How do Ningbo people spend the Spring Festival?
On the first day of the first month (Spring Festival), people get up early and put on new clothes, hats and shoes to welcome the beginning of the new year. I'm used to wearing new shoes that I haven't been on the ground, so I can be light-footed in the new year. After the male host gets up, he opens the door with auspicious words and then shoots at the door, which is called "opening the door gun". Generally, there are three shots when you open the door, but you should "take four shots and put three shots" and leave one shot as a "backup gun". In Ningbo dialect, the publication here is "Spare Gun". The louder the guns, the louder the sound, which indicates good luck in the new year. If it is a "blow, blow, blow" squib, it is unlucky. You should say at once, "Oh, blow it, you will make a fortune this year." And add one immediately.
Some families are vegetarian all day. The biggest feature of this custom is to let the household utensils "rest" for one day, that is, let the housewife rest, not sweep the floor, not borrow fire (not lighting others or cigarettes), not killing animals, not moving knives and scissors, not emptying the toilet, not washing clothes, not abusing children or saying unlucky things. Don't say "early" when meeting in the morning, which means attracting more fleas this year. If you stumble, you should immediately say, "Oh, I dropped my gold ingot." Tonight, go to bed before dark and don't light a lamp, which means that lighting a lamp this year will attract more mosquitoes and flies. Before going to bed, put a "closing gun". Don't go out at night, commonly known as "Christmas Eve"
On New Year's Eve, "lucky money" is wrapped in red paper and pressed under the pillow of children, so it is called "lucky money".
In the past, a big clan, a big family would dedicate the portraits of their ancestors to the ancestral hall or the middle hall (in front of the hall). Generally, portraits of ancestors within five generations are hung, which is synonymous with "offering a frame", "offering a shadow" and "offering a golden purple". In some ancestral temples, men 16 years old can worship, except women. A pair of pins and needles cakes (also called auspicious cakes) or two bowls are divided by the person in charge in turn. Young people worship their elders in order and call them "years old"
From the second day to the eighth day, or to the fifteenth day, every household goes out to visit relatives and friends, usually visiting relatives first, then visiting distant relatives, paying little attention to elders, husbands, nephews, uncles, aunts, etc., and hosting banquets for each other, which is called "Chinese New Year meal" and "Chinese New Year wine".
The fifth day of May is the God of Wealth Day, which is the most important day for business people. It is called "opening the market" after "recruiting the God of Wealth". Some Buddhists walk on the Seventh Bridge on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month without looking back, and worship eight monks in the eighth lunar month, commonly known as "walking on the Seventh Bridge" and "worshiping eight monks".
During this period, folk entertainment activities include dragon dancing lanterns and horse racing lanterns. A little different from other places is "pretending to sweep the floor", that is, beggars (called "rich people" at this time) carry baskets, hold brooms decorated with red balls in their hands, pretend to sweep the floor, and sing slang songs: "Hold up the golden broom and Riggs (like a voice) will sweep it. Sweeping eastward, there are Qinglong, Qinglong rice jar and Huanglong barn in the boss's room; Sweeping to the south, the boss made a fortune in the house, Da Yuanbao made a raft, and Xiao Yuanbao made a boat. "
Now people in Ningbo have generally changed many habits in the past. On the first day, I worship at my own home, the second day at my parents' home, and the third day at other relatives' homes. At other times, I will get together with friends to drink or travel at any time, and start to work in the sixth day.