Hello, everyone! It’s my honor to speak here. Today I want to talk about my favorite traditional Chinese festival.

Good news for you!

Yours,

Li Jin

6 . Dragon dances, acrobats, fireworks, a parade (庆祝游行) --- London is buzzing with excitement for Chinese New Year. Find out more about how people in London celebrate.

The event

For London's Chinese community (and everyone else who loves a good party), Chinese New Year is a huge event. Before Chinese New Year, people make sure their houses are clean and tidy, buy new clothes and get a haircut to bring good luck for the new year. Hundreds of thousands of people watch the parade, which stretches from the West End to Trafalgar Square. It includes Chinese acrobats and traditional lion and dragon dances.

The celebrations

In central London, there are fireworks and stage performances with all kinds of acts and special guests. Previous celebrations have included fashion shows and Chinese hip-hop acts, as well as more traditional performances with Chinese acrobats. Chinatown is buzzing with excitement. The streets are decorated with lucky red lanterns and full of craft and food stalls (货摊). If you're thinking of eating in one of the Chinatown's excellent Chinese restaurants, you have to book a table early, or you won't find one on the night.

Chinese people in Britain

For young Chinese people studying or working in the UK, web conferencing is a good way to join family celebrations back home. Those who miss home might also cook dumplings for friends in Britain or organize an evening of karaoke, another popular way of celebrating. The festivities (欢庆) are not as noisy as back home, where loud firecrackers are traditionally used to frighten away a terrible monster called “Nian”. But there is still plenty of excitement, happiness and good feelings as people come together to enjoy the celebrations.

Paper cutting is the art of paper designs. The art first appeared in the Han Dynasty in the fourth century. The     1     (old) surviving paper - cut is the one that was found in 1959 in Xinjiang, China,     2     (date) back to the sixth century. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, paper-cuts were used during festivals     3     (decorate) gates and windows.

By the eighth or ninth century paper cutting appeared in West Asia. However, it was not until the sixteenth century     4     the art reached Europe.

Although paper cutting is popular around the globe, only the Chinese paper cutting     5     (list) in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List (联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录) in 2009. Paper cutting     6     (remain) popular in contemporary China, especially during special events like the Chinese New Year or weddings. Paper cutting has a number of uses in Chinese culture, almost all of     7     are for health, wealth. or decorative purposes. Red is the most     8     (common) used color. People find hope and comfort in expressing     9     (wish) with red paper-cuts. At a wedding ceremony, for example, red paper cuts are a traditional and required decoration on gates, walls and furniture.

Today, paper cutting has developed     10     a very popular folk art form, especially in the countryside.

9 . “Where did the Christmas basket sitting on our front porch come from? ” I thought to myself. I’d just returned from the bank, where I’d withdrawn enough cash to get us through the holidays. Life was a struggle, raising two teenagers as a single mom while working two part-time jobs and taking college courses at night. I was extremely tired.

Looking for a card or note, I searched the basket which was filled with all sorts of holiday foodstuffs. However, there was none. Had someone entered my name into a charity? The timing couldn’t have been better. It would support us through a period of difficult time.

At that very moment I felt a bit guilty (内疚). Wasn’t there someone else out there who needed it more? Yes, my kids and I were struggling, but my grandparent relied only on the state pension (国家抚恤金) to get by. At least I could always pick up extra hours at work. And when I finished my degree, things would improve a lot.

My conscience (良心) won the debate. I drove to Grandma and Grandpa’s little two-room house. Grandma opened the door. “Merry Christmas, Grandma!” I said, handing the Christmas basket to her. Grandma was thrilled. “Oh, thank you, Connie! We’ll be able to have such a nice dinner this Sunday. This will really help us until our pension come. But what about you?” “We’ll be fine,” I said. After a short visit I excused myself. “I still have a lot of work to do, so I should head back.”

On the way home, thinking about Grandma’s smile, I knew the basket had gone to the right place. But like Grandma said, what about us? I still worried about how I could afford to make Christmas special for my kids. Then I saw it in front of my house, in the same spot as before — an identical Christmas basket, every bit as lovely as the first.