The Spring Festival marks the first day of a new year, so the first meal is rather important. People from the North and the South have different   (1)   about the foods they eat on this   (2)   day. In Northern China, people   (3)   eat Jiaozi. The word Jiaozi in Chinese means the   (4)   and the beginning of time. According to historical   (5)  , in the past people from the North and the South both ate Jiaozi on Chinese New Year’s Day. Perhaps   (6)   the areas in Southern China   (7)   more rice than those in Northern China, southern people slowly   (8)   to eat many other kinds of food on New Year’s Day.   (9)  , the most common foods for the first   (10)   are noodles, New Year Cake and Tangyuan. The noodle   (11)   long life. The New Year Cake is called Niangao in Chinese, which   (12)   the hope of improvement in   (13)   year after year. Tangyuan is a symbol of   (14)   according to the Chinese.

To   (15)   a New Year visit to relatives and friends is an important activity during the Spring Festival. People also send cards to   (16)   a New Year’s greeting. What children love most is to set off firecrackers.    (17)  , as the pace of life is becoming faster and faster, people have   (18)   new ways to celebrate the Chinese traditional New Year. For example, many people no longer send out greeting cards.   (19)  , they use short messages or emails. Also to travel during the New Year holidays has come into   (20)  .