The origin of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is also known as the Lunar New Year, commonly known as "Chinese New Year" and "New Year". The Spring Festival symbolizes unity and prosperity, and is a festival of new hope for the future. According to records, the Chinese people have been celebrating the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years, and it was initiated by Yu Shun. On a day more than 2,000 years B.C., Shun became the son of heaven and led his men to worship heaven and earth. Since then, this day has been regarded as the first day of the year and is considered the first day of the first month. This is said to be the origin of the Lunar New Year, which was later called the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival used to be called New Year's Day. The month of January in which the Spring Festival is held is called New Year's Day.
The first day of the first month of the first day of the first month of the ancient name of the first day of the first month, the first day of the first month, the first day of the first month, the first day of the first year, the first day of the first year, the first day of the first month of the first year of the summer year (Lunar Calendar) for the "first day of the first year" (i.e., "year"), the date of the New Year's Day is thus fixed. ), the date of the New Year's Day is thus fixed, and continues to this day. The New Year's Day was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, and after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, when the solar calendar was adopted to count the years, the first day of January in the Gregorian calendar was called "New Year's Day", and the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar was called "Spring Festival". ". The state attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage, May 20, 2006, "Spring Festival" folk approved by the State Council included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.
Customs of the Spring Festival
Lunar New Year's Day
Lunar New Year's Day is also known as "Little New Year", which is the day when people offer sacrifices to the stove. In the ballad "twenty-three, sugar melon sticky" refers to the annual Lunar New Year 23 or 24 days of the sacrificial stove, there is the so-called "official three people four boat family five", that is, the government in the Lunar New Year 23rd, the general people in the family on the twenty-fourth, the water home for the twenty-fifth day to hold a sacrificial stove.
Stove festival, is a very influential in China's folk, widely spread custom. In the old days, almost every house had a "Zao Wang" god in the stove room. People call this god "Sifu Bodhisattva" or "Zaojun Sifu", and legend has it that he is the Jade Emperor's "Jade Emperor's East Kitchen Sifu Zaowangfujun", responsible for the management of the family's stove fire, and worshipped as a He is responsible for the management of each family's stove fire, and is worshipped as the protector god of a family. Most of the Zaowang niches are located in the north or east of the stove room, with the idol of Zaowang in the center. For those who don't have a Zaowang niche, there are also those who put the idol directly on the wall. Some of the idols depicted only one person, Zao Wang, while others had two persons, a man and a woman, and the goddess was called "Zao Wang's grandmother". This is probably an imitation of the image of an earthly couple. Most of the statues of Lord Zao also have the calendar of the year printed on them, with words such as "Master of the East Kitchen", "Supervisory God of the Earth", and "Head of the Household" to indicate the status of the God of Vesta. On both sides of the sticker, there is a couplet that reads "Good things are said in heaven, and peace is guaranteed in the lower world" to bless the whole family with peace and security.
Since the previous year's New Year's Eve, Mr. Zao has been staying at home to protect and monitor the family; on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, Mr. Zao will ascend to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor in the sky on the family's good or bad deeds, and the ceremony to send the god of the stove is known as the "sending of the stove" or "resignation of the stove". The ceremony of sending the Zaoshen is called "sending Zao" or "resigning Zao". Based on the report of the Zaos, the Jade Emperor will hand over to the Zaos the fate of the family in the new year. Therefore, for the family, the report of the Zaoshengdi really has significant stakes.
Zaozao, mostly held at dusk and into the night. The family first to the stove room, set up a table, to the stove wall in the shrine of the Zaowang master incense, and offer with caramel and noodles made of sugar melon. Then, they make paper horses and feed grass to the animals. Offering caramelized sugar to Zaowang is to sweeten his old man's mouth. In some places, sugar is smeared around the mouth of Zaowang, saying, "Say more good things, don't say bad things." This is to stuff the mouth of Master Zao with sugar, so that he will not say anything bad. In the Tang Dynasty, there is a record of "applying wine lees on the stove to make Zaosi drunk" in the "Records of the Years and Seasons of the Emperor in the Emperor's Chariot". After smearing the mouth of Zaowang with sugar, people would take down the statue of the god and ascend to heaven together with paper and smoke. In some places, sesame stalks and pine branches are piled up in the yard at night, and the image of Zaojun, which has been offered for a year, is invited out of the shrine and burned, together with paper horses and grass, on fire. The yard was brightly lit by the fire, and the family bowed around the fire, praying as they burned: This year is the twenty-third, to send Zaojun to the Western Paradise. There is a strong horse, there is grass, a smooth and safe journey. The sugar melons are sweet and sweet, so please say good words to the Jade Emperor.
