Were you born in the Year of the Tiger, the Rabbit, or maybe the Loong? Read on to find out more about the Lunar New Year.

The lunar calendar     1     (base) on the cycles of the moon. so the date of the Lunar New Year is different each year. In China and in many other places,     2     Vietnam, Singapore and Korea, the Lunar New Year is usually celebrated in January or February.

Each year is named after one of 12 animals. There is a traditional story about     3     the animals were chosen. The Jade Emperor,     4     important god in traditional Chinese religions, wanted to find a way to measure time. He decided     5     (have) a race for all the animals in the country. Only 12 animals actually managed to get to the race and the Jade Emperor rewarded them by     6     (name) the 12 years of the lunar calendar after them. The first to finish     7     (be) the rat, so the first year was the Year of the Rat. The other eleven, in order, were the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the loong, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog and the pig. In many countries, the animals are the same as these. However, in some places they are of a bit     8     (different).

Different places celebrate in     9     (slight) different ways, but the Lunar New Year is indeed a family celebration everywhere. The younger generation greet their parents and grandparents with good wishes for the year ahead. Older members of the family give younger ones     10     (gift) of money, traditionally in small packets.

A stuffed toy named “Happy Loong” from Gansu Provincial Museum has recently distinguished     1     (it) from conventional souvenirs and captured the hearts of tourists.

Modeled     2     a Ming Dynasty gold decoration in the shape of a loong, or Chinese dragon, over 1, 000 of these chubby (圆胖的)     3     smiling loong toys were sold in the first week after it hit the market earlier this year.

Besides “Happy Loong”, the museum sells stuffed toys     4     (inspire) by the Dunhuang Flying Apsaras and the bronze galloping (飞驰的) horse from the Eastern Han Dynasty,     5     combine rich history with the appetite of Generation-Z.

This innovative approach to museum souvenirs reflects     6     broader trend of making cultural products appealing to young Chinese museum-goers. The Palace Museum’s online store, for instance,     7     (offer) playful and humorous souvenirs featuring emperors in Chinese history, receiving positive reviews from young visitors.

The success of these innovative souvenirs lies in the ability     8     (meet) the demands of young people seeking relaxation and individuality. However, designing truly     9     (create) cultural product requires a good knowledge of cultural relics.

Looking ahead, the museum souvenir market in China is expected to continue growing, presenting abundant     10     (opportunity) for designers.

With the worldwide celebration of the Chinese New Year, traditional Chinese cultural forms such as the Yingge Dance (Dance of Heroes) and dragon and lion dances have once again attracted widespread attention.

As the Chinese New Year is increasingly celebrated     1     (global), it has brought its traditional celebrations elsewhere and seen people of other countries join the festivities. This Spring Festival, a team of Yingge dancers from South China’s Guangdong Province     2     (invite) to the UK, bringing an exciting performance to London’s Burlington Arcade     3     (celebrate) the Chinese New Year.

Literally     4     (translate) as the “Songs of Heroes” dance, Yingge Dance is an old folk dance     5     originated from the Chaoshan area of South China’s Guangdong Province. Dressed in colorful costumes, performers wave wooden sticks in their hands while     6     (dance) in orderly formations to the music.

Based on the stories of the 108     7     (hero) of Liangshan Mountain from the classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh (《水浒传》), this is     8     folk art combining a variety of forms, from martial arts and Chinese operas to dance.

From a centuries-old art form to a magnum opus (杰作) of Chinese tradition worldwide, the     9     (popular) of Yingge Dance on the streets of London during the Spring Festival was a success     10     terms of traditional Chinese folk art sailing overseas.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival was established on January 5th, 1985, becoming     1     world-class celebration of ice and snow. The Ice and Snow Festival is the     2     (long) ice and snow festival in the world. It only has an opening ceremony,     3     (hold) on January 5th each year, and there is no closing ceremony.     4     (original) planned for a month, in reality, the festivities begin at the end of the previous year, continuing till the end of February, when the ice and snow activities conclude. During this period, it encompasses (包含) four significant festive events: New Year, Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao Festival), and a skiing festival.

Initially, the festival     5     (regard) as a way to attract tourists and showcase the unique winter beauty and cultural     6     (rich) of Harbin, a city in northeastern China. It has since grown into one of the world’s most famous winter festivals,     7     (draw) millions of visitors from around the globe. Over the years, the festival     8     (become) a significant driver of tourism in the region.

The festival serves as a platform for cultural exchange and collaboration. International and local artists come together     9     (create) beautiful ice and snow sculptures, and the event often features performances, exhibitions, and activities that showcase various cultural traditions. It provides an opportunity     10     people from different backgrounds, in which they can learn about and appreciate each other’s cultures.

Among the Han people, which make up a vast majority of     1     (China) total population, the passage into adulthood is no longer celebrated,     2     in those very traditional families. In ancient times, this ceremony marked a person’s transition to adulthood and     3     (refer) to as the capping or hair-pinning ceremony.

This ceremony started from the clan society (氏族社会) and continued to be held until the Qing Dynasty. The Manchu rulers then felt that this ceremony was     4     (meaning) and thus abolished this ceremony which     5     (last) for thousands of years. From then on the Han people have to enter the stage of adulthood without knowing it. Nowadays, it is mainly in those minor ethnic groups that this life passage is still celebrated. In some parts of China, this ceremony is experiencing a     6     (revive).

When a young man reached 18 or 20 years old, the capping ceremony,    7     (consist) of several procedures, would be held. The hair of the young man should be done up and pinned, and after     8     three caps of different materials should be placed on the youth’s head. The hair-pinning ceremony,    9     the mother or another senior pinned the girl’s hair, would be held when a girl was 15 years old.

There are other interesting customs concerned. For example, boys of the Yao nationality have to pass about ten dangerous tests and take oaths (宣誓)     10     (conduct) bad deeds.

The 38th Qinhuai Lantern Festival Lights Up China

On the evening of February 2, the 2024 “Light Up China” event, the 38th annual China Qinhuai Lantern Festival lighting ceremony,     1    (begin) at the Bailuzhou Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The Qinhuai Lantern Festival,     2     is also known as the “Jinling Lantern Festival”, is a folk cultural activity spread in Nanjing in history. It is usually held during the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival every year. It is the most famous lantern festival in China and it is included in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

With the Bailuzhou Park, the Confucius Temple Scenic Area and the Laomendong District serving     3     main display venues, this year’s Qinhuai Lantern Fair has set up 7 exhibition areas with 330 lantern installations.

    4    (compare) to previous years’ lantern festivals, one of the major highlights this year is the remarkable “the Year of the Dragon” theme. For instance, at the front of the Linxing Gate of the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, the lantern display features twin dragons winding around pillars, blowing out dragon pearls, symbolizing auspiciousness (吉祥) and reunion. Meanwhile, the Bailuzhou Park takes     5    (inspire) from the “Illustration of Lanterns in the Shangyuan Festival” as its creative theme, showing     6     total of 68 sets of lanterns in various sizes and forms, recreating the splendid scene of observing lanterns during the Ming dynasty as described in the ancient artworks.

The Lantern Festival in Nanjing this year not only celebrates the traditional customs of the Lunar New Year but also highlights the city’s cultural heritage and     7    (innovation) spirit, drawing visitors from across the nation     8    (participate) in the joyous celebrations.

A local elderly person said to a news reporter     9    (proud), “It has the reputation of No. 1 Lantern Festival in the world and the Qinhuai Lantern Festival     10    (be) the best in the world. It is the only large-scale comprehensive lantern festival in China that integrates lantern exhibitions, lantern festivals and lantern markets.”