Does anyone have information on Spring Festival customs?
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for the Han people, but more than a dozen ethnic minorities such as Manchu, Mongolian, Yao, Zhuang, Bai, Gaoshan, Hezhe, Hani, Daur, Dong and Li also have the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival. The form of celebrating the festival has its own national characteristics and is more meaningful.
The Spring Festival has different names in different eras. In the pre-Qin period, it was called "Shangri", "Yuanri", "Chanisui", "Xiansui", etc.; in the Han Dynasty, it was also called "Three Dynasties", "Suidan", "Zhengdan", "Zhengri" ; In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was called "Yuanchen", "Yuanri", "Yuanshou", "Suichao", etc.; in the Tang, Song, Yuanming and Ming dynasties, it was called "New Year's Day", "Yuan", "Suiri", "Xinzheng" ", "Xinyuan", etc.; in the Qing Dynasty, it was always called "New Year's Day" or "Yuan's Day".
The origin of the Spring Festival
The oracle bone inscription "Nian" is written with the character "禾" in the upper part and the character "人" in the lower part. The word "year" in bronze inscriptions is also the same as that in oracle bone inscriptions, and it comes from grain and people. "Nian" in Xiaozhuan is written as "上禾下千", "Shuowen Jiezi·Hebu": "Nian means that the grain is ripe. From the grain, from Qian Sheng." The Xiaozhuan has changed the word "人" into "Qian" Yes, so Xu Shen used this explanation, and the character "Qian" originally meant a decorated person, so this explanation is not contradictory. "He" is the general name for grains and cannot be mistakenly interpreted as "wheat". The quality of the annual harvest is mainly determined by the growth and harvest of "Grain". And the word "Grain" in the oracle bone inscriptions that have been excavated almost always looks like it is bent down under heavy pressure. It can be seen that it symbolizes Get a bumper harvest in grain production. What is the explanation for the word "人" under the word "年"? Judging from the oracle bone inscriptions, the word "year" seems to be a person carrying a heavy grain on his head. ?
The Spring Festival was originally called "New Year's Day". Du Taiqing of the Sui Dynasty said in the "Five Candles Collection": "The first month is the Dragon Moon, and the first day is the Yuan Day, which is also the Zhengchao and Yuan Shuo." The original meaning of "Yuan" is "head", which was later extended to "beginning". Because this day is the first day of the year, the first day of spring, and the first day of the first month, it is called "Sanyuan"; because this day is also the first day of the year. Because it is the first lunar day, it is also called the "Yuan Shuo".
[Edit this paragraph] Customs of the Spring Festival
The Stove King's Niche The twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month is also called "Little Year", which is a day for people to worship the stove. In the folk song "Twenty-three, sugar melon sticky" refers to the sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying of "officials, three people, four boatmen and five", which means that on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the government, Generally, people hold sacrifices to the stove on the 24th, while people living on the water hold sacrifices to the stove on the 25th.
Sacrificing stoves is a custom that has great influence among Chinese people and is widely spread. In the old days, almost every kitchen had a "Kitchen Lord" statue in the kitchen. People call this god "Si Ming Bodhisattva" or "Zao Lord Siming". Legend has it that he is the "Jiutian East Chef Siming Zao Wangfu Lord" conferred by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each family and is regarded as the protector of the family. worship. Most of the Kitchen King's niches are located on the north or east side of the kitchen room, with the statue of the Kitchen King in the middle. Some people who don't have a niche for the Kitchen King stick the statue of the god directly on the wall. Some statues only depict the Kitchen God alone, while others include two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Kitchen God". In the Cangzhou area of Hebei Province, every year in the twelfth lunar month of the lunar calendar, every household is busy from the 23rd to the 30th day. Staying up late at night is called "staying up late". This custom is related to the Stove King Grandma.
The sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the Chinese New Year. Because, on the eve of the New Year’s Eve a week later, the Kitchen God came to the world together with other gods with the good and bad luck that the family should receive. The Kitchen God is believed to lead the way for the gods in the sky. The other gods ascend to heaven again after the New Year, but only the Kitchen God will stay in people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony to welcome the gods is called "receiving the gods", and for the Kitchen God, it is called "receiving the stove". The ceremony of taking over the stove is usually on New Year's Eve, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, you only need to put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche.
