Torch Festival of Yi people, that is, the Year of Yi people. In the eyes of Yi people, fire symbolizes light, justice and prosperity, and a powerful force that can destroy all evil. Torch Festival is a festival of joy, love and happiness for Yi people. 3. Customs and Excise Department
Lunar New Year is a traditional grand festival in China, which I believe is unknown to all people in China. However, celebrating the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong is completely different from the traditional ones in terms of customs and atmosphere.
In recent years, few Hong Kong people put up Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures at home during the Lunar New Year. On the contrary, they posted "Prosperous Business" and "Safe Access" in some shops or homes. Even so, the original intention of posting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures is the same as that of posting Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures. I hope everything will be smooth and safe in the coming year.
In addition, lion dances and dragon lanterns will also appear in some villages and villages in the New Territories. It is difficult to see large-scale lion dances and dragon lanterns on the streets of urban areas in the New Year. As for setting off firecrackers and firecrackers, it is forbidden in Hong Kong. However, since 1982, a grand fireworks display has been held in Victoria Harbour every year on the second night of the Lunar New Year, which has been a program to welcome the Spring Festival for more than ten years.
Hong Kong is known as a "gourmet paradise". There are many customs about eating during the Spring Festival, and most families will have a "reunion dinner" during the Spring Festival, usually at home, and the whole family will get together for dinner on New Year's Eve. I believe that the first choice for after-dinner programs is to visit the flower market. During the Lunar New Year, there are many flower markets in Hong Kong and Kowloon, among which the flower market in Victoria Park is the largest and most lively. Hong Kong people are used to visiting the flower market after dinner. On New Year's Eve, people are crowded and everyone will spend the holidays together.
The happiest thing about spending the Lunar New Year in Hong Kong is to "benefit" the children. Laughter can be heard everywhere during the Spring Festival. "Li" was originally a kind of "good thing", based on good luck, and also became an indispensable custom with relatives during the Spring Festival.
4. Macau Customs
The old customs in Macao are very unique. "Xie Zao" is one of the most traditional China customs preserved in Macau. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, Macao people call it "Xie Zao". According to the tradition in China, Macau people also give the kitchen god sugar, saying that it is to paste the mouth of the kitchen god with sugar, so as not to speak ill of him in front of the Jade Emperor. I saw a picture of Santa Claus on the stove of a Macao family in Flower Street, Macau. Strangely, the portrait of Santa Claus was affixed with a couplet that read "Heaven speaks well and returns home with clothes on".
Macao people celebrate the New Year from the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, which is a homophonic word in Cantonese. Most business owners invite their employees to have a "reunion dinner" at the end of the year to show their prosperity and good luck. From the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, we can truly feel the annual flavor of Macao.
On New Year's Eve, watching the Spring Festival and visiting the flower market are two major events for Macao people to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Keeping old is playing mahjong, watching TV, catching up and chatting, and sharing family happiness; Probably influenced by Christmas and Valentine's Day in the West, people in Macao are also scrambling to buy some auspicious flowers and trees to welcome the New Year. Now this has become a custom in Macao. Macau holds a flower market on Lunar New Year's Eve, mostly peach blossoms, daffodils, potted bamboos and potted oranges. Flowers are rich and prosperous, wishing peace and a bright future in the new year. The flower market in Macao was held for three days, which brought endless comfort to Macao people who had been running around for a year.
During the Spring Festival, Macao people pay attention to "benefiting the market", which is a red envelope. On this day, when the boss meets the employees, the elders meet the younger generation, and even the married see the unmarried, they must "benefit the field". "Shili" is pure and crisp to show good luck. Macao people call New Year's Day the "opening year". The custom is to eat "New Year's Eve". In order to make money and profit, New Year's Eve must contain Nostoc flagelliforme, lettuce and carp. Starting from "New Year's Day", the Macao government will allow civil servants to "gamble" for three days. After the Chinese New Year, Macau has completely returned to the traditional Chinese New Year custom in China. Until the Lantern Festival, it is also a fireworks festival, playing with dragons and lions, and being in high spirits.
