Sacrifice to the community (Twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month) Sweep dust (Twenty-third to New Year's Eve) Spring couplets (Thirty) New Year pictures (Thirty) New Year's Eve dinner (New Year's Eve)
Shousui (New Year's Eve) Firecrackers (New Year's Eve) New Year's greetings (the first day of the first lunar month) New Year's money (the first day of the first lunar month) Returning to one's parents' home (the second and third day of the first lunar month)
Receive the God of Wealth (the fifth day of the first lunar month) Sending the poor (the sixth day of the first lunar month)
Sacrificing the stove
The Spring Festival in my country usually kicks off with the sacrifice of the stove. In the folk song "Twenty-three, Tanggua Guan" 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 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 depict only the Kitchen God, while others include two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Kitchen God". This is probably an imitation of the image of a human couple. Most of the statues of the Kitchen God also have a calendar for that year printed on them, with words such as "Master of the East Chef", "God of Human Supervision", "Head of the Family" and other words written on them to indicate the status of the Kitchen God. The couplets "God says good things, and the lower realms keep you safe" are pasted on both sides to bless the whole family.
The Kitchen God has been staying at home since the last New Year's Eve to protect and supervise the family; on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will go to heaven to report the family's good deeds to the Jade Emperor in heaven. Or evil deeds, the ceremony of sending off the Kitchen God is called "Sending the Stove" or "Citing the Stove". Based on the report of the Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor handed over the good and bad fortunes that the family should receive in the new year to the hands of the Kitchen God. Therefore, for the family, the Stove Lord's report is indeed of great interest.
Sending stoves is usually held at dusk and into night. The family goes to the kitchen first, sets the table, offers incense to the Kitchen God in the shrine on the kitchen wall, and offers sugar melons made with malt sugar and noodles. Then tie bamboo strips into paper horses and fodder for livestock. Offering caramel to the Stove Lord is to sweeten his mouth. In some places, sugar is spread around the Stove Lord's mouth, and while applying it, he says: "Say more good things, but don't say bad things." This is to stuff the Stove Lord's mouth with sugar to prevent him from saying bad things. In the Tang Dynasty work "The Chronicles of the Year under the Chariot", there is a record of "smearing wine dregs on the stove to make the commander (Kitchen Lord) drunk". After people coated Stove Lord's mouth with sugar, they took off the statue and went up to heaven with the paper and cigarettes. In some places, sesame straw and pine branches are piled in the yard at night, and then the Kitchen God statue that has been kept for a year is taken out of the shrine, along with the paper horse and straw, and set on fire. The yard was brightly illuminated by the fire. At this time, the family kowtowed around the fire and prayed while burning: This year is the 23rd again, and I send the Stove King off to the west. There are strong horses, there is fodder, and the journey is smooth and safe. The sugar melon offered is sweet. Please say good things to the Jade Emperor.
When giving gifts to the Kitchen God, in some places there are still several beggars who dress up and go from house to house singing songs and dancing to the Kitchen God, called "giving the Kitchen God a gift", in exchange for food.
The custom of giving away stoves is very common in the north and south of my country. Mr. Lu Xun once wrote the poem "The Gengzi Sends Stoves to Him": Chickens are given glue and candies, and clothes are offered for petals and incense. If there is nothing growing in the house, there are only a few yellow sheep.
He said in the article "Sends to Zao Lord": "On the day when Lord Zao went to heaven, a kind of candy was sold on the street, the size of an orange. We also have this kind of thing, but Bian It's like a thick little pancake. It's called "glue teeth". It's intended to stick to Zao Lord's teeth so that he can't talk bad things to the Jade Emperor. The allusion to "Yellow Sheep" in the poem comes from "Book of the Later Han·Yin Shi Zhuan": "During the reign of Emperor Xuan, those from Yinzi Fang were extremely filial and benevolent.