On the Stove Festival, people pay attention to eating dumplings, which means "sending off dumplings and facing the wind". People in mountainous areas eat more cakes and buckwheat noodles. In the southeastern part of Shanxi Province, the custom of eating fried corn is popular. There is a folk proverb that goes, "On the 23rd, if you don't eat fried corn, you will eat it in one pot at the beginning of the new year." People like to bind the fried corn with maltose and freeze it into large pieces, which tastes crispy and sweet.
After the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, every household must write Spring Festival couplets. Folks pay attention to the fact that if there are gods, every door must be posted, and every object must be posted, so the Spring Festival couplets have the largest number and the most comprehensive content. The couplets in front of the gods are particularly particular, and they are mostly words of admiration and blessing. Common ones include the divine couplet of heaven and earth: "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and the earth's virtues are as heavy as mountains"; the divine couplet of land: "white jade grows from the soil, and gold comes from the earth"; the divine couplet of wealth: "the master of wealth in heaven, the god of fortune and fortune on earth"; the god of wells Couple: "A well can connect to the four seas, and a home can reach three rivers." The Spring Festival couplets on granaries, livestock pens, etc. all express warm celebrations and hopes. For example, "The grains are plentiful and the livestock are prosperous"; "The rice and flour are as thick as mountains, and the oil and salt are as deep as the sea"; "The cattle are like southern mountain tigers, and the horses are like northern sea dragons"; "The big sheep are prosperous every year, and the lambs are growing every month" and so on. In addition, there are some single couplets, such as "Look up to see happiness" on each indoor side, "Go out to see happiness" on the opposite side of the door, "Prosperity soaring to the sky" on the prosperous fire, "Full of gold in the courtyard" on the courtyard, and "Gold in the courtyard" on the tree. "The roots are deep and the leaves are luxuriant", the stone mill is pasted with "White Tiger and Good Luck" and so on. The couplets on the door are the facade of a family, and they are particularly important. They are either lyrical or scene-describing, rich in content, and full of witticisms.
On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dusting and sweeping the house
After the Stove Ceremony is held, preparations for the New Year begin formally. Every year from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, Chinese folk call this period "Spring Day", also called "Dust Sweeping Day". Sweeping dust is the year-end cleaning. It is called "house sweeping" in the north and "dust dusting" in the south. Sweeping dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of our people.
" "Three Corpse Gods" Taoism refers to the "gods" worshiped in the human body. According to the "Tai Shang Three Corpses Zhong Jing": "The name of the upper corpse is Peng Kuo, which is in the human head; the name of the middle corpse is Peng Zhi is in the human belly; the corpse named Peng Jiao is in the human feet. "It is also said that every Geng Shen day, they go to heaven to report people's sins to the Emperor of Heaven; but as long as people stay up all night on this night, they can avoid it, which is called "Shou Geng Shen".
Sweeping dust—— Folk proverb says: "On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust the dust and sweep the house. "It's called house sweeping in the north, and dusting in the south. Thorough cleaning is done outdoors and inside the house, in front of and behind the house, to welcome the new year cleanly.
[Edit this paragraph] Spring Festival holiday
The Spring Festival holiday generally lasts from the afternoon of New Year's Eve to the seventh or eighth day of the first lunar month. Starting from 2008, the Spring Festival holiday has been adjusted to two days before New Year's Eve and the first lunar month.
Hong Kong and Macau
If any of the first three days of the first month happens to be a Sunday, New Year's Eve will be included as a public holiday, such as the first day of the first lunar month in 2007 (February). The 18th) happens to be a Sunday, so New Year’s Eve (February 17) is included as a public holiday
Taiwan
New Year’s Eve and the first three days of the first lunar month, if New Year’s Eve or the first lunar month occur. On Saturday or Sunday, the fourth day of the first lunar month (and the fifth day of the first lunar month) will be a compensatory holiday. For example, in 2007, the Lunar New Year's Eve (February 17) and the first day of the first lunar month (February 18) happen to be Saturdays and Sundays, so the fourth day of the first lunar month (2 February 21st) and the fifth day of the first lunar month (February 22nd) are included as consecutive holidays.
