The old custom in Quzhou is that those who work and earn money outside the city will return home after the 22nd day of the Lunar New Year. Before the year, men should have their hair cut and women should have their hair washed. On the twenty-third day, which is said to be the day when Zaogong and Zaomu go to heaven, the family will hold a ceremony to send the stove at dusk
The family will first go to the stove room, set up a table, and offer sugar beans, oil dates, sesame balls, and other sweetheart sacrifices to Zaogong, hoping that when he goes up to heaven for "reporting his duties", he will be able to "say many good things". "
The old days of the world, when the world was a little more than a century old.
In the old days, Quzhou still had a number of beggars, disguised, singing Zaojun song from house to house, jumping Zaojun dance, called "Zaojun God", in exchange for food.
"New Year's Eve, busy point to eat eat"
Twenty-four began to clean up, called "dusting", so there is a "twenty-four dust Yong, twenty-five to send the long work" proverb. Longyou people make hair cake to take "Fugao" harmonic, meaning "year after year, step by step." Interestingly, in the book "Chinese Proverbs", the Quzhou New Year's proverbs included in the book are: "New Year's Eve, busy eating."
Posting spring couplets
The custom of posting spring couplets began around 1,000 years ago in the Later Shu period, as evidenced by history. According to the Jade Candle Canon and the Yenching Yearly Record, the original form of the Spring Festival couplets was what people called "peach symbols". In the Song Dynasty, people began to write couplets on peach wood boards, so as not to lose the significance of the peach wood in calming evil spirits, to express their good wishes, and to decorate their portals. After that, they wrote couplets on red paper, which symbolizes joy and good fortune, to express people's good wishes for good luck in the coming year.
The people of Quzhou generally like to use auspicious words in their spring couplets, such as: "Green cypress sends away the cold, red plum and white snow welcome spring", and the banner reads, "Welcome spring and receive blessings".
The New Year's Eve Dinner
The New Year's Eve dinner is the most sumptuous meal of the year. People in Quzhou have to shut the door after eating the New Year's Eve dinner with firecrackers, commonly known as "sealing the New Year". After the New Year's Eve, the whole family is not allowed to go out, thank all the guests, and gather together to eat the New Year's Eve dinner. At the same time to set up offerings, hanging statues of Taigong, light overnight lamps and so on. Fish must be prepared in the New Year's Eve dinner to symbolize the abundance of money in the New Year. There are also "eight precious dishes". For those who can't go home, a place is reserved for them, and cups are set up to pour wine and chopsticks as a sign of reunion. After the meal, parents give the children a share of the "new year's money".
The earliest of the New Year, it is said to be the old city of Jiangshan City, Sidu Town, hole village people, on the 27th of the waxing moon on the New Year. This custom continued into the 1950s. Kaifa County, Mi Sai, Shangxi, Jin village and other places, the New Year's Eve are early in the morning. It is interesting to note that in the old days, within the territory of Tanglin Village, Zhangwan Township, Kaihua County, people celebrated the New Year twice on the twenty-seventh day of the Lunar New Year and the second day of the first lunar month, and the legend says that it is related to avoiding debt collectors. `
In addition, Quzhou, all over the first month of the fifteenth "over the small year" custom, such as Changshan County, the East case of the township. In the old days, Longyou County, rural areas on New Year's Eve, adults also have to take children to the bamboo garden to shake the green bamboo, children shake while singing: "shake the green bamboo mother, this year for me to grow, next year for me to grow." And Kaifa rural New Year's Eve, the fire bowl to burn a large wood fire, so that the smoke and fire unceasingly, in order to omen prosperous people.
Jiangshan Xiakou Town, New Year's Eve New Year's Eve dinner is eaten especially early, after eating the cupboards, bowls, plates and so on to the big creek to rinse clean with water.
Sacrifice: a ceremony that spans time and space
At the beginning of the new year, people consider this to be the "time when humanity returns to the beginning," and they either perform family sacrifices or perform grave sacrifices.
Quzhou, the northern and southern townships are slightly different, but before the New Year's Eve dinner must be sacrificed to console the ancestors. According to "Longyou County Records", the New Year's Day, to "Moshi Shuang with clothes and crowns, south of Zhu worship heaven and earth, the second worship ancestors like. Since the first to remove four early twilight will be sacrificed to the gods, the city also stopped trade, called the New Year cloud. The "pendulum Xing" and "Hall Festival" is generally a large family name Wang family organized, have to ask a full-time priest, set up grains, fruits, cows, pigs, chickens, steamed bread, etc., but also to welcome the lights, plays and so on.
Boat family to New Year's Eve every year, the boat will be propped up to the center of the river, the head towards the downstream, set incense, offerings, by the father rate of the whole family holding incense, burning paper bowing to the heavens and earth, the various gods, praying for the next year's wind and rain. Only after praying can they dock for the New Year's Eve dinner. Quzhou boatmen generally worship King Xuan Ling of Zhou as the god of wind and rain who specializes in protecting people on board.
Opening the door to welcome the new year on the first day of the first month
The door to welcome the new year on the first day of the new year cannot be opened earlier than midnight. In the early morning of the first day of the new year, the man of the house should burn incense, firecrackers, incense and congratulations to heaven and earth, and ask for its blessings. And to speak colorful words, such as "four seasons of great wealth, treasure rolled in" and so on. After opening the door to firecrackers, the family wore new clothes, lit up red candles and drink fruit tea, some places are eating rice cakes, in order to omen a new year of sweetness and honey. Generally the first day of breakfast are based on hanging noodles, in order to sign of longevity. On this day, reading students have to start writing, writing "New Year's Pen Dragon Tiger Pen, a year of all things Dali Ji" and so on. In the old days, Quzhou also had the custom of "not eating meat in the morning, eating longevity noodles in the morning, having vegetarian meals in the afternoon and evening, and sitting in a family reunion".
Quzhou mountain people go up to the mountains to cut firewood on this day, because firewood is the same as "wealth".
New Year's greetings
On the first day of the year, after breakfast, the younger generation to grandparents, parents, and must always kneel. Worship, the elders give a red envelope and a plate of fruit. On the second day of the year, start visiting friends and relatives to pay homage to the New Year, Quzhou old proverb: "pay homage to the New Year, pay homage to the 20th of the first month."
To pay homage to the New Year, one must bring a "fruit packet," filled with candies and pastries, and must be in even numbers. Worship home to return to the frozen rice candy, red dates and so on. The new son-in-law to pay New Year's call "door to door", the most solemn. Carrying fruit to be more expensive than the average person, and to use a double bag. The new son-in-law to sit high cross head, commonly known as the son-in-law only this day big, and later can only sit in the corner of the head.
The Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival is commonly known as the "Festival of Lights", also known as the "Shangyuan Festival". In the old days, Quzhou lights up on the tenth day of the first month. In the evening, every family burned incense and candles, and stores should invite "opening wine". The dragon lights over the place, each family is set up at the door to meet the incense, said "welcome lights".
Starting from the eleventh day of the first month, the lanterns of the four neighboring villages will enter Qu City, and the dragon lanterns near the county will go to Guanwang Temple to pay homage. In addition to the dragon lanterns in the street to grab the ball tumbling, but also into the Fu Xiang Temple, Tianning Temple and other large and small temples to worship Buddha. The thirteenth day of the first month is the head of the lanterns, board dragons, flower dragons, horse lanterns, tea lanterns, shadow puppets and so on all over the streets. The first month of the fifteenth, is the climax of the Lantern Festival, cross streets and other places tied with colorful pagodas, lanterns, hanging "Jingo can not help it," the horizontal plaque.