Halloween is a strange holiday. It started several centuries ago in Europe. It began as “Hallow Evening” which means “holy night”. At that time November 1st was called “All Saints’ Day” （万圣日）and people honored all the saints（圣徒）who did not have their own special day. People believed that all the spirits of dead people were active on the night of October 31st. So people would play all sorts of tricks on each other.

Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. Pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween, so orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Making lanterns out of pumpkins is a Halloween custom.

Halloween is great fun for children. They dress up as ghosts or witches（女巫）. Small children go “Trick-or-Treating”. They wear costumes, knock on doors, and shout, “Trick or Treat!” People almost always choose to give them candy as a treat, instead of choosing to receive a trick from the children. Adults sometimes “trick or treat” their friends, too. Usually the “treat” is a glass of wine or some small gifts.

China is a country with many colorful traditional festivals. The Dragon Head Raising Day (龙抬头) is one of them. This special day is on the second day of the second month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It means the beginning of spring and farming.

The dragon is important in Chinese culture. We Chinese people call ourselves the “descendants (传人) of the dragon”. So, it’s traditional for many people to celebrate this festival.

There is an old saying: “If the dragon doesn’t raise its head, it won’t rain.” The dragon is the god who is in charge of (掌管) the rain. How much it rains decides whether the farmers could have a big and successful harvest (收成). It shows that our humans want to get along well with the nature. That’s why we celebrate the festival.

In ancient times, people put ashes (灰) in the kitchen. They believed this could help “lead the dragon into the house”. People believed that with the help of the dragon, their fruits and vegetables could grow well. Also people eat special food on that day. The names of the food have some relationships with the word “dragon”. For example, people eat “dragon whisker” noodles (龙须面) and dumplings called “dragon ears”.

Today, many traditions have disappeared. But cutting hair is still an important tradition in many places. It’s called “cutting the dragon head”. This shows the good beginning of the year. It brings good luck. Many old people believe that a haircut during the first lunar month may bring bad luck to their relatives. So many people choose to cut their hair on the Dragon Head Raising Day though it costs more.

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 March 14th.

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. Mary 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).

People also hold activities like dragon dancing on the day. In some places in Shandong province, people make dragon lanterns (灯笼) too. Small reed (芦苇) boats go down the rivers and carry the lanterns, which stand for people’s best wishes and good luck.