When sending Zaojun, some places still have several beggars, disguised, singing Zaojun song from house to house, dancing Zaojun, called "send Zaojin", in exchange for food.
The custom of sending stove in the north and south of China is extremely common, Mr. Lu Xun has written a "gengzi send stove that is the case" poem: only chicken gum teeth sugar, can clothes for petal incense. There are no long things in the house, not only less yellow sheep.
He said in the article "Zaojun day writing": "Zaojun ascension day, the street also sells a kind of sugar, the size of a citrus, where we also have this thing, but flat, like a thick small pancake. That's called 'Gum Tooth Molasses'. The intention was in inviting Zaojun to eat it and glue his teeth so that he could not flirt and speak ill of the Jade Emperor. "The allusion to the 'yellow sheep' in Lu Xun's poem comes from the Book of the Later Han Dynasty - Biography of Yin Zhi: "At the time of Emperor Xuan Di, Yin Zifang was a filial son with benevolence. Waxing morning cooking, and the stove God see, Zifang worship again to be celebrated; home has a yellow sheep, because of the sacrifice. Since then, after the storm to the rich. To know three generations, and then prosperous, so after often to wax day sacrifice stove and recommend yellow sheep." Yin Zifang saw the God of the stove, kill the yellow sheep sacrifice, and then made good luck, and from then on, the custom of killing the yellow sheep sacrifice to the stove has been passed down.
In the Tang and Song dynasties, the offerings for the stove were quite rich. The Song Dynasty poet Fan Chengda's "Zaosi words" made an extremely vivid portrayal of the folk festival of the stove at that time: the ancient rumors of the 24th day of the month of Lunar New Year, Zaojun towards the sky want to talk about things. The cloud car, the wind and the horses stayed a little, and the family had cups and plates for the festival. The pig's head is rotten and the fish is fresh, the bean paste is sweet and loose, and the rice bait is round. Men offer their daughters to avoid it, and sprinkle wine and burn money to make Zaojun happy. Don't be angry at the maid's struggles, or at the cats and dogs that touch you. I'll send you to the gate of heaven drunk and full, don't repeat the long spoon and short spoon, beg for the profit to come back to share.
The sacrificial stove on the 23rd day of Lunar New Year has a close relationship with the New Year. Because, a week later, on the night of Lunar New Year's Eve, Lord Zao came to earth with other gods with the good and bad fortune that the family should get. Lord Zao is believed to lead the way for the gods in heaven. The other gods ascend to heaven again after the New Year, but only Zao Wangwang stays in people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony of welcoming the gods is called "receiving the gods", and for Lord Zao it is called "receiving the stove". The ceremony is much simpler on New Year's Eve, as long as you put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche, it's all over.
There is a saying that "men don't worship the moon, and women don't sacrifice to the stove". In some places, women do not sacrifice the stove, it is said, Zaowang master looks like a white man, afraid of female sacrifice stove, there is a "male and female suspicion". The origin of Zao Wang Wang has a long history. Among the Chinese folk gods, Zao is considered to be very old. As early as the Xia Dynasty, he was already a great god honored by the people. According to the ancient book "Rituals - Rituals" Kong Yingda sparse: "Zhuanxu's son Ri Li, Zhu Rong, sacrificed to the god of the stove." Zhuangzi. Dasheng" recorded: "The stove has a bun." Sima Biao commented: "Bun, the god of the stove, dressed in red, like a beautiful woman." In the "Clasp of Parks. It is also written in the "Micro Purpose" that "On the night of the moon's darkness, the god of the stove also goes up to heaven for the white man's sins." These records are probably the source of the sacrifices to the God of Vesta. Also, or that the god of the stove is drilling wood for fire "flint"; or that the Shennong's "fire officer"; or that the "Yellow Emperor made stove" "Su Jili"; or that the god of the stove surnamed Zhang, the list, the word Ziguo; many say differently.
Because of the different customs around the world, there are also folk "jumping Zao Wang" and "playing Zao Wang" activities.
Zao Festival, the folk say to eat dumplings, meaning "send off dumplings to meet the wind face". Mountainous areas eat cake and buckwheat. Jin Dongnan region, the popular custom of eating fried corn, folk proverb has "twenty-three, do not eat fried, the beginning of the year - a pot down" said. People like to fry corn with maltose bonding up, frozen into a large block, eat crispy and sweet.