Malaysia
The first two days of the first lunar month are holidays.
Singapore
The first two days of the first month
Vietnam and South Korea
The first three days of the first month
[Edit this paragraph] The third day of the twelfth lunar month.
New Year's Eve refers to the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month every year, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month). The word "Chu" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to change". New Year's Eve means "the end of the month and the end of the year". People have to get rid of the old and replace the old with the new. It means that it is the last night of the lunar calendar, so the activities during this period are all centered around it. In the Zhou and Qin dynasties, at the end of each year, the "Da Nuo" ceremony was held in the palace to beat the drums and drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster, which was called "Zhu". "New Year's Eve", later also called the day before New Year's Eve as Little New Year's Eve, that is, Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is Great New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve. The wooden New Year paintings in Zhuxian Town are opposite to the door god, and the door god is about to be whipped
Post the door god
There is a custom of posting door gods during the New Year in various parts of my country. The door gods were originally carved into human figures and hung next to people. Later, portraits of the door gods were painted and posted on the door. They guard the door, and evil spirits, big and small, dare not enter to cause harm.
Spring couplets originated from "taofu", a rectangular hanging on both sides of the door in the Zhou Dynasty. Peach wood board. According to "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Book of Etiquette", the peach charm is six inches long and three inches wide. The two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" are written on the peach wood board. , feared by all ghosts. "So, the Qing Dynasty's "Yanjing Chronicles" says: "Spring couplets are peach charms. "
During the Five Dynasties, in the court of Western Shu, someone wrote couplets on peach symbols. According to "History of the Song Dynasty: Shu Family": Meng Chang, the Lord of Later Shu, ordered the scholar Zhang Xun to inscribe the peach wood board, "with the Fei Gong, a self-motivated inscription says: "New Year's Day, Happy Festival, Changchun". This is my country's first Spring Festival couplets. Until the Song Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were still called "Taofu". In Wang Anshi's poem, there is "Qianmen" Every day, thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches. In the Song Dynasty, the peach charms were changed from peach wood boards to paper, called "spring stickers".
In the Ming Dynasty, the peach charms were renamed "spring couplets". Chen Yun of the Ming Dynasty According to "Hao Yun Lou Miscellaneous Stories": "The creation of Spring Festival couplets dates back to Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. In Jinling, the imperial capital, a decree was suddenly passed on before New Year's Eve: a Spring Festival couplet must be added to the door of the houses of ministers, scholars and common people when the emperor was leaving. "Zhu Yuanzhang not only went out of the city in disguise to watch the laughter, but he also wrote Spring Festival couplets himself. He passed by a house and saw that there were no Spring Festival couplets posted on the door, so he went to inquire and found out that this was a castration house and had not asked anyone to write it for him. Zhu Yuanzhang He specially wrote the Spring Festival couplets for the pig man, "Cleaving the road of life and death with one hand, cutting off the roots of right and wrong with one knife." The couplets were appropriate and humorous. After the Ming Dynasty Taizu advocated this, the Spring Festival couplets became a custom and have been passed down to this day. /p>
Pasting blessing characters, pasting window grilles, pasting New Year pictures, and pasting hangings
These all have the folk functions of praying for blessings and decorating homes. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country, he reflected. It embodies the customs and beliefs of the people and expresses people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door gods". Spring couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei, while New Year pictures still follow the direction of painting. develop.
With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to door gods, but gradually invites the God of Wealth into the home, and then in some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", " Colorful New Year pictures such as "A bumper harvest", "Prosperity of livestock", "Welcome the Spring and receive blessings" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. Because Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, New Year paintings became popular due to his influence. There are three important production areas of New Year paintings in the country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong, forming the three major schools of New Year paintings in my country. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined the calendar with New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar. Hanging Qian is to use auspicious words engraved on red paper, with a long ruler, and stick it in front of the door to complement the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them were hung in front of the Buddha. It is mostly used by thousands of households, but less used by aristocratic families. The yellow paper is three inches long and the red paper is more than an inch long. It is a "small hanging thousand" and is used by shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang was made of coins (copper coins). Like New Year's money, it has the effect of suppressing victory.