On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, when cooking was done in the morning and the Kitchen God appeared, Zi Fang worshiped and celebrated again. There was a yellow sheep in the family, so he sacrificed it. Since then, he has become extremely rich. After three generations of knowledge, he prospered and prospered, so he often worshiped the stove during the twelfth lunar month and recommended the yellow sheep. "Yin Zifang saw the Kitchen God and killed a goat as a sacrifice. Later, he got good luck. From then on, the custom of killing a goat to sacrifice to the stove was passed down.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the offerings to the stove were quite abundant. In the Song Dynasty, Poet Fan Chengda's "Poetry for Sacrifice to the Stove" gives a very vivid description of the folk sacrifice to the stove at that time: According to ancient legend, on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Stove Lord looked up to the sky and wanted to say something. Well-cooked fish, rice balls with sweetened bean paste and sweet pineapple. The man offers his daughter a cup of wine. Don't let your maidservants fight. Don't be angry when you are drunk and full. Don't repeat the cloud, begging for profit and return points.
The sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the New Year's Eve, because on the eve of the New Year's Eve a week later, the Stove Lord will bring you. The good and bad luck that a family deserves comes to the world together with other gods. The other gods go to heaven again after the New Year, but only the Kitchen God will stay in the world for a long time. In the kitchen. The ceremony to welcome the gods is called "receiving the gods", and for the Stove Lord, it is called "receiving the stove". The ceremony is usually much simpler on New Year's Eve. You only need to put on a new stove lamp and put it on the stove. Burning incense in front of the niche is enough.
There is a saying that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the stove." In some places, women do not worship the stove. It is said that the stove prince looks like a pretty boy. There is a "male-female suspicion" in worshiping women. The origin of the Stove God has a long history. Among the Chinese folk gods, the Stove God has been revered by the people as early as the Xia Dynasty. A great god. According to Kong Yingdashu in the ancient book "Book of Rites: Ritual Utensils": "Zhuanxu had a son named Rili, who was named Zhurong and was worshiped as the kitchen god. "Zhuangzi. Dasheng" records: "The stove has a bun." "Sima Biao commented: "Kun, the kitchen god, wears red clothes and looks like a beautiful woman. "Baopuzi. Wei Zhi" also records: "On a dark moon night, the Kitchen God also goes to heaven to whiten his sins." "These records are probably the source of worshiping the Kitchen God. Also, it is said that the Kitchen God is the "Suiren clan" who drills wood to make fire; or it is said to be the "Fire Officer" of the Shennong clan; or it is said that the "Huangdi makes the stove" is the "Su" "Auspicious"; or it is said that the kitchen god's surname is Zhang, whose name is Ziguo; there are different opinions. There is an interesting story among the people.
It is said that in ancient times, there was a family named Zhang, two brothers, My elder brother is a plasterer, and my younger brother is a painter. My elder brother is good at making pots and pans. People from East Street and West Street praise him for his skill in making stoves. Over time, he has become famous, and people from all over the world call him "Zhang Zaowang". ". It's strange that Zhang Stove King, no matter whose house he goes to build a stove, if there is a dispute in other people's homes, he likes to meddle. When he encounters a noisy daughter-in-law, he will persuade him, and when he encounters a fierce mother-in-law, he will also say something. It seems that he is an old man. Elder. From now on, the neighbors will come to him when they have trouble, and everyone respects him. King Zhang Zao lived for seventy years, and it happened to be late at night on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month that King Zhang Zao died. The family is in chaos. It turns out that King Zhang Zao is the head of the family and he does everything in the house. Now that the eldest brother has passed away, the younger brother only knows poetry, calligraphy and painting. Although he is in his sixties, he has never taken care of the housework. The painter was so upset that he wanted to separate the family. One day, he finally came up with a good idea. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the first anniversary of the death of King Zhang Zao, the painter suddenly called out to him in the middle of the night. The whole family woke up, saying that the eldest brother had appeared. He led his son, daughter-in-law, and the whole family to the kitchen, where they saw the faces of Stove King Zhang and his late wife looming on the dark stove wall. , the family was shocked. The painter said: "When I was sleeping, I dreamed that my eldest brother and sister-in-law had become immortals, and the Jade Emperor named him the 'Nine Heavens East Chef, Mingzao Wangfu Lord'." You usually eat well and are lazy in cooking, so your sisters-in-law are at odds with each other, you are disrespectful and unfilial, and you make the family gods uneasy. The eldest brother is very angry when he knows that you are splitting up your family. He plans to go to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor, and to punish you from the lower world on the night of New Year's Eve. "After hearing these words, the children, nieces and nephews were horrified. They immediately knelt down and kowtowed. They hurriedly fetched the sweets that Stove King liked to eat and offered them on the stove, begging Stove Lord for his forgiveness. From then on, the uncles, brothers and the brothers, who were often noisy, The daughters-in-law no longer dare to act out, the whole family lives together in peace, and the young and old live peacefully.
