1.What festivals and customs are there in February?
Time: December 30th of the lunar calendar
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New Year's Eve is called New Year's Eve. In addition, the original meaning is "go" and it is extended to "easy"; The original meaning of the word "evening" is "sunset" and it is extended to "night". So New Year's Eve means "farewell to the old and welcome the new", which means "farewell to the old and welcome the new".
origin
New Year's Eve originated from the "expulsion" in the pre-Qin period. According to Lu Chunqiu Ji, the ancients beat drums to drive away the "plague god" the day before the New Year, and there will be no disease or disaster in the coming year.
Another name
In ancient times, "New Year's Eve" had other names, such as "except night, no night, except year, except year, all year round". Although there are many names, they always mean to send the old to welcome the new and eliminate disasters and diseases.
the Spring Festival; Chinese New Year
Time: the first day of the first lunar month to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
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Spring Festival is the first year of the lunar calendar, commonly known as "New Year's Day", also known as "New Year's Day".
origin
The origin of the Spring Festival has a history of about 4000 years in China. This is the most lively and grand traditional festival in China. The ancient Spring Festival refers to the "beginning of spring" season in the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar. It was not until the Southern and Northern Dynasties that the Spring Festival was changed to the end of the year, generally referring to the whole spring. At this time, spring returns to the earth and everything is renewed. People regard it as the beginning of a new year. In the early years of the Republic of China after the Revolution of 1911, after the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar, the first day of the first month was designated as the Spring Festival. It was not until1September 27th, 949 that the China People's Political Consultative Conference officially designated the New Year from the first day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the first month as the "Spring Festival", so many people still called it the Spring Festival.
Related legends
In ancient China, there was a monster called Nian. Its tentacles were very long and fierce. Nian lived on the seabed for many years, and climbed ashore every New Year's Eve, eating livestock and hurting people's lives.
Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.
On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were taking refuge in the mountains when an old beggar came from outside the village. He was leaning on crutches, carrying a bag on his arm, with elegant silver whiskers and staring at Matthew.
Some villagers sealed windows and locked doors, some packed their bags, some herded cattle and drove sheep, and people shouted boo everywhere, which was a scene of panic. At this time, who still has the mind to take care of this begging old man?
Only an old woman in the village east gave the old man some food and suggested that he go up the mountain quickly to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man smiled and said, "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive the Nian beast away.
When the old woman looked at him carefully, she found that he was young, healthy, energetic and had an extraordinary world outlook. But she continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. My mother-in-law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains.
At midnight, Nian beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and bright candles in the room. The beast Nian trembled and let out a long whistle.
Nian stared at her mother-in-law's house for a while, then screamed and rushed over. As we approached the door, there was a sudden explosion in the yard. Nian trembled and dared not go any further.
It turns out that Nian was most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Nian" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion.
The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers the promise of begging for the elderly.
Villagers flocked to the old woman's house, only to find that red paper was stuck on her mother-in-law's door, a pile of unburned bamboo was still exploding in the yard, and several red candles in the house were still glowing. ...
In order to celebrate the auspicious arrival, ecstatic villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another and went to their relatives and friends' homes to congratulate and say hello. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "Nian" beast.
Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom has spread more and more widely, and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China. [3]
Applicable area
The Spring Festival is the most important festival of the Han nationality, but more than a dozen ethnic minorities, such as Manchu, Mongolian, Yao, Zhuang, Bai, Gaoshan, Hezhe, Hani, Daur, Dong and Li, have also had the custom of the Spring Festival, but the form of the festival has its own national characteristics and is more meaningful.
custom
Set off firecrackers and paste Spring Festival couplets to eat jiaozi in the New Year.
Origin: The concept of Spring Festival and New Year originally came from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of the valley "year". Hebe: "It's ripe." . The Xia and Shang Dynasties created the Xia calendar, which takes the moon's waning and waning as one month and divides a year into twelve months. Every month, the day when the moon can't be seen is the new moon, and the time of the first month is called the beginning of a year, also called a year. The title of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty and was officially set in the Western Han Dynasty, which continues to this day. However, in ancient times, the first day of the first month was called "New Year's Day". Until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China, in order to conform to the farming season and facilitate statistics, the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated that the people would use the summer calendar, and institutions, factories, mines, schools and organizations would adopt the solar calendar, with the Gregorian calendar 1 month 1 day as New Year's Day and the first lunar month 1 day as the Spring Festival.
Relationship between New Year's Day and Spring Festival
Celebrate New Year's Day1September 27th, 949, the founding of New China. At the first plenary session of the China People's Political Consultative Conference, it was adopted to use the Gregorian calendar era internationally, and the Gregorian calendar 1 month 1 day was designated as New Year's Day, commonly known as the Gregorian calendar year; The first day of the first lunar month is usually around beginning of spring, so the first day of the first lunar month is designated as the Spring Festival, commonly known as the Lunar New Year.
In the traditional sense, the Spring Festival refers to the La Worship sacrificial ceremony from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month or the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. The Spring Festival is a traditional festival, and the Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China will hold various celebrations, most of which are mainly to offer sacrifices to the gods and buddhas, to worship ancestors, to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, and to pray for a bumper harvest. The forms of activities are rich and colorful, with strong national characteristics.
the Lantern Festival
the Lantern Festival
Time: the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
English: Lantern Festival is an important traditional festival in China. The fifteenth day of the first month is the night of the first full moon in a year and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty. On the night of the Spring Festival, people celebrate it and celebrate the continuation of the Spring Festival, so it is also called "Shangyuan Festival", that is, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. In ancient books, this day is called Shangyuan, and its night is called Yuanye, Yuanxi or Yuanxiao. The name Yuanxiao has been used ever since.
Customs Because of the custom of putting lanterns and watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival, people also call it the Lantern Festival. In addition, there are customs such as eating Yuanxiao, walking on stilts, solve riddles on the lanterns, dragon dancing, lantern dancing and lion dancing.
The evolution of ancient calendars in China is closely related to the phases of the moon. On the fifteenth day of the first month, people ushered in the first full moon night of the year, which is naturally regarded as an auspicious day. As early as the Han Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the first month has been regarded as a day of offering sacrifices to gods and praying for blessings. Later, the ancients called the fifteenth day of the first month Shangyuan, the fifteenth day of July Zhongyuan and the fifteenth day of October Xia Yuan. At the latest, in the early Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sanyuan was the day when grand ceremonies were held. Of the three elements, Shangyuan is the most valued. Later, the celebrations in the Central Plains and Xia Yuan were gradually abolished, but Shangyuan was enduring.