Southeast Jin folk circulated two songs, one of which is "twenty-three, sent the master on the sky; twenty-four, sweeping the house; twenty-five, steaming dumplings; twenty-six, cut the meat; twenty-seven, rubbing the tin; twenty-eight, composting sloppy; twenty-nine, wash the hands of the feet; thirty days, the God of the Door, the couplets are posted". This reflects the time constraints and the intensity of the preparations. The second is a nursery rhyme: "On the twenty-third day, after sacrificing the stove, the children clapped their hands and laughed. After five or six days, the New Year will come. The box to ward off evil spirits, play with the walnuts, and the two cannons are fired. The five sons are on their way to the top, and the fire rises higher than the sky." Reflects the joyful psychology of children looking forward to the New Year. Among all the preparations, cutting and pasting of window decorations is the most popular folklore activity. The content of a variety of animals, plants and other palindromes, such as magpies, swallows through the peach and willow, peacocks play peonies, lions rolling embroidered balls, three sheep (Yang) Kaitai, the two dragons play pearls, deer and cranes Tongchun (six contracts spring), five bats (Blessing) hold life, rhinoceros moon, lotus (even) years of fish (Yu), mandarin ducks play in the water, the Liu Hai play Golden Cicada, and so on the two Immortals. There are also a variety of dramatic stories, folklore has "Da Deng Temple, two degrees of plum, Sanniang teach in four into the earth, five women to worship the birthday of the June snow, July 7 Tianhe with the eight immortals to celebrate the birthday of the nine pieces of clothing," said, reflecting the folk of the theater story of the preference. A new daughter-in-law of the family, the new daughter-in-law to bring their own cut all kinds of window, back to the in-laws paste window, the neighbors have to come to watch. After the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, every family will steam steamed buns. Roughly divided into two types to honor the gods and relatives with. The former solemn, the latter flower tip. In particular, a large jujube mountain should be made for the worship of Zaojun. "When a family steams flower buns, the four neighbors come to help." This is often a great opportunity for folk women to show their dexterity, a flower bun, is a handicraft.
After the twenty-third of Lunar New Year, every family has to write spring scrolls. Folk speak of a god must be posted, every door must be posted, every thing must be posted, so the Spring Festival couplets are the most numerous, the most complete content. The couplets in front of the gods are especially elaborate, mostly words of worship and prayers. Commonly, there are couplets for the God of Heaven and Earth: "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and earth's virtue is as heavy as the mountain"; couplets for the God of Land: "White jade is created from the earth, and gold comes out from the earth"; couplets for the God of Wealth: "The God of Heaven's Wealth, and the God of Earth's Fortune and Fortune. The God of Wealth: "Lord of wealth in heaven, God of fortune and fortune on earth"; the God of Wells: "Wells can lead to the four seas, and families can reach the three rivers". Face grain silos, corrals and other places in the Spring Festival couplets, are expressed warm celebration and hope. Such as "grains, six animals thrive"; "rice and noodles as thick as mountains, oil and salt as deep as the sea"; "cattle like a tiger in the South Mountain, the horse like a dragon in the North Sea"; "sheep year after year, lamb month after month. Sheng, lamb monthly increase" and so on. In addition, there are some single couplets, such as each indoor sticker "look up and see joy", the door opposite sticker "go out and see joy", the prosperous fire on the sticker "Wang Qi Chong Tian", the yard sticker "the yard is full of gold". "Full of gold in the yard", "deep roots" on the tree, "White Tiger" on the stone mill, and so on. Couplets on the door, is the face of a family, pay special attention to, or lyrical, or write things, rich in content, wonderful words.
After the Zao Festival, the preparation for New Year's Eve will begin formally. Every year from the twenty-third day of the lunar month to New Year's Eve, China's folk called this period of time "to welcome the spring day", also known as "dust day". Sweeping is the end of the year cleaning, the north called "sweeping room", the south called "dusting". Sweeping dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of our people. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean up the environment, cleaning all kinds of appliances, unwashing bedding curtains, sweeping the courtyard, dusting dust cobwebs, dredge the nullahs and ditches. The whole world is filled with the atmosphere of joyful sanitation and cleanliness to welcome the New Year.
"Lunar New Year's Eve, dust sweeping the house" custom, a long time ago. According to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals" records, our country in the era of Yao and Shun on the Spring Festival dust sweeping custom. According to folklore: because the "dust" and "Chen" consonant, dust sweeping in the New Year has "in addition to the meaning of Chen Bu Xin", the intention is to put all the "poor luck! ", "bad luck" are swept out. This custom is the desire of people to break the old and new, and the old to welcome the new prayers.
