Jay and Joan like to spend the winter holiday with their mum and dad. This morning they were all going sledding（滑雪橇）. There was a heavy snow last night. The hill at the park was great for sledding. Jay and Joan asked their parents to take them out. Their parents agreed.

They all put on warm clothes and boots（靴子）. They brought hot drinks, put the sleds in the car and drove to the park.

Jay and his dad went down the hill on one sled. Joan and her mum went down on the other sled. They went fast. The snow flew on their faces. They shouted and laughed. Sledding was fun.

After playing for two hours, they took a short break. They wanted to get out of the cold, so they went into a warm house and had a hot drink. They talked about their fun day there.

Soon it was time to go back home. Jay and Joan were very happy today.

In China, some schools have a spring outing every year. Students go to parks or some other interesting places for fun. People in the US also have their own special customs (风俗).

Have you heard of Spring Break? In the US, a spring break usually lasts for about one week in March each year. It is a popular holiday among American students of all ages. Many students will go on a vacation during this time. College (大学) students travel by themselves. High school students usually travel with their parents. When I was in high school, my whole family took a road trip across the country during the spring break. We visited all kinds of cool places and met lots of new friends along the way.

Spring cleaning is another custom in spring in the US. Each spring, many families will clean their houses. Families will find old things that they don’t want and sell (卖) them to their neighbors at low prices in their yards. It’s called a yard sale (出售). You never know what you may find at a yard sale. I’ve found musical instruments (乐器), some old books and all kinds of other interesting things. Spring cleaning is a good way to get a fresh start for the new year.

The dragon is a great animal in Chinese culture. It brings the wind and rain. It is said that every year on the second day of the second lunar (阴历) month, the dragon wakes up from its winter sleep and raises its head. Because of this, the day is called “Dragon Heads-raising Day” (Longtaitou). This year, it falls on February 24th.

Old people believed that after Longtaitou, there would be more rain. And rain is very important to farming. So Longtaitou was the start of spring and farming.

People have many ways to celebrate the festival. The most popular one is to have a haircut. Many people believe that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to your uncles-mainly your mother’s brothers. They hope getting a haircut on Longtaitou keeps them away from bad luck.

Among Chinese people’s festival traditions, there is always a place for food. During the Longtaitou festival, people eat food named after dragons. Noodles are called dragon’s beard (longxu). Dumplings are dragon’s ears (long er). And spring roll (春卷) are dragon’s skin (longlin).