Customs related to the Spring Festival
Twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month: off-year sacrifice to the kitchen god
In different parts of the country, the dates of "off-year" are different: the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is the off-year in northern China, and the 24th of the twelfth lunar month is the off-year in southern China.
There are also different sayings: there is a tradition of "three officials, four people, four ships and five people" in ancient times. The official off-year is the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the civilian family is the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, and the houseboat is the 25th of the twelfth lunar month.
No matter what day the "off-year" is, people who have worked hard for almost a whole year will begin to prepare for the new year and plan a comfortable New Year. Off-year is the beginning of the New Year in China.
Twelfth lunar month: Zen dust sweeps the house
The folk proverb says, "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house". After holding the sacrificial stove, they officially began to prepare for the New Year. Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Cleaning the dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. North and south of the great river, everywhere is filled with the atmosphere of being willing to engage in hygiene and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.
Twenty-fifth of the twelfth lunar month: grinding bean curd
There is a folk saying that grinding bean curd is on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, so grinding bean curd is a custom. Interestingly, some places still have the custom of eating tofu residue before New Year's Eve. Speaking of it, on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the' rot' of tofu is homophonic with the' blessing' of happiness, so tofu represents a blessing. In addition, on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, there are customs of pasting windows, receiving jade emperors, driving away chaos and raising silkworms. Some ethnic minorities also designated today as the "Thousand Lights Festival" to express their yearning and longing for a better life.
1Feb. 26th: Kill pigs and cut annual meat.
As the saying goes, "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the pig is killed and the meat is cut in the new year" or "On the 26th, the head is cut", which means that this day is mainly for preparing meat for the Chinese New Year. The reason why "cutting the annual meat" is written into the annual festival ballad is because the agricultural society and economy are underdeveloped, and people often eat meat at the annual festival, so it is called "annual meat".
Twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month: Killing chickens to catch up with the big episode
In the traditional Spring Festival custom in China, people will slaughter their domestic birds on the 27th of the twelfth lunar month. Because people think roosters are valiant, spirited, imposing and festive, they are usually slaughtered. On this day, the slaughtered rooster will appear at the banquet on New Year's Eve. The whole chicken plate is placed in a plate in the middle of the table and cannot be disassembled. It is named "good luck", which means good luck. The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month may also be the busiest day before the Spring Festival, because on this day, we have to go to the market to buy all the new year's goods and properly prepare the new year's dishes, so the folks have the saying of "the twenty-seventh episode".
December 28th: Decals on cakes and steamed bread.
There is a saying in the middle of the year: "On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, cakes and steamed buns should be decorated with flowers" or "On the 28th, make noodles". The so-called decals are New Year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, window grilles and all kinds of immortals.
Twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month: Go to the grave and ask for a big confession from the ancestors.
In the twelfth lunar month, it was said, "Please go to the grave and ask your ancestors for a big donation." Ancestor worship has a long history in China. Seeing death as death is not only an important symbol of filial piety, but also a virtue of respecting the elderly. The Spring Festival is a big festival, and the ceremony of paying homage to one's ancestors is particularly grand. In most areas, ancestors were invited on the morning of the 29th. According to Mao Cui's "Four-person Moon Order" in Han Dynasty, "On the first day of the first month, you should bow down to your wife and ancestors. On the day of worship, I drank wine, and my family, big or small, was humble, second only to my ancestors. My son-in-law's great-grandson presented Chili wine to my parents, saying that it was to celebrate their long life and happiness. " This shows that as early as the Han Dynasty, ancestor worship in China was already a very important activity in the Spring Festival.
New Year's Eve: Keep the New Year's Eve.
? Family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve, also known as New Year's Eve, reunion dinner, reunion dinner and so on. Especially the New Year's Eve dinner. Reunion dinner is the highlight of the year ago, which is not only colorful, but also very meaningful. There are usually chickens (indicating a plan) and fish (more than enough every year) for good luck. China people's New Year's Eve dinner is a family reunion dinner, which is the most abundant and important dinner in a year.
? stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve
Shounian, also known as wasting time, lighting a fire, staying up late and so on. The folk custom of celebrating New Year's Eve is mainly manifested in the fact that lights are always on on New Year's Eve. Observing that New Year's Eve is called "Lighting the New Year with Lights", that is, it is full of lights and candles on New Year's Eve. It is said that this will enrich the wealth of the family in the coming year. Keeping old also refers to family reunion on New Year's Eve and staying up late to welcome the Lunar New Year.
? Setting off firecrackers
Setting off firecrackers is one of the traditional customs. It is said that firecrackers originated from firecrackers. This custom has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. Nowadays, people are used to setting off firecrackers to celebrate, whether it's Chinese New Year, getting married, getting promoted at school, etc.
? lucky money
After the New Year's Eve, the elders should distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. Lucky money means "lucky money", which is a good wish for the elders and children to grow up.
? make dumplings
Many traditional festivals in China eat jiaozi, and New Year's Eve also includes jiaozi, which has different meanings in peacetime. Whoever eats jiaozi with coins in it indicates good luck and good luck in the new year.
