万事如意

Hope everything goes your way.

心想事成

May all your wishes come true.

阖家欢乐

Wish your family happiness.

身体健康

Wish you good health.

学业进步

Hope you make progress in your studies.

工作顺利

Hope everything goes well with your work.

狗年大吉

Lots of luck for the Year of the Dog!

贴春联

spring couplets

Spring couplets ['kʌplɪt]  are paired phrases, typically seven Chinese characters each, written on red paper in black ink, and pasted on each side of a door frame. Sometimes a phrase of four or five characters is affixed to the top of the door frame as well.

春联是对仗工整的文字，通常一联七字，由黑墨笔写在红纸上，然后贴在门框两侧。有时，四五字的横批也会贴在门框顶端。

今年，你们家贴了什么样的春联呢？

双语君有一副双语春联送给大家，收好了：

万紫千红春满园

Red roses, perfect for blessed lovers;

饺子汤圆庆团圆

Ivory dumplings, delicious for reunited families. 

横批：万象更新

A colorful New Year!

贴窗花

paper cutouts

In the past, people pasted paper cutouts on windows facing south and north before the Spring Festival. Paper cutouts are colored lucky red, with beautiful and exaggerated patterns. They express hopes of a merry and prosperous life, in line with the Spring Festival theme.

过去，人们在春节前将剪纸窗花朝南北向贴在窗户上。这些剪纸都是幸运的中国红，图案夸张绚丽，表达了人们对快乐或对幸福生活的向往，正合了春节的喜庆气氛。

年夜饭

the New Year's Eve dinner

It's tradition across China to hold a lavish feast to celebrate the New Year. Chinese try very hard to make this family event, often traveling long distances.

除夕准备一顿丰盛的年夜饭是中国人过年的传统。为了这顿年夜饭，人们常常跋涉千里与家人团聚。

南北方的年夜饭可能有所差异，而且很多新年菜式都有象征意义。

In Northern China a traditional dish for the feast is jiaozi. They are shaped like old Chinese ingots, symbolizing wealth. 

比如在北方，年夜饭上的传统菜肴是饺子。饺子的形状很像古代中国的元宝，象征着财富。

Southern Chinese eat niangao (sticky rice cake) on this special day, because niangao sounds like "yearly higher", symbolizing improvement.

而南方在这个特别的日子里则会吃年糕，因为“年糕”的发音同“年高”，象征着节节高升。

大年夜，丰盛的菜肴摆满一桌，阖家团圆，齐聚一堂，一年的辛苦就在美食和欢声笑语中淡忘。

你家今晚有哪些年夜菜？有没有蒸羊羔儿、蒸熊掌、蒸鹿尾儿、烧花鸭、烧雏鸡、烧子鹅、卤猪、卤鸭、酱鸡、腊肉、松花小肚儿……

嗯，我已经闻到香味了。

放鞭炮

set off firecrackers

People set off firecrackers to celebrate the coming of the New Year, as well as to drive away evil.

中国人用放鞭炮的方式迎来新春、驱除恶鬼。

其实，世界各地的人们都喜欢以绚烂多彩的烟花来迎接新年的到来，但是我们中国人对于鞭炮更加情有独钟。

正是这声声震耳欲聋的爆竹声，让我们感受到浓浓的年味，和对家的眷恋。

拜年

extend New Year greetings /

pay a New Year's call

On the first day of the lunar New Year, Chinese wish each other good luck and happiness in the New Year. It is customary for the younger generation to visit their elders and wish them health and longevity.

大年初一，中国人互道新禧，晚辈要给长辈拜年，祝他们健康长寿。

People who are unable to visit their friends or relatives send a WeChat red packet or a text message instead of paying a New Year's call.

如今，忙碌的人们如果无法登门拜年，就会发个微信红包或短信给亲朋好友拜年。

发红包

red packets / envelopes

The red packet is a red envelope with money in it, which ranges from one to a few thousand Chinese yuan. 

红包是装着压岁钱的信封，金额从一块到几千不等。（双语君表示并没有收到过几千元的红包……）

Usually the red packet is given by adults and elderly to young children in New Year days. It was believed money in the red packet would ward off evil spirits and keep children healthy.

过年时，通常是大人和长辈给小朋友们发红包，用压岁钱抵御厄运，保佑孩子健康成长。

Digital red packets have gone viral in recent years, and "grabbing red packets" has become an extremely popular game on WeChat.

这几年电子红包越发火爆，“抢红包”俨然已成了微信上最流行的游戏。

今天你抢到几块钱了？

一定没你发出去的多吧，红红火火恍恍惚惚。

春节词汇

vocabulary

狗年

the Year of the Dog

农历

lunar calendar

腊八节

Laba Festival

小年

Little New Year

除夕

Lunar New Year's Eve

春节

the Spring Festival

正月初一

Lunar New Year's Day

元宵节

the Lantern Festival

正月

the first month of the lunar year

二月二

Dragon Heads-raising Day

本命年

the animal year in which one was born

生肖、属相

Chinese zodiac

扫房

spring cleaning

祭灶

offer sacrifices to the God of Kitchen

拜年

pay a New Year's call

拜早年

pay an early New Year’s call

祭祖

offer sacrifices to one's ancestors

祭财神

worship the God of Wealth

春联

Spring Festival couplets

吃团圆饭

have a family reunion dinner

年夜饭

New Year's Eve dinner

红包

red packets / envelopes

放烟花

set off fireworks

放鞭炮

set off firecrackers

春节联欢晚会

Spring Festival gala

微信红包

WeChat red envelope

集福卡

lucky card collection