It’s very common for people who buy property (房产) or move into a new house to hold a housewarming party. The party is an opportunity for friends and family to congratulate this person on the new home. As a tradition, guests should bring a gift to the party. Decorations (装饰品) for the new house, such as pieces of art or potted plants, are good housewarming gifts. You can also bring food or drinks to share with the other guests. The host or hostess of the party will give all the guests a tour of the new home. Sometimes, because housewarming parties usually happen shortly after a person moves into a new home, guests may be asked to help unpack boxes. This isn’t common, though.

A long time ago, people would bring firewood to their friends’ new homes as a gift. This is where the name “housewarming” comes from. This allowed their friends to keep their homes warm for the winter. These days, most homes have central heating, so firewood isn’t needed.

People usually connect Qing Ming with Jie Zitui, who lived in Shanxi province in 600 B.C. Legend has it that Jie saved his lord’s (君王) life by serving a piece of his own leg. When the lord succeeded in becoming the ruler of a small country, he invited his faithful follower (忠诚的追随者) to join him. However, Jie turned down his invitation, preferring to lead a simple life with his mother in the mountains.

Believing that he could force Jie out by burning the mountain, the lord ordered his men to set the forest on fire. To his surprise, Jie chose to remain where he was and was burnt to death. To make people remember Jie, the lord ordered all fires in every home to be put out. In this way, the “cold food feast” began, a day when no food could be cooked since no fire could be lit.

The “cold food” festival falls on the eve of Qing Ming and is often considered as part of the Qing Ming festival. As time passes, the Qing Ming festival took the place of the “cold food” festival. The basic aim of Qing Ming is to remember one’s elders by making a special effort to visit their tombs (坟墓). To make the visit even more meaningful, some time should be spent to remind the younger members of the family of their roots (祖先) and the spirit of Jie Zitui.

The Spring Festival is the most important and the biggest traditional festival in China. During the Spring Festival, Chinese people usually do some traditional activities to celebrate their reunion (团圆). But different parts of China have very different customs. Here are three popular traditional activities.

Cleaning

On the days before the New Year, Chinese families clean their houses because Chinese people think cleaning can sweep away bad luck. Dust and dirt are associated with “old” in Chinese culture, so cleaning the house and sweeping the dust represent saying goodbye to the past and welcoming a new year.

Shopping

Chinese people always go shopping and buy new clothes for the Spring Festival. In Chinese people’s mind, this is a new year, so they should buy a lot of new things. Shopping stands for welcoming new things and getting ready for a new year.

Decorations

After the cleaning, people will decorate the house to welcome the Chinese New Year. Most of the decorations are red in color. Red is a typical festival color and it means pleasure and good luck in Chinese culture. The most popular Chinese New Year decorations include couplets (对联), paper cutting, the Gate Gods and red paper lanterns.