring Couplet”， also called “couplet” and “a pair of antithetical phrases”， is a special form of literature in China. The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription， usually an auspicious phrase， above the gate. Whether the family is rich or poor， educated or ignorant， everyone must put on the Spring Couplet to symbolize the hopes for the coming new year.“春联”或“对联”对立在中国是一种特殊的文学形式。
根据英文版的网络所述，春节的英文常见者有三:Chinese New Year、Spring Festival、和Lunar New Year，然而此三者并非皆为英文词典所收。既要忙着大扫除、贴春联，还要忙着讨红包、打麻将，当然，以下的新年节庆英文，更是要学起来啦!
In the season of joy I present my sincere wishes and kind thoughts. May the kind of New Year outshine all the rest.
