duck, fish and meat, but also fruit, candies and kinds of nuts. what`s more, various decorations, new clothes and shoes for the children as well as gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives, are all on the list of purchasing.before the new year comes, the people completely clean the indoors and outdoors of their homes as well as their clothes, bedclothes and all their utensils.then people begin decorating their clean rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. all the door panels will be pasted with spring festival couplets, highlighting chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper. the content varies from house owners` wishes for a bright future to good luck for the new year. also, pictures of the god of doors and wealth will be posted on front doors to ward off evil spirits and welcome peace and abundance.the chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) is a must. the character put on paper can be pasted normally or upside down, for in chinese the "reversed fu" is homophonic with "fu comes", both being pronounced as "fudaole." what`s more, two big red lanterns can be raised on both sides of the front door. red paper-cuttings can be seen on window glass and brightly colored new year paintings with auspicious meanings may be put on the wall.