What is the time to post Spring Festival couplets in 23 years?
There is no unified time for posting Spring Festival couplets in 2023. Generally speaking, auspicious days for posting Spring Festival couplets refer to New Year's Eve, and 2023 is 1 and 2 1. However, because many people will go back to their hometown for the Spring Festival, they will choose to post Spring Festival couplets around the following year. The best time to post Spring Festival couplets is the 29th and 30th of the twelfth lunar month.
Post Spring Festival couplets on the afternoon of the 29th of the twelfth lunar month (13 to 15). It's time to put up Spring Festival couplets and tear down the old ones, which means that the coming year will be prosperous. And put up Spring Festival couplets between 6 am on New Year's Eve and noon on 12, tear up the old Spring Festival couplets and throw them away, indicating that everything is fine this year. Posting Spring Festival couplets is not too strict now, and it can be posted after the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.
The custom of posting Spring Festival couplets
"Every family always has new peaches for old ones", and the earliest prototype of Spring Festival couplets is "Fu Tao", which is made of peach wood (which can drive away filth and evil spirits). The color of mahogany is red, which means to ward off evil spirits and good luck. It is six inches long and three inches wide, with spring words or prayers written on it, hanging on both sides of the gate, which means blessing and good luck.
It is said that Meng Changjun, the monarch of Shu after the Five Dynasties, had a whim on New Year's Eve in 964. Let the bachelor write two sentences on the mahogany "New Year Qing Yu, Jiaxu Festival Changchun", which means to enjoy the legacy of the previous generation, and the new spring is always there. This is China's first Spring Festival couplets.
In the Song Dynasty, the peach symbol was changed from mahogany board to paper, which was called "Spring Sticker". In the Ming Dynasty, "Spring Festival couplets" was officially renamed as "Spring Festival couplets", so the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets originated in the Song Dynasty and was popular in the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, Zhu Yuanzhang loved couplets in the Ming Dynasty, and ordered that "a picture of Spring Festival couplets should be posted on the doors of public officials and scholars", which promoted the popularity of Spring Festival couplets among the people.