Early in the morning on January 1, I get up and take the dog for a walk. When I come back, my parents get up. Dad starts making breakfast of eggs and fruit.

After breakfast, my family starts today’s job—cleaning the house. My mom and I take out all the useless things. Dad puts them in a box for next year. I help him when Mom walks from room to room to put away other things.

Soon, everything is ready. Mom prepares（准备）a special lunch for us. She says it can bring good luck to eat dumplings on New Year’s Day. We enjoy delicious food while watching TV.

I love the big day. ▲ It’s a great time for us to enjoy ourselves. The new year can not be bad if it starts like this!

As a Brazilian, I think the Brazil Carnival (巴西狂欢节) is more than just a festival—it’s a big party that shows how lively our country is. This year, Rio de Janeiro Carnival took place from Feb. 9 to 17.

Carnival holds different meanings for different people. When I was a little boy, it was a national holiday—a time to get off the school uniforms and enjoy ourselves in a world of unusual costumes (服饰). My mom made smart costumes for me, from Wonder Woman to Cinderella.

But as we grow older, carnival takes on new meanings, like a samba (桑巴) dancer learning difficult steps. In my hometown, samba groups from all over the city have exciting parades (游行) in the streets. It’s a time when everyone forgets their worries and enjoys themselves together. People who don’t know each other become friends, and laughter fills the air.

And then there’s Rio de Janeiro’s famous Carnival—it makes all other parties seem like warm-ups. I once had the chance to see it firsthand. I saw the lively streets and people from all walks of life hug each other. The whole city danced into the night until the morning. But more than just the excitement, carnival shows how strong and united (团结的) Brazilians are. It’s a time when people forget their differences and come together in a celebration of happiness.

The Spring Festival is celebrated not only in China but also in other parts of the world. The traditional holiday is the most important to Chinese both home and abroad.

The United Kingdom Celebrations of the Spring Festival in the UK started in 1980, with the first evening party held in 2002. Every new year, people get together and have a lot of activities. They sing songs, dance to music, share photos with friends or enjoy films in a cinema.

The United States The Spring Festival has become a key time for Chinese living or working in the US. They join in a large evening party to welcome the traditional new year. It is a good chance for people to build a circle of friends and feel that they are not alone because they share the same culture and values.

Australia The Spring Festival will be welcomed with three weeks of celebrations across Australia. Many people come to Sydney’s Chinatown or Little Bourke in Melbourne. They enjoy fireworks, lion dances, dragon boat races and many other traditional activities. The celebrations are also a bridge towards better understanding between Chinese and non-Chinese.

Singapore The family dinner on new year’s eve is an important tradition for Chinese whether they were born in Singapore or moved there from China. They place traditional food on a table as an act of remembering their past. Then the whole family enjoy their dinner together. They usually hold it at home because having it in a restaurant takes away the meaning of the tradition.