The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, is commonly referred to as the New Spring, the New Year, the First Day of the Year, etc. In daily speech, it is also called Guo Nian (Passing the Year) or Da Guo Nian (Celebrating the Grand Year). With a long history, it evolved from the rituals of praying and offering sacrifices at the beginning of the year in ancient times.
In ancient times, the character Sui (year) referred to a tool for harvesting and sacrifice, while the character Nian (year) symbolized a mature harvest (the earliest form of the character Nian depicts a person carrying ripe grain). People celebrated the harvest, worshipped Heaven and ancestors, and drove away evil spirits in various ways, gradually forming the custom of celebrating the New Year.
Etymologically, the name Chun Jie (Spring Festival) consists of two parts: Chun (Spring) and Jie (Festival). Chun stands for spring, symbolizing the start of a year, vitality, and all things reviving. In traditional Chinese culture, spring is regarded as a symbol of life and hope. Jie means a festival—a special, significant day marked by unique celebrations. Thus, Chun Jie literally means "the Festival of Spring" or "the festival celebrating the arrival of spring," reflecting its profound status in Chinese hearts: it is far more than an ordinary festival, but a special occasion symbolizing renewal, hope, and family reunion.
The festival is named the Spring Festival because it marks the start of the lunar new year, a time when spring returns and nature comes back to life. People name it so to celebrate the arrival of a new year and the rebirth and renewal of the natural world. This naming also embodies the respect and reverence for time and nature in traditional Chinese culture.
From ancient times to the present, the first month of the year has been called the First Month (Zheng Yue) or the Primordial Month (Yuan Yue). Despite the same names, the actual date of the First Month varied across different dynasties in Chinese history. Originally, the term Spring Festival did not refer to the festival but specifically to Start of Spring (Li Chun), one of the 24 solar terms. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Spring Festival broadly referred to the entire spring season.
The concept of Spring Festival as we know it emerged gradually during the Republican period. After the 1911 Revolution, China adopted the Gregorian calendar. The first day of the first lunar month was renamed the Spring Festival, while January 1 of the Gregorian calendar was designated as New Year’s Day (Yuan Dan).
Source: Baidu Baike (Spring Festival Entry)