1. The Spring Festival refers to the traditional Lunar New Year in the Chinese cultural circle. The traditional names are New Year, New Year and New Year, but verbally it is also called Du Sui, Qing New Year and Chinese New Year. In ancient times, the Spring Festival once specifically referred to the beginning of spring in solar terms, and was also regarded as the beginning of the year. Later, it was changed to the first day of the first lunar month as the New Year.
The New Year will not end until at least the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (Shangyuan Festival). The Spring Festival is commonly known as the "New Year's Day" and is the most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation. Before the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the dates of the Spring Festival in various dynasties It is not consistent. Since the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the first month of the Xia calendar (lunar calendar) has been used as the beginning of the year, and the dates of the annual festivals have been fixed and continue to this day.
After the Revolution of 1911, the Gregorian calendar began to be used to calculate the year, so January 1st of the Gregorian calendar was called "New Year's Day" and the first day of the first lunar month was called "Spring Festival".
2. According to legend, in ancient China there was a monster called "Nian" with long tentacles on its head and it was extremely ferocious. "Nian" lives deep on the bottom of the sea all year round, only climbing ashore every New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm people. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in villages and villages help the old and young to flee to the mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.
On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were helping the elderly and young to take refuge in the mountains. An old man begging came from outside the village. He was holding a cane, a bag on his arm, a silver beard flowing, and eyes like Long star. Some of the villagers sealed the windows and locked the doors, some packed their bags, some drove the cattle and sheep, and people were shouting and neighing everywhere, creating a scene of rush and panic. At this time, who still has the heart to take care of this old man begging.
Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home all night, I will definitely take care of him." The "Nian" beast drove him away.
The old woman looked closely and saw that he was a boy with fair hair and a strong spirit. However, she continued to persuade him, but the old man smiled and said nothing, so she had no choice but to leave the house. , went up to the mountain to take refuge.
In the middle of the night, the "Nian" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had a big red paper on the door, and the "Nian" house was brightly lit. The beast trembled and let out a strange cry. "Nian" glared at her mother-in-law's house for a moment, then screamed and rushed towards the door. There was a sudden "bang bang bang bang" sound in the courtyard, and "Nian" shuddered all over. I didn't dare to move forward anymore.
It turns out that "Nian" is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At this time, the door of my mother-in-law's house opened, and I saw an old man wearing a red robe in the courtyard. Laughing. "Nian" was shocked and ran away in confusion.
The next day was the first day of the first lunar month. The people who had returned from the refuge were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurried to the villagers. Telling about the promise made by the begging old man, the villagers rushed to the old woman's house. They saw red paper on the door of her house, a pile of unburned bamboos in the yard were still popping, and a few red candles in the house were still burning.
To celebrate the auspicious arrival, the overjoyed villagers put on new clothes and hats and went to the homes of relatives and friends to say hello. This news soon spread in the surrounding villages. Everyone knows how to drive away the "Nian" beast.
From then on, every New Year's Eve, every family posted red couplets and set off firecrackers; This custom of visiting relatives and friends to say hello has become more and more popular and has become the most solemn traditional festival in China.
Extended information:
Spring Festival customs
1. New Year's greetings
When paying New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year's greetings to their elders and wish them longevity and health. The elders can distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits because "the New Year's Eve" "" is homophonic with "祟", and the younger generation can spend the first year of life peacefully if they get the lucky money. There are two kinds of lucky money. One is made of colorful ropes threaded into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed. This record is found in "Yanjing Chronicles" 》.
The other is the most common, that is, the money given to children by parents wrapped in red paper can be given in public after the younger generation pays New Year's greetings, or when the children are asleep on New Year's Eve. It is still popular for elders to distribute lucky money to younger generations by parents secretly placing it under their children's pillows.
2. Spring couplets
Spring couplets are also called door pairs, spring posts, antithetical couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. They describe the background of the times and express emotions with neat, dualistic, concise and exquisite words. Good wishes are a unique literary form in our country.
Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household will select a red Spring Festival couplet and paste it on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom originated in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju’s Spring Festival Couplets monograph "Three Couples on the Threshold" has a detailed introduction to the origin of the couplets and the characteristics of various works. All discussed.
There are many types of Spring Festival couplets. According to the place of use, they can be divided into door centers, frame pairs, horizontal drapes, spring strips, bucket squares, etc. The "door center" is affixed to the upper center of the door panel; the "frame pair" is affixed to the left and right door frames; the "horizontal stripe" is affixed to the crossbar of the door; the "spring strips" are affixed to the corresponding places according to different contents; "Dojin" is also called "door leaf", which is square and diamond-shaped, and is often posted on furniture and screen walls.
People's Daily Online - The origins and legends of the Spring Festival
People's Daily Online - The origins and customs of the Spring Festival