5. Customs of Spring Festival in Taiwan Province Province.
The Spring Festival is a traditional folk festival with a long history of the Chinese nation. Taiwan Province Province, which is separated from Fujian Province by water, has the same history, culture, customs, living habits and kinship with Chinese mainland, especially in southern Fujian, so the Spring Festival customs of the people on the island are naturally similar to those of Chinese mainland.
Because the ancestors of Bao Dao residents (mostly Minnan and Hakka) went to Taiwan for development with a long history and experienced vicissitudes, the Spring Festival customs there gradually formed some unique patterns and colors.
6. Interesting Jiangsu Spring Festival customs
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 gold ingots". When visiting relatives and friends, you should put two green olives in your tea, which is called "gold ingot tea". Congratulations on getting rich.
On the first morning of the New Year, people in Wujin hang portraits of their ancestors in nave, offering them tea fruits and rice cakes, and the whole family pays New Year greetings in turn. This is called "the shadow of worshipping God", and they are not allowed to sweep the floor from home, for fear of sweeping out "wealth" and "wishful thinking", so 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 is open, and the gongs and drums are everywhere to add fun. On the third day, "playing the night drum", on the seventh day, "playing seven drums", and on the thirteenth to fifteenth days, the atmosphere was 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. At night, I took my children to the fields to light torches to drive away evil spirits for them. While roasting, I sang: "Roast my head, wake up, roast my feet, keep my feet straight, roast my stomach without diarrhea, roast all over my body, and the illness will never be seen again."
On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, 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 Ao Jing Giant Buddha, which is 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.
7. Guilin Spring Festival custom
From New Year's Eve to New Year's Day
Spring Festival travel rush stepped on the bell at 0: 00 on February 24th, 65438, and walked into the urban and rural areas of Guilin. This day is Guilin people's "New Year's Eve", that is, "Chinese New Year". On New Year's Day, people kill dogs and ducks to celebrate the Spring Festival. The firecrackers on this day, with people's wish to send the kitchen god "God speaks well", crackled and spread to Gao Yu. People think that the Kitchen God is the head of the family, in charge of good and evil, good and bad, good and bad, so every year, the Kitchen God should be sent to heaven to explain to the Jade Emperor, so as to save the whole family from disaster. The ritual of offering sacrifices to stoves is mostly completed by the elders in the family. They put candy on the kitchen stove and offered sacrifices to the kitchen god, praying that the kitchen god would "speak well in heaven and bring good luck to the world". Sacrificing candy to the kitchen god aims to make candy "stick" to the kitchen god's mouth and make his sweet mouth speak well. After the night falls on New Year's Eve, firecrackers will be set off to welcome the Kitchen God. This is an ancient custom of "Chinese New Year" in Guilin. Nowadays, even setting off firecrackers is only a remnant ceremony of an ancient custom.
From the 24th to 30th of the twelfth lunar month, people are busy buying new year's goods, cleaning the inside and outside of the house and welcoming the New Year cleanly. There are many kinds of traditional holiday foods, which contain good wishes: steamed rice cakes on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month are sweet, successful, fragrant and well-made. After eating rice cakes (high), life and work in the new year are flourishing and promoted step by step.
At the dinner party on New Year's Eve, people like family reunion. There must be "mariko" and "hi" in the dish, which represent reunion and joy. That night, everyone went to the empty building and stayed at home. Burn charcoal fire in the brazier when you are old, which symbolizes the richness of life. At 0: 00, people of all ages are beaming and greet the New Year with firecrackers. This kind of happy voice comes one after another, until now it is still late at night, people are still awake and the fire is still on. Even if they want to have a rest, they still won't forget to snuggle up in the brazier and light a good fire tomorrow morning. The fire of Chinese New Year is like human life. This bodes well for wealth and prosperity in the new year. People's feelings for fire are so deep, perhaps because fire has brought civilization and warmth to mankind. Loving fire is like loving your own life, especially in the new year.
The Spring Festival Customs of China Minorities
China is a multi-ethnic country, with 55 ethnic minorities besides the Han nationality. Although they have different languages, characters, lifestyles and customs, most of them celebrate the Spring Festival as a major festival of their own nation.
