扫房 spring cleaning; general house-cleaning
　　【Food names】：
　　年糕 Nian-gao; rise cake; New Year cake
　　团圆饭 family reunion dinner                 年夜饭 the dinner on New Year‘s Eve
　　饺子 Jiao-zi; Chinese meat ravioli           八宝饭 eight treasures rice pudding
　　汤圆 Tang-yuan; dumplings made of sweet rice, rolled into balls and stuffed with either sweet or  spicy fillings
　　糖果盘 candy tray:                              什锦糖 assorted candies - sweet and fortune
　　蜜冬瓜 candied winter melon - growth and good health
　　西瓜子 red melon seed - joy, happiness, truth and sincerity
　　金桔 cumquat - prosperity                    红枣 red dates - prosperity
　　糖莲子 candied lotus seed - many descendents to come
　　糖藕 candied lotus root - fulfilling love relationship
　　花生糖 peanut candy - sweet
　　【Blessing】:
　　Treasures fill the home 财源广进
　　Business flourishes 事业兴隆
　　Peace all year round 岁岁平安
　　Wishing you prosperity 恭喜发财
　　Harmony brings wealth 家和万事兴
　　May all your wishes come true 心想事成
　　Everything goes well 万事如意
　　The country flourishes and people live in peace 国家富强、人民安康
　　Money and treasures will be plentiful 财源茂盛
　　Wishing you every success Promoting to a higher position 事业有成、更上一层楼、蒸蒸日上
　　Safe trip wherever you go 一帆风顺
　　Wish you happiness and prosperity in the coming year! 祝你新的一年快乐幸福
　　Wish you success in your career and happiness of your family! 事业成功，家庭美满（阖家欢乐）
　　【中国新年禁忌】：
　　Dos and Donts of Chinese New Year
　　Do's:
　　Wish everyone you meet a happy New Year by saying "gong xi fa cai", which translates to: "Have a happy and prosperous New Year!"  对每一个你遇到的人道一声：“恭喜发财”，翻译成英文就是：“在新的一年里拥有幸福繁荣的生活”；
　　Wear articles of red clothing because red symbolizes luck.  穿红色布料做成的饰品，因为红色昭示着幸运；
　　Eat vegetarian food because it's not good to see blood.  吃素食，因为见血是不吉利的；
　　Buy new trousers because the Chinese word for trousers is "fu", (Chinese homonym for wealth)  买新裤子（衣服），因为汉语里裤子就是“服”，（在汉语里与财富的“富”谐音）；
　　Children should stay up as late as possible on New Year's Eve for it is believed that the later they stay up, the longer their parents will live. 孩子应该在除夕之夜尽可能晚睡、熬夜因为据说他们睡的越晚，他们的父母越长寿；
　　Visit family (especially those older than yourself) and friends to pass on your wishes on good fortune for the New Year. (plus kids and single people will receive lai-see lucky red packets full of money.  拜访亲戚朋友（尤其是比你年长的），传递你对他们来年幸福的美好祝愿（另外孩子和单身的人将会得到装满钱的幸运红包，称为“来喜”。）
　　Give two lai see to each child. Because happiness comes in two's, do not just give one. This is your way of passing good luck to the next generation. Business owners also give lai see to employees and associates. 给每个孩子两份“来喜”（我觉得应该指钱是偶数的），因为好事成双，不要只给一份。这是你把祝愿传递给下一代的方法。企业主（老板）也要给员工和同事红包。
　　Don'ts:
　　Don't wear white or black clothing, since they are the traditional colours of mourning.  不要穿白色或黑色服装，因为这是传统意义上丧事的颜色；
　　Don't buy new shoes for the first month of the New Year, because the sound of shoe in Chinese is "hai". "Hai" is similar to the sound of sighing, which Chinese believe is not a good way to start the year.  不要在新年的第一个月买新鞋，因为在汉语里鞋的发音是“孩”（好像是四川地区的发音），它与叹息”唉“相近，中国人认为这不是新年伊始的好兆头。liuxuepaper.com