Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhè gè jiérì jiào Chūnjié. - This holiday is called Spring Festival.

In 这个节日叫春节, the phrase 这个节日 means this festival/holiday.
In Chinese, 这 cannot directly modify a noun; it must be followed by a measure word (here, 个) before the noun:

这 + 个 + 节日 → this + (measure word) + festival → this festival

What is 个 (gè) doing here? Why do we need it?

个 (gè) is a measure word / classifier.

In Chinese, when you say this/that/one/two + noun, you must insert a measure word:

一个人 – one person
这本书 – this book
那只狗 – that dog
这个节日 – this festival

Here, 个 is acting as a general measure word for 节日 (festival).
Without a measure word, 这节日 sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Mandarin; 这个节日 is the normal form.

What does 节日 (jiérì) mean exactly? Is it the same as holiday?

节日 (jiérì) means festival, holiday, or a festive day.

It focuses on the celebration/festival aspect (like Christmas, Eid, Diwali).
If you want to emphasize days off / vacation time, Chinese often uses 假期 (jiàqī).

So:

春节是中国最重要的节日。 – Spring Festival is China’s most important festival.
春节假期有七天。 – The Spring Festival holiday (time off) is seven days long.

Why is 叫 (jiào) used here instead of the verb 是 (shì)?

叫 (jiào) in this sentence means to be called / to be named.

这个节日叫春节。 → This festival is called Spring Festival.
他叫王明。 → He is called / is named Wang Ming.

You could also say:

这个节日是春节。 → This festival is Spring Festival.

Both are correct, but:

叫 emphasizes the name of something.
是 states an identity or equivalence.

In many contexts, 叫 + name feels more natural when introducing what something/someone is called.

Can I say 叫做 instead of 叫 here? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

这个节日叫做春节。

叫做 (jiàozuò) also means to be called / to be known as.

Subtle differences:

叫 is more common and casual, used in everyday speech.
叫做 can sound a bit more formal or explanatory, and is common in written language, definitions, or when carefully explaining a term.

In conversation, 这个节日叫春节 is perfectly natural.

What exactly is 春节 (Chūnjié)? Is it a proper noun?

春节 (Chūnjié) is the Spring Festival, often known in English as Chinese New Year.

It is a proper noun, the name of a specific festival.
In English, you normally capitalize it: Spring Festival or Chinese New Year.

So in the sentence, 春节 is the name of 这个节日 (this festival).

What are the tones and pronunciations of each word in this sentence?

The full sentence with tones:

这 (zhè) – 4th tone
个 (gè) – 4th tone (often becomes neutral tone in fast speech: zhège → zhè·ge)
节日 (jiérì) – 节 (jié) 2nd tone, 日 (rì) 4th tone
叫 (jiào) – 4th tone
春节 (Chūnjié) – 春 (chūn) 1st tone, 节 (jié) 2nd tone

So the whole sentence in pinyin is:

Zhè ge jiérì jiào Chūnjié.

In natural speech, many people pronounce 这 in 这个 more like zhèi: zhèige / zhèige jiérì jiào Chūnjié. Both are acceptable.

Why is there no word like “it” in the Chinese sentence?

English needs a subject pronoun like it (It is called Spring Festival), but Chinese does not use a dummy subject like that.

In Chinese:

这个节日 already serves as the subject.
You do not need anything like it.

So while English might say:

It is called Spring Festival.

Chinese says directly:

这个节日叫春节。 – This festival is called Spring Festival.

Can I drop 这 (this) and just say 这个节日叫春节 as 节日叫春节?

You can say 节日叫春节, but the meaning changes:

这个节日叫春节。 – This festival is called Spring Festival. (refers to a specific one)
节日叫春节。 – The festival is called Spring Festival. (sounds more generic or depends a lot on context; might be less natural as a standalone sentence)

Without 这, you lose the demonstrative meaning this.
In most teaching or explanatory contexts, 这个节日叫春节 is clearer and more natural.

Why doesn’t Chinese use anything like “a” or “the” in this sentence?

Chinese does not have articles like a/an or the.

Instead, specificity is often shown by:

Demonstratives like 这 (this), 那 (that)
Context
Measure words

In 这个节日叫春节:

这 already gives a specific reference (this festival),
so there is no need for a or the.

Is the word order always “subject + 叫 + name” when saying something is called something?

Yes, the basic pattern to say X is called Y is:

X + 叫 + Y

Examples:

我叫李华。 – I am called Li Hua.
这只狗叫豆豆。 – This dog is called Doudou.
这个节日叫春节。 – This festival is called Spring Festival.

You can think of it as:

X is called Y → X 叫 Y

Could I say “春节叫这个节日” instead?

No, 春节叫这个节日 is unnatural and wrong.

In this pattern:

The thing/person is the subject.
The name goes after 叫.

So:

这个节日叫春节。 – This festival is called Spring Festival. ✅
春节叫这个节日。 – Spring Festival is called this festival. ❌ (incorrect in normal Chinese)

If you want to say Spring Festival is a festival, you would say:

春节是一个节日。 – Spring Festival is a festival.