Festivals and celebrations 节日与庆祝活动

Festival questions reward the EXACT term. Answering only 节日 (a festival) or 假期 (a holiday) does not identify which one; the precise name (春节, 中秋节, 端午节) is required, and 除夕 (the eve) is not interchangeable with 春节. ✗ 我们家过节的时候很开心。(too vague -- which festival?) ✓ 我们家过春节的时候很开心。(Wǒmen jiā guò Chūnjié de shíhou hěn kāixīn.) -- My family is happy at Spring Festival.

Asked WHY a family follows a festival custom, weaker candidates give a consequence ("so we watched the Gala") instead of the belief behind it. ✗ A: 后来全家一起看了春节晚会。(a result) ✓ 因为爷爷说一起包饺子能让全家感情更亲近。(Yīnwèi yéye shuō yìqǐ bāo jiǎozi néng ràng quánjiā gǎnqíng gèng qīnjìn.) -- Because grandpa says making dumplings together brings the family closer. Separate 原因 from 结果.

传统 (chuántǒng, tradition) and 传说 (chuánshuō, legend) sound almost identical and share 传, but a CUSTOM you do (贴春联, 赛龙舟) is a 传统, while a STORY explaining a festival's origin is a 传说. ✗ 中秋节的传统是嫦娥奔月。✓ 中秋节的传说是嫦娥奔月，赏月才是传统。(Zhōngqiūjié de chuánshuō shì Cháng'é bēn yuè, shǎngyuè cái shì chuántǒng.) -- The LEGEND is Chang'e flying to the moon; moon-viewing is the actual tradition.

In the Paper 1 writing (Ex4/Ex5) candidates are reminded NOT to use pinyin -- only characters are credited, so writing a festival name as "Chūnjié" earns nothing. Pinyin is tolerated only as a substitute for a character in the LISTENING answers, where it must be unambiguous. If unsure of a character such as 粽子, choose a simpler festival word you can write correctly.

A 比 comparison cannot take 很 or 非常 before the adjective. ✗ 春节比圣诞节很热闹。✓ 春节比圣诞节更热闹。/ 春节比圣诞节热闹得多。(Chūnjié bǐ Shèngdànjié gèng rènao. / …rènao de duō.) -- The Spring Festival is (much) livelier than Christmas. Show degree with 更/得多/一点, never 很/非常. This surfaces constantly when comparing festivals across cultures.

了 marks a single completed event, so it clashes with a habitual marker like 每年都 describing a repeated custom. ✗ 我们每年除夕都吃了饺子。(habitual + 了) ✓ For a repeated custom drop 了: 我们每年除夕都吃饺子。(Wǒmen měi nián chúxī dōu chī jiǎozi.) But for one finished occasion 了 is needed: 去年除夕我们吃了饺子。(Qùnián chúxī wǒmen chī le jiǎozi.) -- Last New Year's Eve we ate dumplings.

Learners often treat 除夕 (chúxī) and 春节 (Chūnjié) as two names for one day. In fact 除夕 is NEW YEAR'S EVE -- the last night of the old year, when the reunion dinner 年夜饭 happens -- while 春节 is the Spring Festival, New Year's Day and the days after. ✗ 除夕就是春节。✓ 除夕是春节的前一天晚上。(Chúxī shì Chūnjié de qián yì tiān wǎnshang.) -- New Year's Eve is the night before the Spring Festival.

圣诞节 (Shèngdànjié, Christmas) is celebrated in China with gifts and decorations, but for most people it is a popular commercial occasion, not a traditional festival like 春节 -- shared customs do not mean shared significance. ✓ 圣诞节不是传统节日，重要性比不上春节。(Shèngdànjié bú shì chuántǒng jiérì, zhòngyàoxìng bǐ bú shàng Chūnjié.) -- Christmas matters less than Spring Festival.