Shaoxing New Year Customs
The first day of the first lunar month is the beginning of the Spring Festival. It was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, also known as "Xinzheng" and "New Year's Day". It is the middle of the year in Shaoxing. The most solemn holiday.
Opening the door firecrackers is commonly known as "opening the door firecrackers". In the old days, this move had the meaning of exorcising evil spirits and eliminating epidemics and "promoting to the third level". There is a saying in Shaoxing that "early firecrackers are set off early to make a fortune", so starting from three or four o'clock in the morning, the sound of firecrackers will be heard one after another, every door, to add to the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
Spring couplets are posted in every household in Shaoxing. There is a saying that "red letters on New Year's Day mean everything will go well" and "new year's writing means everything will go well". In the old days, there were many Spring Festival couplets with phrases such as "As time goes by, people live longer, and spring fills the universe with blessings." Nowadays, the Spring Festival couplets still contain auspicious words, but the content is novel and full of the flavor of the times.
Connect with God. In the old days, after the firecrackers were opened, offerings such as glutinous rice balls, tea, fruits, etc. were placed in the hall. Parents and their families dressed up and worshiped the Bodhisattva of Heaven and Earth, the Bodhisattva of the Stove, etc., praying for the blessings of the gods and good luck in everything in the new year. Nowadays, such superstitious customs of expressing good wishes to idols are rare.
Eat lucky oranges, glutinous rice balls, Ruyi cakes and drink Yuanbao tea. In the old days, after getting up on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it was customary to eat "firework food" (food cooked with firewood) before speaking. Nowadays, people usually eat glutinous rice dumplings, ruyi cakes and lucky oranges for breakfast. In Xinzheng, the host family is accustomed to serving Yuanbao tea to guests. The tea is customarily placed with kumquats, olives, candied dates, etc., and contains wishes such as reunion, good luck, and happiness.
New Year greetings are also called "Blessings for the New Year", "Kowting for the New Year", and "Hello for the New Year". In the old days, the male host would first lead the younger generations into his clan's ancestral hall to worship his ancestors, and then return to his own hall to worship the portraits of his ancestors that were hung on New Year's Eve. Then, the juniors kowtow to their elders one by one according to their seniority and ranking. The younger generation wishes blessings to the elders, and the elders give instructions and blessings in return. Finally, the younger generations exchange New Year greetings. At that time, the disciples played gongs and drums (commonly known as "beating gongs and drums for the New Year") and walked in circles for entertainment. Nowadays, the legacy of New Year greetings still exists, but the etiquette has been greatly simplified.
Starting from the second day of the first lunar month, people bring gifts such as longan, lychee, fine wine, sugar and cakes to visit relatives and friends to celebrate the new year. Relatives and friends entertained them with wine and food, and paid their respects another day. This custom generally regards early morning as a respect. Since 1950, the people's government has advocated civilized celebrations. From New Year's Day to the Spring Festival, Shaoxing urban and rural areas generally carry out activities such as supporting the army and loving the people, supporting the army and favoring their families, supporting the government and loving the people, and condolences to retired cadres and employees. Various parties, sororities, cultural performances, and sports competitions are also held at the same time.
Walking on the side of the God of Happiness. When traveling on the first day of the first lunar month, there is an old custom of "walking on the side of the God of Happiness". Before traveling, you must find out the direction of the God of Joy from the calendar, and then follow this direction. As the original saying goes, "The northeast is good for you, but the southwest is bad for you." Then start from your home and head toward the northeast instead of the southwest, in order to seek the protection of the God of Joy and good luck. This custom is now abolished.
In the old days, there was a custom of counting arhats at Kaiyuan Temple in Fucheng on the first day of the first lunar month, with the intention of predicting bad luck throughout the year and for self-entertainment. When entering the Arhat Hall in Kaiyuan Temple, you must follow the first step into the Arhat Hall to determine the direction of counting Arhats. If the left foot steps in first, then from left to right, according to the person's age, one statue per year, and counting to the Arhat who is the same age as the person, that is, their name and demeanor will be used to predict the future of the new year. If the Arhat has long eyebrows, he will live a long life; if the Arhat has a crouching tiger, he will have a strong body.
Going to bed after the chicken is actually a homophonic pronunciation of "go to bed quickly", which means that you must go to bed early on the first night of the first lunar month to sleep well. People are busy for many days before the festival, and they get up very early to celebrate on the first day of the first lunar month. The children are also very tired from playing for days, so they drive the poultry into the farm early after dinner and close the door early to rest. This custom continues to this day.
Taboos During the Spring Festival, there are many taboos for the sake of good luck. For example, avoid sweeping the floor and taking out garbage for fear of sweeping and throwing away wealth and luck; avoid using knives and scissors for fear of suffering from skin and flesh diseases; avoid eating porridge and soup in case it rains when you go out; avoid breaking bowls, basins and other utensils for fear of suffering from skin diseases. To lose money, if you make a mistake, you must say "don't be surprised if you are surprised, you will lose yourself" to relieve the disaster and comfort yourself. You should also avoid quarreling and emptying toilets and chamber pots to avoid blaspheming the gods. The most taboo words are "death" and "poor". Adults are afraid that children will talk too much and make mistakes, so they will admonish them within a year and put up red notes with the words "Children's words are not taboo" and "There are no taboos". Such taboos are often superstitious. The above taboos have gradually faded away.
Auspicious words for begging. In the past, there was a proverb in Shaoxing: "Begging for food is from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the New Year's Eve." Begging in ways such as "scalpers", "sheep sweeping the floor", and "sweeping down the stream".
"Yu Shunliu" is usually performed by two beggars, one holding a bamboo basket and the other holding a giant paper "gold ingot". They throw and catch the "gold ingot" in front of the door of the head of the household.
Five-way day. The five-way person is also the five-way God of Wealth. It is customary to regard the fifth day of the first lunar month as the birthday of the God of Wealth. On this day, businesses all welcome the God of Wealth, pray for good fortune and a hundredfold profit, and open their doors for business from this day on. Ordinary people also worship the God of Wealth. This custom is now abolished.
Welcome the Spring. Shao customs place great emphasis on agriculture and mulberry trees, and a spring-welcoming cow event is held every day before the beginning of spring. On that day, "all the officials from the prefecture and county level came out with their carriages and horses" and "there were spring oxen and Taisui" in order to "predict how the farming work will be in the coming year." The spring oxen was preceded by drum music, the gongs were played by the policemen to clear the way, accompanied by flags, umbrellas and ceremonial guards. The prefects or "parent officials" from the county magistrates "held poles and drove along". When they arrive in the countryside, farmers greet them with smiling faces to welcome the spring cattle sent by the "parent officials" as a sign of the beginning of farming. Since then, farmers have ended their entertainment during the Spring Festival and started preparing for farming and production.
In Fucheng, Shaoxing, "On the day before the beginning of spring, all the officials in the grain capture department of the prefecture and county all obeyed the court ceremony and went out from Wuyunmen to welcome the spring in the eastern suburbs. The color of the native cow is based on the "Picture of the Spring Cow" recorded in the Qinzong calendar. Yellow represents the valley, red represents the sun, green represents the wind, and black represents the water, to account for floods, droughts, and abundance. The clods of soil were returned and hidden in the hope that the animal husbandry and divine plants would flourish. "