Setting up a heaven and earth table
This is a temporary offering table specially designed for New Year’s Eve. Generally, homes that do not have a large Buddhist hall attach great importance to the Heaven and Earth Table, because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha, and at the end of the year a large reward is given to the gods and Buddhas. In addition, this table is mainly used to receive the gods. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. In addition to the usual hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the idols enshrined there are also temporary, such as: "hundred percent", It is a woodcut album of god statues; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a full deity code printed with watercolor woodcut on large yellow edge paper; portraits of the three stars of fortune, longevity and longevity, etc. Some of the above statues were burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%". Some have to wait until Powu or even the Festival of Lanterns to burn them. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house. If there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods.
Staying up late
Chinese people have the habit of staying up late on New Year’s Eve, which is commonly known as “staying up late”. Staying up all year long starts with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The custom of keeping the year old includes not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year.
Set off firecrackers
When the New Year’s bell rings at midnight, the sound of firecrackers shakes the sky across the entire land of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "the yuan of the year, the yuan of the month, and the yuan of the time", some places still build "vigorous fires" in the courtyard to show that the energy is strong and prosperous. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and jumped happily. At this time, there were bright lights inside the house, brilliant sparks in front of the court, and loud noises outside, pushing the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to its climax. . Poets and writers of all ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with their most beautiful verses. Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri":
The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to people.
Thousands of households are as bright as the sun. Always replace old talismans with new ones.
Describes the festive scene of our people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. Business family. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a lot of money in the new year. However, according to old customs, you should be the first to honor the God of Wealth, and the last to set off firecrackers. Legend has it that if you want to make a fortune, the firecrackers should be fired until the end to be considered sincere.
Eating New Year’s Eve dinner
While the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes have been prepared a few days ago, and The New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked by the chef on New Year's Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the "crackling" sound of abacus and the mellow sound of accounting reports came from the small shops, mixed with the laughter everywhere, one after another. , filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.
Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. The table is filled with sumptuous New Year dishes, and the whole family is reunited. Sitting around the table and having the reunion dinner together, the sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "abundance every year". There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you don’t know how to drink, you can drink a little.
There are many famous New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, long noodles, yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, which means "Geng Sui Jiao Zi" (Geng Sui Jiao Zi), the transition between the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in".
When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying whoever eats them first will make more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing saw that the ears of the poor were rotten by the frost during the twelfth lunar month of winter, so he made a "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold-warming medicinal materials, wrapped them in dough to make ear-shaped "Jiao Er", cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to the poor. After eating, people felt their whole body warm and their ears warm. Later, people followed suit and it has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created. Pangu created the world, and then there were four directions in the universe and long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.
Joining the Gods
Joining the Gods distinguishes the old and new years, but the time of receiving the Gods is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, at midnight, and some begin after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world again to take care of matters. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance, and then lead the whole family to hold incense and pick up the god according to the direction in the courtyard. . For example, the "Constitution" in the Xinwei year states: "The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Fortune is due south, the God of Gui is northeast, the God of Joy is southwest, the God of Taisui is southwest, etc." After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basin that has been prepared in the courtyard for burning. When burning, burn pine branches, sesame straw, etc. together. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.
Trampling on the evil spirits
After receiving the god, spread sesame straw from the street door to the house door, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "trampling on the new year", also known as "trampling on the new year". It's called "trampling on evil spirits". Since "broken" and "haunted" have the same pronunciation, it means starting to drive away evil spirits in the new year.
Ancestor worship
In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to the different etiquette and customs in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to visit their ancestors' tombs, some go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and most of them place the ancestor's tablets in the main hall in sequence at home, display the offerings, and then the worshipers press the long The younger ones offer incense and kneel down in order. When the Han people worship their ancestors, they usually make fish and meat bowls, which are served in high bowls, which is quite similar to eating with bells and cauldrons. For southerners living in Beijing, ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of dishes, with a hot pot in the middle and cups and chopsticks according to the spiritual position. On New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and New Year's Eve, the hot pot is fanned out and the dishes can be changed at any time. Banner people worship their ancestors, which is different from Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongolian Banner people offer yellow rice noodles fried in butter, which are fried in sesame oil and dipped in white sugar when they are removed, which gives them a different flavor. Manchurian bannermen worshiped their ancestors and offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples, and plain wax sandalwood, which was extremely quiet and solemn. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian dumplings are served, and on Yuan Yuan night, Lantern Festival is served. Every morning and evening, incense is burned, kowtow is offered, and new tea is offered. Although there are different forms of ancestor worship, most of them are hung on New Year's Eve and the offerings are withdrawn on the night of the Lantern Festival. Relatives and friends who are close to you must also visit the ancestor hall when paying New Year's greetings. Not only should they be careful to follow the distant past, but they will never forget their intentions, because of the virtue of respecting their ancestors. , also saved by this.