8. Daur nationality: annual height
The Daur people in the north have the habit of visiting the New Year. During the Spring Festival, people wear holiday clothes, visit each other and congratulate each other. Every family has steamed cakes, and as soon as New Year's greetings come in, the host treats them with steamed cakes. "Gao" is homophonic with "Gao" in Chinese, and treats each other like cakes, which means that the living standard in the new year will be further improved. During the festival, Daur people also held songs and dances and sports activities, which lasted for half a month.
9. Mongolians: There is endless wine and meat.
The Mongolian people in the north celebrate the Spring Festival is another scene. Before the festival, every household prepared rams, various dairy products and several jars of wine. On New Year's Eve, people put on beautiful Mongolian robes, and the whole family sat among them to welcome the New Year. Eat and drink at midnight. Usually, you should eat and drink more. The more wine and meat left, the better. This symbolizes that there is no shortage of wine and meat in the new year. On the morning of the first day of junior high school, men and women wore all kinds of costumes, rode on war horses, and rushed to "Haote" (villages and towns) in groups of three and five, stringing together yurts one by one. When stringing bags, you should kowtow to the elders first, and then the son-in-law of the host family will toast the guests who come to string bags, and people will sing and dance.
X. Zhuang nationality: welcoming heroes
Zhuang people living in the south of China call Spring Festival "New Year's Day". On this day, people should congratulate each other no matter who they meet when they go out, thinking that this year can be auspicious. Zhuang people also have a custom of providing for the aged, which Zhuang people call "Chi Li Festival". The "Food Festival" is on the 30th of this month. It is said that more than 65,438+000 years ago, a Zhuang peasant armed force returned home in triumph after fighting against foreign invasion. At this time, the Spring Festival has passed. In order to welcome them, the Zhuang people celebrated for them on the 30th of this month.
1 1. Buyi people: girls grab the first water.
Buyi people living in the southwest frontier of China hold vigils every New Year's Eve. At dawn, the girls scrambled to fetch water outside the house. Whoever carries water first is the most hardworking girl. The Jingpo people there like to hold shooting activities before the Spring Festival, and the girls are the organizers and referees of this activity. They hung the embroidered purse on the bamboo pole with thread and swayed from side to side at the top of the tree, asking the young man to make a move. The girls will give the wine as a prize to whoever hits the wallet first. A wallet usually contains a coin, some millet and some decorative beads as a symbol of happiness.
12. Hani: Swing.
A few days before the Spring Festival, the village where the Hani people live has been very lively, and women are busy with Baba. Baba is a cake made of glutinous rice. The boys are busy chopping bamboo up the mountain, ready to set up a swing. The swings there are more than ten meters high, and the Hani people, regardless of gender, age and age, love to play on swings. During the festival, everyone wears their favorite clothes to swing, showing a lively and harmonious holiday scene everywhere.
Thirteen. Dai people: throwing chaff bags
Young Dai men and women like the game of throwing chaff bags. During the Spring Festival, boys and girls throw chaff bags at each other to see who can catch them accurately. After playing for a certain period of time, the girls quietly grabbed the broadsword, wrapped cloth or tied horse worn by the young man and ran home. If a young man has feelings, follow him. When parents saw their daughter coming back with a headscarf and a good horse, they gave a banquet.
In addition, April 13 every year is the Dai calendar New Year, and it is also the most solemn festival of the Dai people-the Water Splashing Festival. They regard splashing water as a symbol of exorcism and decontamination, and also regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day.
14. Gaoshan people: "surround the furnace"
The Gaoshan people who live in Taiwan Province province of China have another taste during the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, a family sits around a round table and eats hot pot, which is called "around the stove". Women who usually don't drink should also take a symbolic sip of wine to show good luck. Vegetables eaten around the stove need not be cut with a knife. After washing, you should cook by roots to show that you wish your parents a long life. If someone at home goes out, you should also leave a seat empty and put this person's clothes on the empty seat to show that the whole family misses him.
15. Manchu: Hanging the national flag for the New Year.
Manchu is divided into four flags: red, yellow, blue and white. During the Spring Festival, people with red flags hang red flags, people with yellow flags hang yellow flags, people with blue flags hang blue flags, and people with white flags hang white flags. These flags are beautifully patterned and brightly colored, symbolizing the auspicious beginning of the year.