After this incident was known to the neighbors, they spread the news to tens of thousands, and they all came to Zhang's house to find out the truth. In fact, the Stove King on the kitchen wall on the night of the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month was drawn in advance by the painter. He pretended that his eldest brother appeared as a ghost to scare his children, niece and daughter-in-law. Unexpectedly, this method was really effective. So when the villagers came to the painter to inquire about the situation, he had no choice but to fake it and give the painted Stove King portraits to his neighbors. As time went by, it spread along the countryside, and every household's kitchen was pasted with a statue of the Kitchen King. As time went by, the custom of making offerings to the Stove Lord on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to pray for the safety of the family was formed. After the custom of offering sacrifices to stoves spread, starting from the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial palace also included it in rituals, and the rules for offering sacrifices to stoves were established across the country, and it became a fixed ritual.
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Sweep the dust
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 "sweeping the house" in the north and "dusting" in the south. Sweeping dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of our people. Every Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean the environment, wash all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulv courtyard, dust away dirt and cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. From north to south, everywhere is filled with the atmosphere of joyful hygiene and cleanliness to welcome the New Year.
Interestingly, there is a rather strange story about the origin of sweeping dust in ancient times. Legend has it that the ancients believed that there was a three-corpse god attached to each person's body. Like a shadow, he followed the person's whereabouts and was inseparable. The Three Corpse God is a guy who likes to flatter and gossip. He often spreads rumors and causes trouble in front of the Jade Emperor, describing the human world as ugly. Over time, in the Jade Emperor's impression, the human world was simply a dirty world full of sin. once. The three corpse gods secretly reported that the world was cursing the Emperor of Heaven and wanted to rebel against the Heavenly Court. The Jade Emperor was furious and issued an edict to quickly find out the chaos in the world. Anyone who resented the gods or despised the gods would have their crimes written under the eaves. Then let the spider build a web to cover it as a mark. The Jade Emperor also ordered Wang Lingguan to go down to the realm on New Year's Eve. Anyone who met a marked family would be killed and no one would be spared. Seeing that this plan was about to succeed, the three corpse gods took the opportunity to fly down to the mortal world. Regardless of the crime, they viciously marked the eaves and corners of each house so that Wang Ling Palace would kill them all. While the Three Corpse Gods were doing evil, the Kitchen Lord discovered his whereabouts and was shocked. He hurriedly found the Kitchen Lords of various families to discuss countermeasures. So, they came up with a good idea. From the day when the stove is delivered on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to the New Year's Eve, every household must clean the house. If the household is not clean, the Stove Lord will refuse to enter. Home. Everyone followed the Stove Lord's instructions before he ascended to heaven, sweeping away the dust, dusting away the cobwebs, cleaning the doors and windows, and making their homes look brand new. When Wang Lingguan went down to inspect the world on New Year's Eve, he found that the windows of every house were bright and clean, the lights were bright, people were reunited and happy, and the world was extremely beautiful. Wang Lingguan couldn't find any sign of bad deeds, and felt very strange. He rushed back to heaven and reported to the Jade Emperor about the peace and happiness in the world and praying for a happy new year. The Jade Emperor was greatly shocked after hearing this, and issued an edict to imprison the three corpse gods. He ordered that they should be slapped three hundred times and imprisoned forever in the heavenly prison. This human disaster was saved thanks to the Kitchen God's rescue. In order to express gratitude to the Stove Lord for helping people eliminate disasters and blessing Zhang Xiang, the people always start sweeping the dust after delivering the stove, and they are busy until New Year's Eve.
The custom of "dusting and sweeping the house on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", my country had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the era of Yao and Shun. According to folklore: since "dust" and "chen" are homophones, sweeping dust in the New Year has the meaning of "removing the old and spreading the new", and its purpose is to sweep away all "poor luck" and "bad luck". This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new.