Sending the God of Wealth
In the old days, since the opening of the Wealth Gate at midnight during the Spring Festival, people would send gifts to the God of Wealth. They would hold a piece of paper printed on the God of Wealth outside the door and shout: "Send the God of Wealth." Here comes the Lord!" At this time, the owner of the house, in order to welcome the God of Wealth, gave the visitor a reward, and of course he always said some auspicious words when giving it to the God of Wealth. For example: "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in"! "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right"! And so on and so on. Another way is to dress up as the God of Wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat, a fake beard, and a yellow bag for collecting money, followed by a few gongs and drums, going from house to house. Distribute statues of the God of Wealth in order to collect rewards. Every time I go to someone's door, I sing: "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right side is full of treasures." A lot of auspicious words are uttered, until the owner happily takes the red paper statue of the God of Wealth. , gave them some money, and these people who pretended to be the God of Wealth, thanked them repeatedly, beat hard for a while, and moved to another house amidst the sound of gongs and drums.
Drinking Tusu wine
Tusu wine is a medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi and boil it for four or five times with wine. In ancient times, the way to drink Tusu wine was very unique. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest ones. Probably the younger ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older ones drink later to show their retention as each year passes. The Song Dynasty writer Su Che's poem "Chu Ri" said: "I drink Tusu at the end of the year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is the custom. This unique drinking order often evoked various emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people.
Every other year's meal
In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked before the new year and served during the New Year. It is called "every other year's meal" because there is leftover every year. There is endless food to eat all year round, so this year it means eating the food from the past year. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it has yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver, and the pot is full of gold and silver".
The cakes, fruits and pastries prepared in many places during the observance of the year are all intended to bring good luck: eating dates (early spring), eating persimmons (all goes well), eating almonds (happy people), and eating immortality fruit (immortality) ) and eat rice cakes (which get higher every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed.
[Edit this paragraph] The first day of the first lunar month
The Spring Festival is commonly known as "New Year", formerly known as "New Year's Day". The original meaning of "Yuan" is "head", which was later extended to "beginning". Because this day is the first day of the year, the first day of spring, and the first day of the first month, it is called "Sanyuan"; because this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the month, and the dynasty of the sun, it is also called the "Three Chaos" ; And because it is the first lunar day, it is also called "Yuan shuo". The first day of the first lunar month is also known as Shangri, Zhengchao, Sanshuo, and Sanshi, which means that the first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of the year, month, and day.
On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door is opened, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door firecrackers". After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with red, as bright as clouds and brocade, which was called "Full of Red". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy.
An important activity during the Spring Festival is to go to new friends’ homes and neighbors to wish them a happy New Year, formerly known as New Year greetings. The custom of paying New Year greetings among the Han people has been around since the Han Dynasty. It became very popular after the Tang and Song Dynasties. Some people who did not need to go there in person could send congratulations with name cards. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was called "thorn", so the business card was also called "name thorn". After the Ming Dynasty, many families put a red paper bag on their door to collect name cards, called a "door book".
However, from the first to the fifth day of the first lunar month, most families do not accept women, which is called "taboo". Only men can go out to visit the New Year, while women must wait until after the sixth day of the first lunar month to visit. The New Year greeting activities will be extended for a long time, until around the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Visiting people to pay New Year greetings in the evening is called "Ye Bao Festival", and after the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, it is called "Lantern Festival", so there is a joke that "it is not too late to eat cold food if you are willing to pay New Year greetings".
