Before the Chinese (or Lunar) New Year, people start decorating the outside of their homes with big red banners (a "banner" is another word for a long sign). These banners have Chinese words written on them that wish everyone luck, wealth, and fortune. Everyone also puts tangerines in front of the gates to their communities and in front of their doors. Finally, everyone goes back to their hometown! That means that many of the shops in China are closed for weeks in January and February while people celebrate the New Year Day and the week-long festival after it. The whole holiday is called Spring Festival.
The red decorations outside everyone's doors and the tangerines are both symbols of wealth. In Chinese culture, wealth— or the ability to live comfortably— is something that people hope and pray for every year. Life in China has often been hard for many people for many thousands of years, so this tradition is very rooted in China's history.
In China, family is extremely important, and so it is very important to be with family during this holiday. Because of this, all the train tickets to go back home have already been sold out for weeks, and it can be very difficult to travel during this time. Some say that every Lunar New Year in China, more people travel from one part of the country to the other at one time than anywhere else on earth.
Although China is almost the same size as the United States, much more of the land is made up of mountains that are difficult to farm.