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Spring Festival Couplets
As a unique literary form, Spring Festival Couplets have a long history in our country. It began during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, was particularly prosperous during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and has been developed for more than a thousand years.
Early before the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese folk had the custom of hanging peach charms on the left and right sides of the door during the Chinese New Year.
Taofu are two large boards made of peach wood, on which the names of the legendary ghost-conquering gods "Tu" and "Yu Lei" are written respectively, which are used to drive away ghosts and suppress evil spirits. This custom has lasted for more than a thousand years. It was not until the Five Dynasties that people began to inscribe couplets on peach boards to replace the names of the ghost-conquering gods. According to historical records, the couplet "New Year Na Yuqing, Jiajie Changchun" written by Meng Chang, the lord of Later Shu, on his bedroom door on New Year's Eve in 964 AD is the earliest Spring Festival couplet in my country.
After the Song Dynasty, it has become quite common for folk to hang Spring Festival couplets during the New Year. Therefore, in Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri", "Thousands of households are as bright as the sun, and new peaches are always replaced by old charms." It is the Spring Festival couplets at that time. A true portrayal of the grand occasion. Since the appearance of Spring Festival couplets is closely related to Taofu, the ancients also called Spring Festival couplets "Taofu".
In the Ming Dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously advocated couplets. After he established his capital in Jinling (now Nanjing), he ordered ministers, officials and ordinary people to write a couplet on their door before New Year's Eve. He personally wore casual clothes and went on tour, going door to door to watch and entertain himself. The literati at that time also regarded composing couplets as an elegant pleasure, and writing Spring Festival couplets became a temporary social fashion.
After entering the Qing Dynasty, during the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang dynasties, couplets flourished just like the rhythmic poetry of the Tang Dynasty, and many famous couplets appeared.
With the development of cultural exchanges between countries, couplets were introduced to Vietnam, North Korea, Japan, Singapore and other countries. These countries still retain the custom of posting couplets.
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New Year Pictures
During the New Year, in addition to pasting Spring Festival couplets and cutting window grilles, people also like to hang New Year pictures in the living room and bedroom. The New Year paintings add a joyful festive atmosphere to every household.
New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country. They reflect the customs and beliefs of the people and express people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god". Spring couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei to text, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting.
With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to the door god, but gradually invites the God of Wealth to the home, and then in some New Year painting workshops, "The Picture of Three Stars of Fortune, Luxu and Shou" and " Colorful New Year pictures such as "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", "Abundance of Grains", "Prosperity of Animals", "Welcoming Spring and Receiving Blessings" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year.
Because Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, New Year paintings were also influenced by it and became popular. Three important production areas of New Year paintings appeared in the country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; forming the formation of our country There are three major schools of New Year pictures.
The earliest New Year pictures collected in our country are the woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Slender and Slender with the Beauty of the Country", which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and Luzhu. However, the most widely spread folk painting in my country is a New Year painting of "The Mouse Marriage". This painting depicts an interesting scene of a mouse marrying a bride according to human customs. The composition of his paintings is lively and lively. This painting left an indelible impression on Mr. Lu Xun. As he said, this entertaining and educational "Mouse Marriage" not only arouses the interest of adults, but also has a stronger artistic impact on children.
It is said that New Year's Eve is an auspicious day for rats to get married. People should put some food under the bed or in the stove as a gift to the rat groom to pray for a good harvest in the coming year. Some old ladies often tease their children before going to bed: "Hide your shoes quickly, don't let the mice steal them and use them as a sedan chair." This is where the saying comes from. Therefore, the New Year painting "Mouse Marriage" can particularly arouse the excitement of children.
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New Year’s Eve Dinner
New Year’s Eve is an extremely important day for the Chinese. On this day, people prepare to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and have a reunion dinner. In ancient China, some prison officials even let prisoners go home to reunite with their families for the New Year. This shows how important the "New Year's Eve dinner" was to the ancient Chinese.
The annual reunion dinner fully demonstrates the mutual respect and love among Chinese family members. This mutual respect and love makes the relationship between the family closer.
