The nearly five-hour long show draws between 400 million to 700 million viewers every year, according to statistics from CCTV. The 2012 gala, with an average reach of 499 million viewers, set a new Guinness World Record for the “Most Watched National Network TV Broadcast”.
据央视统计，每年将近5个小时的春晚节目会吸引4-7亿观众。2012年春晚的观众数达到了4.99亿，创下了世界吉尼斯纪录“最多观众观看电视节目”项目。
Despite being a massively popular show, the CCTV gala is not merely entertainment.
尽管春晚已经成为一种颇受欢迎的节目，但是它不仅仅只是一个娱乐节目。
“It’s part of modern culture for Chinese people,” Huang Yihe, director of the first CCTV gala in 1983, told China Daily. “[People] have been working for a whole year and need an outlet to express their emotions.”
“对于中国人来说，春晚是一种现代文化”第一届春晚的导演黄一鹤告诉《中国日报》“人们辛辛苦苦的工作了一年，需要一个表达情感的出口”。
The first CCTV gala was broadcast live at a time when it was considered a luxury to have a TV in China. As TV sets became affordable for more families, the gala turned into an indispensable part of the Lunar New Year.
第一届春晚直播的时代，那时在中国电视机还是一种奢侈品。随着电视机开始在中国家庭普及，春晚也变成了春节不可缺少的一部分。
Times, of course, have changed. “The gala is much more complicated than before,” 78-year-old Huang said. “The gala was born at a special time in our nation’s history. Like our country, it developed fast.”
当然时代会变。“春晚比以前复杂多了”现已78岁的黄一鹤说道。“春晚出生在中国历史上一个非常特殊的时代，就像我们的国家，变化是飞速的”。
Changes can be both good and bad. The gala’s popularity has gradually declined in recent years, with the number of comments criticizing the show increasing. Many critics are from the younger generations, lamenting the show’s lack of creativity and fun.
变化是把双刃剑。最近十年，春晚的流行程度已经大大降低了，出现越来越多的批判声音。这些批判主要来自年轻一代，他们抱怨春晚毫无新意和趣味。
“Organizers need to know the audience and understand what they like,” said Wu Xiao, 22, a senior in English at Qingdao University.
“组织者应该关注观众需求，以及去了解观众喜欢什么”22岁的吴晓，一位在青岛大学学英语的大二学生，如是说。
Like many from the post-1990 generation, Wu is never short of entertainment choices on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Surfing the Internet and playing games on gadgets ― the CCTV gala is not a priority anymore.
同许多90后一样，吴晓从来不在大年三十的晚上看春晚，她更愿意上上网，或者玩游戏。
In order to attract viewers from a younger demographic, gala organizers have been putting much effort into finding out what they want. Months ago, director Ha Wen took her team to various cities to talk with young people and get feedback.
为了吸引年轻一代观众群，春晚组织者已经努力去寻找年轻人的真正需要。几个月以前，春晚导演哈文带领她的团队走访多个城市，与年轻人沟通，并搜集反馈。
“We listened to them and hopefully they will get what they want from the show,” she said in an interview with Beijing Evening News last month.
“我们认真倾听他们的意见，并希望春晚能满足他们的要求”哈文在上个月北京晚间新闻节目中接受采访时说。
For the past few years, the gala has featured more pop stars, especially from Hong Kong and Taiwan. This year, international star Celine Dion is scheduled to make an appearance.
在过去的几年时间，春晚上尽是大腕明星，特别是那些港台明星。今年，更是邀请到了国际巨星席琳迪翁春晚助阵。
“I certainly appreciate their effort. Balancing viewers’ interests and the show’s variety is no easy task,” Wu said.
“我为他们的努力付出而感动。要考虑到所有观众的喜好，以及晚会的多样性真的是一件不容易的事”吴晓说。
But one aspect of the gala has not changed, and that is the undeniable meaning it has for Chinese people.
但是春晚一点没变，它对中国人来说蕴含了不可否认的意义。
Despite the negativity, most Chinese people always watch CCTV on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Zhu Jun, who hosted the gala for 15 years, said in his book My Midnight Moment: “It is more like a habit for most Chinese people on that special night.”
尽管负面声音仍然存在，但是大多数中国人仍然会在三十晚上观看央视春晚。主持了春晚15年的朱军在他的著作《我的零点时刻》中说道：“对大多数中国人来说，在那个特殊之夜观看春晚更像是一种习惯”。
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