During the festival, boys set off firecrackers in groups, or take various homemade wooden sledges and swish on hills and ice. Girls and young daughters-in-law wear newly-made flowery clothes and play Galahad (kneecaps of pigs or cows) in groups of three or five. From the night of the first day to the fifth day, people also volunteered to organize yangko dancing to celebrate the New Year. A strong yangko team not only dances in this village, but also dances in other villages. Onlookers are often so happy that they forget fatigue and cold. There are even enthusiastic audiences-they follow the yangko team from village to village and don't come back until dawn.
Sixteen years old. Bai nationality: "Let it rise"
During the Chinese New Year, the Bai compatriots in Yunnan have a celebration called "Flying High". The so-called "soaring" is to use the whole big bamboo and put gunpowder in the cracks of the bamboo. After lighting, the whole bamboo can collapse into the sky and become a veritable "soaring". In some areas, Bai compatriots, like Miao and Zhuang, have the custom of "throwing hydrangeas" from Spring Festival to Lantern Festival. Anyone who can't catch the hydrangea should give each other a souvenir. Those who concede goals many times and can't exchange souvenirs show that they have accepted each other's love.
17. Dong nationality: Lusheng Society
During the Spring Festival, a mass activity called "Dong Year" (also called Lusheng Festival) prevailed among Dong compatriots in Guizhou and Hunan. This activity is similar to the "group worship" of the Han nationality, but it is more joyful and enthusiastic than the "group worship". This kind of activity is usually held by two villages through mutual consultation. The two teams formally held a Song Lusheng and Dance Competition in the square. At this time, the audience of the two villages danced with the music and enjoyed themselves.
18. Yi people: Tiaohu
During the Spring Festival, the Maidichong Yi people in Shuangbai County, Yunnan Province have a special custom of "Jumping Tiger Festival". On the eighth day of the first month, adult men in the village gathered at the site of the earth temple behind the village to kill dogs and offer sacrifices to "rice" ("rice" means earth, "rice" means master and rice means god), and then "Bimo" in the village offered sacrifices to the earth god and invited the tiger god. Eight villagers danced as tigers. "Tiger" has towering ears, thick tail and tiger stripes all over the body. They drew a Chinese character "Wang" on their foreheads and hung a big bronze bell around their necks, which was very dignified. After Bimo said a farewell ceremony and invited the Tiger God, King Tiger led all the tigers into the village. Throughout the Tiger Jumping Festival, the whole village was immersed in a happy atmosphere of welcoming tigers, sending tigers, watching tigers jump and exorcising evil spirits. The local people are convinced that only through the annual traditional jumping tiger, offering sacrifices to the tiger god and praying for the blessings of their ancestors can all the villagers have a bumper harvest every year, a prosperous population and a happier life.
Nineteen. Sani: Eat dumplings.
On New Year's Eve, Sani is called "thinking period". On New Year's Eve, it is very solemn to worship ancestors and eat New Year's Eve. In the afternoon, green branches are planted in front of every house, and a straw hat is hung on the branches. This is a silent notice: please don't enter! No talking! Even people at home are not allowed to talk loudly.
There is an interesting phenomenon in Sani language: "Tangyuan" and "Chinese New Year" are the same word, called "Kuanzima". Because we must eat glutinous rice balls during the Spring Festival. For half a month from the first day of the first month, people were immersed in joy. A bonfire party was held in the evening of the first day of junior high school, with folk songs duet and three-stringed Hu solo, which was simple and lyrical. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Sacrificing the mountain gods on the second day and sending Mars on the fourth day is to drive away disasters and show the strength of human beings.
On the afternoon of the second day of the Spring Festival every year, farmers take the cow out, walk around the center of the village several times, and put flowers tied with red cloth on its forehead to show respect for its one-year contribution. I also fed it rice and fat pork to show my comfort to my close friends.
Sani people have activities of offering sacrifices to their ancestors from New Year's Eve to the fifth day. From their admiration and nostalgia for their ancestors, we can find the cohesion of this nation and the beautiful things in traditional morality.