Festival customs in China
Spring Festival in northern Shaanxi
The Spring Festival in northern Shaanxi is full of excitement and prosperity.
People in the yellow land attach great importance to festivals. There are many festivals in a year, but people are most concerned about the Spring Festival. Those who have worked hard for a year have added joy and hope to the new year. Every year when the twelfth lunar month comes, people start to get busy. Speaking of being busy, it's actually women who are busy. Busy with food and clothing, busy with washing, all the work must be done by the aunts themselves. Push the roller to press the cake noodles, catch up with grinding bean curd, donkey, steaming yellow steamed bread, brewing yellow wine, rolling noodles and frying oil cakes to prepare for the New Year's Eve dinner. During the Spring Festival, the whole family, old and young, should put on new clothes inside and outside. No matter how poor a family is, everyone should make a new coat. In addition, all bedding and clothes should be washed clean. There is also a custom to make "jujube cards" for children in the New Year. "Jujube brand" is to put red dates and straw with red lines on it, hang a copper coin on it, and hang a firecracker on the child's back. This is the mascot to ward off evil spirits and pray. Here, I also saw some people put on the "thimble" for needlework with red thread and hang it around the child's neck. This is also the mascot of blessing, called "aging thimble". Add one every year until you are twelve.
It's New Year's Eve, and everything is ready, such as putting up couplets, playing vinegar and charcoal, hanging red lights and cleaning the courtyard. Playing vinegar charcoal is a unique custom, that is, putting a red-hot charcoal on an iron spoon and pouring vinegar on it. "Burning vinegar and charcoal" should be carried out in every corner of the house, which means exorcism. In fact, this is a scientific disinfection method. As night falls, the old man always worships God, burns incense and paper, and leads his curious grandchildren to kowtow. The older children are busy shooting and lighting the tower. The careful aunt put charcoal blocks and ice cubes by the door, and set up a rolling pin and a knife and axe behind the door. It is said that this is evil, and it is called "guarding the old" here. People always go to bed on New Year's Eve. Generally, the lights are not turned off at home all night, which indicates peace and longevity in the four seasons. Put some food in the pot, which is called "according to the pot", which means that there is no shortage of food for a year. Some old people can't sleep this night. They climbed to the top of the mountain quietly in the dark and looked east. This is called "Pintian". According to the old man, we can see the abundance of crops and the good and bad luck in the village from the colorful roads in Xiaotian this year. Whether it works or not, no one will delve into it. On the first day of the first month, people get up at dawn. The first thing to do is to open the door, that is, open the door. Then, the old people were busy meeting God and the Kitchen God. The children have gone out to pay a New Year call. Here is called "seeking health" to pay a New Year call. When the younger generation meets their elders, they should "greet", like "Grandpa is in good health!" "Grandma is strong!" The elder replied, "Be a good doll!" It means praising children's health and progress. This custom of greeting the New Year is not limited to children, but also applies to men who have married and adopted children, and it is also true when they meet their elders.
Yangko is a unique custom in northern Shaanxi. During the Spring Festival, every village organizes yangko teams to pay New Year greetings from door to door, which is commonly called "along the door". Yangko pays homage to God in the temple first, praying for good weather and abundant crops for a year, and then pays a New Year call to every household. Every time the Yangko team went to a family, the umbrella head touched the scene and improvised lyrics to bless the owner. For example, "When you enter the gate and look up, the six-hole stone kiln will be in full bloom, and the grain will be abundant, and people will be safe all year round."
Jiangsu Province
During the Spring Festival, in addition to posting Spring Festival couplets, hanging New Year pictures, observing the new year, dancing lions and paying New Year greetings, Jiangsu folks have some unique customs, just like the whole country. Now the number of collections is for readers to see.
Suzhou people cooked water chestnuts in New Year's Eve meals and dug them out when eating, which is called "digging ingots". When visiting relatives and friends, you should put two green olives in your tea, which is called "Yuanbao Tea". Congratulations on getting rich.
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Wujin people hung up their ancestors' portraits in nave, presented tea fruits and rice cakes, and the whole family took turns to pay New Year greetings, which was called "the shadow of worship". Don't let them sweep the floor from home, for fear of sweeping out "wealth" and "wishful thinking", they can only sweep from the outside to the inside.
Jiangning people have the custom of "knocking on the drums" during the Spring Festival. The flag was won, and the gongs and drums team drummed everywhere. On the third day of the third year, night drums are played, and on the seventh day of the seventh year, bare-chested drums are played from 13th to 15th. The atmosphere is very warm.
Nantong people have the custom of planting sesame stalks, holly and cypress branches at home or in front of the church, which means that life is blooming every day and the seasons are evergreen.
Huaiyin people also have the custom of "roasting the head wind" for their children on the sixth day. In the evening, I took my children to the fields to light torches to drive away diseases. While roasting, I sang: "Roast my head, wake up, roast my feet, correct my steps, roast my stomach without diarrhea, and roast my whole body." This disease will never be seen. "
On the eighth day of this year, Wuxi fishermen took a boat to the Western Hills to worship the Wang Yu Temple, praying for the blessing of the water god and offering sacrifices to the Buddha, which was called "Shang". After the Wang Yu Temple was demolished, this custom gradually became indifferent.
During the Spring Festival, there are still many taboos in the old customs of Jiangsu, such as not moving scissors on the first day of the New Year to avoid disputes with each other; Don't move the kitchen knife to avoid being killed; Do not eat porridge, afraid of going out in the rain; Don't sweep the floor, afraid of sweeping away wealth and so on. With the popularization of scientific knowledge, many unscientific customs are gradually forgotten; Healthy and beneficial entertainment and leisure activities continue.
