Beijing Folk Custom Museum hosted a traditional event on Friday, known as Xiaonian or "Little New Year" in Chinese, to kick off the countdown to the Chinese Lunar New Year. Calligraphers were invited to write the Chinese character "fu" (meaning "blessings" in English) and Spring Festival couplets to send festival blessings. More than 1,000 sets of Spring Festival couplets were distributed to citizens. As part of the traditional Chinese customs, red decorations are commonly displayed in homes during the Spring Festival, and the Spring Festival couplets play a significant role. By carefully writing neat characters in the couplets, Chinese people convey positive images and express good wishes. Chinese people paste Spring Festival couplets on the two sides of a door to express their wishes and greetings for the new year.Photos: Chen Tao/GT