New Year's Day: Happy New Year
Clean the house before New Year's Eve. Don't use a broom on the first day of the new year. Don't take out the garbage. Prepare a big bucket of waste water, and don't spill it that day. You can't smash furniture during the New Year. If it's broken, you have to say "it's safe at the age of (broken)" or "it blooms on the ground and is rich and glorious". On the first day, you should pay New Year greetings to your elders or neighbors, and generally don't go far away to pay New Year greetings. After New Year's Eve, people open the door on the first morning and congratulate each other "Happy New Year! Peace and good luck. " The younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders, and the elders give lucky money to ward off evil spirits.
Lunar New Year's Day: Going back to my mother's house
On this day, the married daughter will bring her son-in-law and present them in pairs. The bride's family can't accept it all, and she has to take some back when she goes back to her husband's house. Daughters who go back to their parents' homes must bring some gifts and red envelopes to their children.
New Year's Day: Sleep well and get up late.
In traditional customs, the third day of the third lunar month is considered as the day when mice marry women, so you should rest early at night and don't disturb mice to marry women. Rats have a taste of "whoever doesn't let me have a good day, I will make him feel bad for a whole year". If they are disturbed and marry a daughter, rats will hurt the family.
Lunar New Year: Welcome to Kitchen God.
According to the folk saying, on the fourth day of the first month, Kitchen God should check the household registration, so every household should stay at home, prepare rich fruits, burn incense, light candles and set off firecrackers as a welcome. Kurnaedi said that although many folk sayings have no basis, they carry people's good wishes to pray and avoid disasters, which is why they have been handed down. We have to put together a hodgepodge of leftovers from a few days and clean up the new year's goods. Dust indoors, sweep the floor indoors, dump garbage in the yard, and prepare to "throw the poor".
Lunar new year: welcome the god of wealth
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, commonly known as "breaking the fifth", it is necessary to "drive out the five poor", including "intellectual poverty, academic poverty, literary poverty, life poverty and friendship poverty". People get up at dawn, set off firecrackers and clean up. Firecrackers are set from the inside out, and as soon as they are set, they go outside the door. It is said that anything unlucky will be blown out. On this day, the popular folk food custom is to eat jiaozi, commonly known as "squeezing people's mouths".
Lunar new year's day: send the poor
On the fifth day, I just welcomed the god of wealth into the door, and on the sixth day, I will send away the poor god. On the day of sending the poor god, we will do a general cleaning at home and throw away all the rubbish, useless rags and the like. In addition, on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, there are customs of pasting windows, receiving jade emperors, driving away chaos and raising silkworms. Some ethnic minorities also designated today as the "Thousand Lights Festival" to express their yearning and longing for a better life.
Lunar New Year's Day: "People's Birthday"
Also known as "Full Win Festival" and "Full Seven Days". Legend has it that Nu Wa created chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, horses and other animals at the beginning of creation, and then created people on the seventh day, so this day is the birthday of mankind. Parents can't give lessons to their children on this day.
Lunar New Year: Release and Prayer
On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, when the stars are in the lower bound, small lanterns are made to burn sacrifices, which is called Shunxing, also called "offering stars" and "receiving stars". Some people say that the eighth day is Xiaomi's birthday. If the weather is fine, the rice harvest will be good. If it is cloudy, it will be a hard year.
Lunar New Year: Sacrifice to Heaven
Lunar New Year's Day is a sunny day, commonly known as "born in the sky". It is said that this day is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. The main customs are offering sacrifices to the jade emperor and Taoist temple to heaven. In some places, when the weather is fine, women will prepare incense sticks and fast rice bowls and put them in the open air at the entrance of patio lane to worship heaven and pray for God's blessing.
Lunar new year's day: the birthday of offering stones
On this day, all stone tools such as grinding and grinding can't be moved, and even sacrifices are set up to enjoy the stones, for fear of hurting crops. Also known as "stone does not move" and "ten does not move". In most parts of China, everything on 14 is for the Lantern Festival the next day. On this day, the Lantern Festival was officially opened for the public to buy lanterns. For the Lantern Festival, performances such as dragon and lion dances began to be staged in the street. Some people write riddles on lanterns to add to the festive atmosphere. In China, riddles are very traditional crossword puzzles.
The fifteenth day of the first month: Lantern Festival
Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, as a kind of food, has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel Lantern Festival food was popular among the people. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan", later called "Yuanxiao", and merchants also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or "Tangyuan", is filled with white sugar, rose, sesame, red bean paste, yellow cinnamon, walnut kernel, nuts and jujube paste, and wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a circle, which can be meat or vegetarian, with different flavors. It can be boiled, fried and steamed, which means happy reunion.
Spring Festival is an ancient festival in China, and it is also the most important festival in a year. How to celebrate this festival has formed some relatively fixed customs and habits in thousands of years of historical development, and many of them have been passed down to this day. North and South customs are different, but one thing is basically the same, that is, family reunion, visiting relatives and friends, visiting elders and so on. May our children remember these customs full of affection and good wishes and pass them on from generation to generation.