If for some reason you fail to follow the rituals and make up for it in the future, it is called "paying homage to the old age"
Zhusui
In the old days, people used to enter the new year. The weather will be cloudy and sunny this year. The theory begins with "Sui Zhan" written by Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty, which states that eight days after the end of the year, one day is the chicken day, the second day is the dog day, the third day is the pig day, the fourth day is the sheep day, the fifth day is the cow day, the sixth day is the horse day, and the seventh day is the horse day. One day is a great man, eight days is a valley. If the day is sunny, the object will flourish; if the day is cloudy, the object will not prosper. Later generations followed this custom and believed that the weather from the first to the tenth day of the lunar month was auspicious with clear weather, no wind and no snow. Later generations developed from accounting for age into a series of sacrifices and celebrations. There is a custom that no chickens are killed on the first day of the lunar month, dogs are not killed on the second day of the lunar month, pigs are not killed on the third day of the lunar month... no executions are carried out on the seventh day of the lunar month. Painting chickens
Painting chickens
In ancient times, chickens were painted on doors and windows during the Spring Festival to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The "Xuanzhong Ji" written by the Jin Dynasty talks about the aforementioned rooster on Dushuo Mountain. It is said that when the sun just rose and the first ray of sunlight shone on this big tree, the rooster appeared. It cried. As soon as it crows, all the chickens in the world will crow. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival actually symbolizes the rooster. However, there is also a saying in ancient mythology that the chicken is the transformed Chongming bird. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, the friendly countries that passed over paid tribute to a Chongming bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomed the arrival of the Chongming bird. However, the tribute envoys did not come every year, so people carved a wooden Chongming bird or cast a Chongming bird. Placing the bird on the doorway or painting the Chongming bird on the doors and windows can scare away demons and ghosts so that they do not dare to come again. Because the Chongming birds resemble chickens, people gradually changed to painting chickens or cutting window grilles and pasting them on doors and windows, which became the source of paper-cut art in later generations. In ancient my country, chickens were particularly valued and were called “the bird of five virtues”. "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says that it has a crown on its head, which is a virtue; it has a distance behind its feet and can fight, it is a martial virtue; it dares to fight in front of the enemy, it is a brave virtue; it has food to greet its kind, it is a benevolent virtue; it keeps vigil without losing sight of others. When the dawn comes, it is faith. So people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also designate the first day of the New Year as Rooster Day.
Gathering Wealth
It is said that the first day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the broom. You cannot use a broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck, lose money, and attract the "broom star", causing bad luck. . If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep from the outside to the inside. It is also not allowed to pour water or take out garbage outside on this day, for fear of losing money. Today, many places still have a custom of cleaning up on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, no brooms are taken out, no garbage is taken out, and a large bucket is prepared to hold wastewater, and no spilling is allowed on that day.
[Edit this paragraph] On the second day of the first lunar month
On the second day of the first lunar month (the fourth day of the first lunar month in the north), the married daughters will return to their natal homes with their husbands and children. pay a New Year call. When a daughter returns to her parents' home, she must bring a big bag of biscuits and candies, and her mother distributes them to the neighbors and folks, just like during the Chinese New Year. If there are multiple daughters in the family, and these daughters do not come back on the same day, then they have to come one at a time, and the gift is quite thin, just four biscuits. However, the affection it reflects is very strong. The true meaning is "little etiquette but heavy affection". It expresses the girl's deep longing for her fellow villagers. When the girl returns home, if there is a nephew at home, the aunt has to dig into her pocket again. Although she has already given the new year's money on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the meaning this time is different. This custom is called "eating the sun and the day" by Chaoshan people. As the name suggests, it is just for lunch, and the daughter must rush back to her husband's house before dinner.
Sacrifice to the God of Wealth
In the north, people worship the God of Wealth on the second day of the first lunar month. On this day, both commercial shops and ordinary families will hold activities to worship the God of Wealth. Every family offers sacrifices to the God of Wealth they received on New Year's Eve. In fact, they burned the crude prints they bought.
