中考高分英语作文：中国新年(三)
Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new yearand ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called
the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and
children carrying lanterns in a parade.
The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar
movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the
solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven
years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap
year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls
on a different date each year.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time
of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with
a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the
household and the family ancestors.
The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united
the living members with those who had 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 presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a
dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the
ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one
great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It
symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.
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