The reunion of the family often brings spiritual comfort and satisfaction to the head of the family. The old man sees his children and grandchildren in the house, and the whole family talks about their family life. The past care and efforts in raising the children are finally not in vain. What a happiness. The younger generation can also take this opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents for their upbringing.
When the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for the housewives in the kitchen. The New Year’s dishes have been prepared a few days ago, and the New Year’s Eve dinner is always cooked on New Year’s Eve. Make it. 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 chatter and laughter everywhere, one after another. , filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.
Speaking of the sound of knives and anvils on New Year's Eve, "Yanjing Local Records" written by Deng Yunxiang records a very desolate story on New Year's Eve: The poor in the old society lived in difficulty, and thirty nights was a barrier. There is a family where the husband has not come back with the money until late in the evening. "The house has already run out of bottles of millet and there is nothing for the New Year. The woman has put the child to sleep at home and is helpless. She hears the sound of chopping boards next door and is in extreme pain. She doesn't know what to do." Can the husband come back with some money or things? He didn’t know how he would spend the new year tomorrow, and he was afraid that there would be no chopping board in his house to make people laugh, so he took a knife and chopped the empty chopping board, and while chopping, tears fell down..., this The story makes people feel sad indeed.
Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and joyful time for every family. ***The feeling of fulfillment that comes with having a reunion dinner is indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold dishes, hot stir-fried dishes, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable. , one is hot pot. The other is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, which symbolizes "abundance for good luck" and also means "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". Finally, there is a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet and sweet day in the future. , even if you don’t know how to drink, you should drink a little bit. In ancient times, when drinking during the New Year, great attention was paid to the quality of the wine. Some wines are no longer available, leaving only many attractive wine names, such as "Grape Fermented Fermented Wine" and "Lanwei Wine". , "Yichun Wine", "Plum Blossom Wine", "Peach Blossom Wine", "Tusu Wine", etc. Among these wines, the longest-lasting and most common one is Tusu Wine. But where did the name of Tusu Wine come from? What is it made of? There are different legends.
Tusu is the name of a kind of grass. Some people say that Tusu is a kind of wine brewed in this kind of house in ancient times. It is Tusu wine. It is said that Tusu wine was created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the late Han Dynasty. Its formula is made by soaking rhubarb, atractylodes, cinnamon twig, fang, pepper, aconite, aconite and other traditional Chinese medicines in wine. Its effects on warming the Yang, dispelling wind and cold, and preventing diseases caused by epidemics were later spread by Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty. Every year in the twelfth lunar month, Sun Simiao always distributed a packet of medicine to his neighbors and told everyone about the medicine. Making wine and drinking it on New Year's Eve can prevent the plague. Sun Simiao also named his house "Tusu House". From then on, drinking Tusu wine became a custom during the Chinese New Year. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest. That is to say, when a family gathers to drink Tusu wine, the younger ones start first, followed by the older ones. After that, everyone drank a little. The poem "Chu Ri" by Su Zhe, a writer of the Song Dynasty, said: "I drink Tusu at the end of the year, and I don't realize that I am more than seventy years old." "This is the custom I'm talking about. Some people don't understand the meaning of this habit. Dong Xun explained: "The younger ones get older, so they are celebrated; the older ones lose their years, so they are punished. "This custom was still very popular in the Song Dynasty. For example, Su Shi said in the poem "Outside the City of Changzhou on a Wild Day": "But if you are poor and sad, you will grow strong, and you will drink and slaughter Su at the end without hesitation."
On this night of "two years in one night, two years in the fifth hour", the family reunites and gathers together happily. The whole family sat together, and the table was filled with refreshments and fruits. When making offerings during the New Year, a large plate of apples is indispensable. This is called "peace and peace". In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked years ago and served during the New Year. It is called "the next year's meal", which means that there are leftovers every year and can't be eaten all year round, so this year they still have to eat the previous year's food. 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 rice, and the pot is full of gold and silver". In many places, the pastries, melons and fruits prepared 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), 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. There are also ordinary people who play pai gow, throw dice, bet on stud, and play mahjong. The noise and laughter form the climax of New Year's Eve joy.
