“The Spring Couplet”, also called “couplet” and “a pair of antithetical phrases”, is a special form of literature in China. The Spring Couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and a horizontal scroll bearing an inscription, usually an auspicious phrase, above the gate. The sentence pasting on the right side of the door is called the first line of the couplet and the one on the left the second line. On the eve of the Spring Festival, every household will paste on doors a spring couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the Festival. In the past, the Chinese usually wrote their own spring couplet with a brush or asked others to do for them, while nowadays, it is common for people to buy the printed spring couplet in the market.
Spring scrolls and New Year paintings are always stuck on the doors and walls of a family. The content of the spring scrolls are various. Generally, the scrolls stuck on the door is to show the family status and the happiness to welcome the New Year; walking in, you will see the scroll about luck, such as "Raise your head and see happiness (Tai Tou Jian Xi)" and "Everything looks fresh and gay"; on the door of the room, there are always scrolls about longevity and blessing; on the door of shops always write wishes for prosperous business; beside the kitchen god's portrait, the scroll with earnest hope is
stuck; on the grain bin, wishes for good harvest are written...
But the families could not stick New Year scrolls for three years if some of their relatives has/have passed away. The most popular contents of the New Year paintings are mainly chicken, fish, children, flowers and the god of wealth. In some places, red paper-cuts are posted to the window.
The Chinese people love to stick couplets on the Spring Festival, which are also written on red paper.春节时,中国人喜欢贴春联,春联也是用红纸写的。Spring scrolls, also known as spring posts, are poems written on red rice paper to celebrate the New Year.春联,也叫“春贴”,是人为庆祝春节在红色纸上写下的诗句。During the Spring Festival,every family pastes the Spring Festival couplets on their doors to express sincere blessings and good wishes.(春节期间,每家每户都在门口张贴春联以表达真诚美好的祝愿。)
During the festival, each family would light firecrackers and paste up Spring Festival couplets, and the relatives and friends would send New Year's greetings go each other to wish everything smoothly in the new year.过年的时候,每家都放鞭炮,贴春联。亲戚朋友之间要相互拜年,预祝在新的一年里事事顺利。The Chinese people love to stick couplets on the Spring Festival, which are also written on red paper.春节时,中国人喜欢贴春联,春联也是用红纸写的。Spring scrolls, also known as spring posts, are poems written on red rice paper to celebrate the New Year.春联,也叫“春贴”,是人为庆祝春节在红色纸上写下的诗句。During the Spring Festival,every family pastes the Spring Festival couplets on their doors to express sincere blessings and good wishes.(春节期间,每家每户都在门口张贴春联以表达真诚美好的祝愿。)