We will eat wontons at noon today, commonly known as "Yuanbao Soup". Sacrificial offerings include fish and mutton. Big business houses in old Beijing hold large-scale sacrificial activities on this day. The sacrifices must be made from the "five major offerings", namely whole pigs, whole sheep, whole chickens, whole ducks, red live carp, etc., in the hope of making a fortune this year. There are different opinions on who the God of Wealth is, mainly as follows:
Zhao Gongming is also called Zhao Xuantan because Zhang Tianshi once ordered him to guard the Xuantan. This person comes from "The Romance of the Gods", Jiang Ziya named him "the god of the golden dragon, Ruyi Zhengyi, the true king of the dragon and tiger Xuantan". Zhao Mingliang, also known as Gongming, is the god of Xuanwu in Taoism, commonly known as Master Zhao Gong. This theory comes from "The Encyclopedia of Searching the Gods of the Three Religions", and the full name of the holy name is: "General Manager Shangqing Zhengyixuan Altar Flying Tiger Golden Wheel Law Enforcement Zhao Yuanshi".
Fan Li, Zhao Gongtianshi and Guan Yu are the gods of martial wealth. In addition, there are those who worship Taibai Star, called "Caibo Star King". Because Taibai is also called Venus, it is associated with the God of Wealth. There are also those who regard the Monkey King and the Lucky Boy as their gods of wealth.
Most of the folk offerings are from Zhao Gongming. The printed image is very majestic, with a black face and thick beard, a helmet on top, a whip in hand, surrounded by patterns such as cornucopias, large ingots, and corals. , to set off and highlight the gorgeous and luxurious effect.
[Edit this paragraph] The third day of the first lunar month
The third day of the first lunar month is the day when Nuwa makes sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that the sheep will be raised well this year and the people who raise sheep will have a good harvest.
Burning the Door God Paper
In the old days, on the third day and night of the Lunar New Year, the pine and cypress branches during the New Year Festival and the Door God Papers hung during the festival were burned together to indicate that the New Year was over and that the new year was coming. Start making a living. As the saying goes, "Burn the door god paper, and you will find your own health."
Millet’s Birthday
People believe that the third day of the first lunar month is Millet’s birthday. On this day, sacrifices are made to pray for good luck, and rice is not eaten.
Little New Year's Day
It is the Tianqing Festival. It was a court festival in the Song Dynasty. In the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhenzong issued an edict declaring the third day of the first lunar month as the Tianqing Festival, and officials and others took a five-day holiday. Later, it was called the Xiaonian Dynasty. It did not sweep the floor, beg for fire, or draw water, just like the Sui Dynasty.
Post "Red Mouth"
In southern China, "Red Mouth" (forbidden words) must be posted on the morning of the third day of the Lunar New Year. It is considered that this day is prone to quarrels and is not suitable for New Year greetings. The so-called "chikou" usually uses a red paper about seven or eight inches long and one inch wide, with some words about peace and good fortune written on it (the content has a certain format, for example: "At the beginning of the first month of Jiaxu, 1994 AD" On three days, incense should be made in front of the god and the front door should be nailed to cut off the naked thieves and thieves from all directions. All misfortunes will come to heaven and good fortune will come to heaven. This garbage was accumulated on the first and second days of the first lunar month. It must be cleaned and dumped together on the third day of the lunar new year. Otherwise, it will be like draining the gold and silver treasures from the home. In short, posting "chikou" makes people feel psychologically that they can go in and out safely all year round, avoid quarrels with others or various unfortunate disasters, attract more wealth and treasures at home, and everything goes well.
"Send off the New Year"
The New Year's send-off ceremony is usually held in the evening to send off the gods and ancestors to return to heaven.
[Edit this paragraph] The fifth day of the first lunar month
The fifth day of the first lunar month is commonly known as Powu. According to folk custom, many taboos five years ago can be broken on this day. According to the old custom, it is necessary to eat "water dumplings" for five days. In the north, it is called "boiled dumplings". Nowadays, some people only eat it for three or two days, and some eat it every other day, but there is no one who doesn’t eat it. This is true from the prince's mansion to the small households in the streets, even when entertaining guests. Women no longer stay taboo and start visiting each other to pay New Year greetings and congratulate each other. Newly married women return to peace on this day. It is said that it is not suitable to do anything on the fifth day, otherwise you will be in trouble during the year. In addition to the above taboos, the five customs of Po Wu are mainly to send away the poor, welcome the God of Wealth, and open markets for trade.
New Year Picture: God of Wealth