Firecrackers
At midnight, the New Year’s bell rings, and the sound of firecrackers rings across the entire land of China. In this "Three Yuan" moment of "the Yuan of Year, the Yuan of Moon, and the Yuan of Time", in some places, a "vigorous fire" is built 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.
Depicting the festive scene of the Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival, Pan Rongbi of the Qing Dynasty recorded the following about the New Year's Eve firecrackers in his book "Historical Events in the Imperial Capital": "After New Year's Eve, at midnight As they intersect, the torches outside the door compete with each other, while the firecrackers are like waves and thunder, all over the court and the countryside, all night long. "A Dream of Red Mansions" also describes: "A screen frame is set up in the yard, and fireworks are set up." All the fireworks are from various places. Although they are not very big, they are very exquisite. There are many colorful fireworks outside. ', 'Kowloon into the clouds', 'A thunder on the ground', 'Ten blasts in the sky' and other sporadic small firecrackers. "From here you can also see the grand spectacle of the New Year's fireworks in the old days.
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.
The first thing everyone does after setting off firecrackers and returning home is to worship heaven and earth, welcome gods, and worship ancestors. In ancient times, this kind of 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. After paying homage to their ancestors, southerners check the auspicious direction of the year recorded in the almanac, light lanterns and torches, carry pots of wine, offer incense and blast firecrackers, open the door and go out to welcome the God of Joy, which is called "chutianfang" or "travel". Zhejiang It's called "Chu Xun", and in Shanghai it's called "Dou Xi Shen Fang". This custom is to seek good luck and pray for the gods to bless everything smoothly in the year. Staying up all night on New Year's Eve means staying up all night.
On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door is opened, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door and firecrackers". After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with red, shining like clouds and brocade, which was called "Full of Red". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy.
During the Spring Festival, large families hang lanterns and festoons in all the streets and thoroughfares. On the streets and alleys, in the rural material clubs, various arts and crafts are displayed everywhere, each showing high skills, and it is very lively. The countryside often invites opera troupes to perform, and also carries out listening to Taoist sentiments, performing yangko, singing flower drums and other kinds of entertainment. There are also lion dances and dragon lantern performances. and various cultural and sports activities. People celebrate the New Year happily.
Sending "red envelopes" is a custom during the Chinese New Year. Chinese people love red because it symbolizes vitality, happiness and good luck.
Distributing red envelopes to underage juniors (according to Chinese concepts, married people are considered adults) is to bring blessings and good luck to them. The money in the red envelope is just to make the children happy and its main meaning is in the red paper as it symbolizes good luck. Therefore, it is impolite to open red envelopes in front of the elders who distributed them.
When paying New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival, the elders should distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger ones. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits, because "Sui" and "Evil" are homophonic. age. There are two types of New Year's 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 Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is given by parents wrapped in red paper. Children's money. New Year's money can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or parents can secretly put it under the child's pillow when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve.
Folks believe that New Year's money is given to children. When evil spirits, monsters or "Nian" harm the children, the children can use the money to bribe them and turn evil into good luck. Wu Manyun, a native of the Qing Dynasty, wrote in his poem "New Year's Money": "One hundred and ten pieces of money are threaded with long colorful threads. If you divide them and put them on your pillow, you can keep them for yourself. You can discuss the price of firecrackers and flutes, which will keep Jiaoer busy all night." From this point of view, New Year's money is tied to the innocence of children, and children's New Year's money is mainly used to buy firecrackers, toys, candies and other holiday items.
Nowadays, the custom of elders distributing lucky money to younger generations is still popular. The amount of lucky gifts ranges from tens to hundreds. These lucky money are mostly used by children to buy books and school supplies. It is a new fashion. New content has been given to the lucky money.
Return
Return to natal home
On the second and third day of the first lunar month, married daughters take their husbands and children back to their natal home to pay New Year greetings. 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. The gift is quite thin, just four biscuits. However, the affection it reflects is very strong, and the true meaning is "little etiquette but heavy affection". It expresses the girl's deep longing for her fellow villagers. When a girl returns home, if there is a nephew at home, the aunt has to pay for it again, even though she will give the New Year's money on the first day of the new year
Reference: BAIDU