Wuxi
It is an old custom in Wuxi to open the door on the morning of New Year's Day and explode after opening it three times. Eating shredded pork cake, jiaozi and noodles for breakfast means reunion, promotion, longevity and Changchun. On this day, we only eat leftovers on New Year's Eve, which means "more than enough". When eating, you can't cook soup and pour rice, and you can't eat porridge for fear of going out in the rain. We should also avoid asking for fire and water from our neighbors, warning against swearing, getting angry and saying unlucky things, and praying for peace and good luck all the year round.
During the Spring Festival, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to their elders first, and then visits relatives and friends. When relatives and friends meet for the first time, they will say something like "Congratulations on your happy wedding", "Congratulations on getting rich" and "Congratulations on getting rich" to congratulate each other. The new son-in-law pays a New Year call to his parents-in-law's house, usually on the third day of the Lunar New Year. Old people have been celebrating the Spring Festival every 10 years since they were 60 years old.
Apart from putting up peach charms, mending doors and Spring Festival couplets, Wuxi also hangs Zhong Kui elephants in the New Year to avoid sneaking around for a year. Legend has it that Zhong Kui is good at catching ghosts. This custom probably began in the Tang Dynasty. Many folk families in Wuxi also have the custom of hanging red couplets with auspicious sentences on the lintel and paper-cut doormats. On the morning of New Year's Day, cakes and zongzi are popular in Wuxi, which means reunion and promotion. Besides, we should eat noodles, which means longevity and Changchun. Wuxi custom: When the children come in the New Year, the host will treat them with snacks and sweets. Children from relatives and friends who come to pay New Year's greetings will get lucky money. The new son-in-law goes to his mother-in-law's house to pay New Year's greetings, usually on the third day of the New Year's Eve. The third day is called Xiao Nian Chao. You can't sweep the floor, beg for fire or draw water, just like the custom on the first day of New Year's Day. There is another custom in Wuxi that is slightly different from other places, that is, the 60th, 70th and 80th birthdays are in the Spring Festival, not birthdays. On New Year's Day, many places have the custom of not sweeping the floor, and so does Wuxi. I think sweeping the floor should sweep away wealth. Even if you sweep the floor on the second day of the lunar new year, you can't dump the garbage outside the house, but pile it in the corner until the first day of the first month. This is called "gathering money". In the old dynasty, it was forbidden to beg for fire and water from others, to use knives and scissors, and to dump sewage and feces. You have to close the door two or three times to explode when you sleep in the New Year. I went to bed early that night in Wuxi. If children are too busy to sleep, parents often coax their children into saying, "Go to bed early and listen to old bugs tonight." Wuxi old customs attach great importance to the climate on New Year's Day, and often use this day's weather to predict the next year's harvest.
Jiangning county
During the Spring Festival in Jiangning County, a rooster was posted at your door. On New Year's Day, there were more believers in Wuxian than in Tong Yuan Temple. Suzhou custom: On New Year's Day, three firecrackers should be set off to open the door, which is called "promotion to the third level". When you go out in the morning, you should follow the direction specified in the yellow calendar, which is called "Happy God". In order to burn incense in temples such as the City God Temple and the Land Temple, you must go through ten temples, which is the so-called "ten temples to burn incense". From New Year's Day to Lantern Festival, huge coal is burning in the stove, which is called "Happy Group". Legend has it that people in Zhuan 'an eat jiaozi, so they eat jiaozi every day from the early morning of the New Year's Day to the Lantern Festival. Women in Wujin County cut off pine and cypress branches on New Year's Day, wrapped them in red silk and put them on a bun. It is said that they can live longer.
Guangxi
Nanning Spring Festival custom
The Spring Festival is the biggest festival in Nanning. From the first day of the first year, every household set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. The next day, relatives and friends came to visit each other with gifts to "celebrate the New Year". Lantern Festival, Lantern Festival, night. Temple fairs and "fireworks grabbing" were held in rural areas of sixteen counties. According to the unique Spring Festival custom of Zhuang nationality, we should also carry out activities such as picking new water, drinking spiritual water, dancing lions, jumping chickens and jumping spring cows. Before the dawn of the New Year's Day, Zhuang wives had gone to the river to fetch water for the whole family. When picking fresh water, you should also pick up a few stones similar to livestock and go home to imitate the sounds of six livestock all the way. After returning home, I put these stones in pigsty and cowshed, praying for the prosperity of six animals. Then, make New Year's tea with new water for the whole family to drink. Strong women want to drink smart water, that is, before drawing new water, they compete to drink the clear water given to them by the "smart sister-in-law" recognized in the village. They believe that this will make them smarter, and the girls to be married will take this opportunity to make up for finding the right husband in the new year. Dancing chickens and spring cows in western Guangxi is unique. On the first day of New Year's Day, the young man who jumped the chicken carried two chicken doors made of wood and papaya and went to every household to knock gongs to pay New Year's greetings. They sang a humorous chicken dance song, which made the main family smile. The main family pulled a few chicken feathers from the "chicken" and put them in their own chicken cages to pray for the prosperity of the six animals. Dancing cows are more interesting. The people who jump cattle regard this department as an exquisite "Spring Cattle" performance, with one supporting the bull's head in front and the other bending over and swinging its tail at the back; Behind him, a man with a plow is rushing to "Spring Cattle", and others are beating gongs and drums and singing the song of Spring Cattle, which is vast and jubilant.