过年习俗之大年初一：串门走亲戚
正月初一
Today is the 1st day of the 1st month in Lunar Calendar. On the first day, the oldest and most senior members will be visited, the visits serve to strengthen family kinship. This practice is called New-Year Visits ( 拜年 bai nian, or wishing somebody a Happy New Year).
今天是农历正月初一。在今天，晚辈将去长辈的家里串门走亲戚，走亲戚有助于加强亲属之间的关系。这种做法被称为拜年 （拜年，或祝某人新年快乐）。
The visitor will bring a small gift to the household which will be visited- usually two mandarin oranges, as the fruit symbolises gold, hence wealth and good fortune. Giving oranges in pairs because of the preference of number two in Chinese culture as there is an idiom saying 好事成双 ( hao shi cheng shuang, good things come in pairs).
来访者会给到访的家庭带来一份小礼物——通常是两个橘子，因为橘子象征着黄金，因此象征着财富和好运。为什么送两个橘子，在中国的文化中人们偏好二这个数字是因为习语说的好：好事成双。
Children or unmarried will receive 红包 (hong bao, or red packet) from the senior. The red colour of the envelope symbolises good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. It is traditional to put brand new notes inside red packets and also to avoid opening the packets in front of the relatives.
There is also the tradition of welcoming guests with tea and sweet treats, such as sugared fruits which are supposed to sweeten one’s upcoming year.
还有一个传统是用茶和糖果欢迎客人，比如加糖的水果，它们可以让人在即将到来的一年里变得更甜。
Sweets and fruits are served on a round tray - the form resembling togetherness and hence the tray is most commonly translated as the “Tray of Togetherness” (八宝盒，ba bao he).
糖果和水果放在一个圆形的盘子里——这种形式类似于团聚，因此这个盘子通常被翻译成“团聚的盘子”。
The sweets will be arranged in eight units, as the number eight symbolises luck as the Chinese word 8 (ba) sounds similar to prosperity (fa, 发).
糖果将被分为八个单元，因为数字8象征着运气，因为中文单词8（ba）听起来类似于繁荣（fa，发).
In addition, the fruit pomelo is always consumed at Chinese New Year as its Chinese name 柚 (you) sounds exactly same to the word ‘to have’ (有, you) in the language. This fruit signifies abundance in Chinese food symbolism.