"Three corpses of God" Taoism said in the human body for Chong "God". According to the "three corpses in the scripture" said: "the upper corpse Peng 倨, in the human head; in the corpse Peng quality, in the human abdomen; the lower corpse Peng Jiao, in the human foot." It is also said that on the day of Gengshen, they will go up to heaven to tell the emperor of heaven about the evils of man; but as long as people stay up all night on that day, they can avoid it, which is called "keeping Gengshen".
Eat Zao sugar, Zao sugar is a kind of malt sugar, sticky, it is drawn into a long sugar stick called "Guandong sugar", pulled into a flat round type is called "sugar melon". Put it outside the house in winter, because of the cold weather, sugar melon solidified solid and some tiny bubbles inside, eat it crunchy, sweet and crispy, unique flavor. The real Guandong sugar is very hard, can not be broken, eat must be split with a kitchen knife, the material is very heavy and very fine. Slightly sour taste, no honeycomb in the middle, each piece weighs one or two, two or four, the price is also more expensive. Sugar melons divided into sesame and no sesame two kinds of sugar made into melon shape or melon shape, the center is empty, the skin is not as thick as five points, although the size of the different, but the transaction is still calculated by the amount, the large sugar melons weighing one or two pounds, but used as a front to buy very few people.
Lunar New Year's Eve
The old custom is that after the God of the Stove went to heaven, the Emperor Jade Emperor in the lunar calendar on the 25th day of the 12th lunar month to personally down to the world, to check the good and evil on earth, and set the next year, so the family sacrifice to pray for blessings, known as "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, people should be careful in their living and speaking, and strive for a good performance to win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring down blessings in the coming year.
After sending the God of the kitchen stove to the sky until New Year's Eve to welcome back, during which the earth without God's jurisdiction, no taboos, civil marriage, known as "catching up with the chaotic year". Messy year is the people designed for themselves to regulate the social life of a specific time. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings, for people who usually have the energy to organize a big event, this is a good time. Therefore, people invented this special time folklore according to the needs of real life. It can be seen that in the traditional society, the order of the people's life is dependent on the folklore to regulate.
The light field silkworms, also known as "burn field silkworms", "burn field wealth", is popular in the southern part of the folk custom of praying for the New Year. On the 25th day of the Lunar New Year, the torch will be tied to a long pole standing in the field, with the flame to divine the New Year, the flame is a good omen of a good harvest in the coming year. In some places, this activity is held on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year.
Thousand Lanterns Festival is a Mongolian, Daur religious festival. The Mongolian language called "Ming Gan Zhuo La", meaning a thousand lamps festival. On the day of the 25th day of the lunar month, do "Ming Gan Zhuo La" to the temple to light, that the more points the more auspicious. This holiday custom, the most prevalent in the Xinjiang Virat Mongolian. Local people in this day to eat roast beef and mutton, held a traditional sports and recreational activities.
Lunar New Year's Day 27
Traditional folklore in these two days to focus on bathing, laundry, remove the bad luck of the year, in preparation for the coming year's New Year, the capital has "27 wash guilt disease, 28 wash sloppy" proverb. Lunar New Year's Eve bath for "wash the blessing of Lu".
Lunar New Year's Eve on the twenty-ninth
The day before the New Year's Eve, called the "small New Year's Eve", the family set up a feast, people visit called "Farewell". The day before New Year's Eve is called "Little New Year's Eve", and the family will have a banquet and people will visit each other for three days.
Catch the New Year, the traditional festival of the Tujia people, also known as the "transfer of the New Year's Eve". The Tujia people celebrate the Spring Festival one or several days earlier than the Han Chinese.
Lunar New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve refers to the evening of the last day of the Lunar New Year in the lunar calendar every year, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month), also known as "Lunar New Year's Eve". The word "除" in "除夕" means "to go; easy; alternate", and the meaning of "除夕" is "the end of the month and the end of the year". ", people have to get rid of the old part of the new, there is the old year to this removed, the next year for another new year means, is the last night of the lunar calendar throughout the year. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around the removal of the old part of the new, eliminate disasters and pray for blessings as the center.
Zhou, Qin period every year will be the end of the time, the palace to hold a "big exorcism" ceremony, drumming to expel the plague of ghosts, known as the "expel", and then called the day before the New Year's Eve for the small in addition to the small New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve for the big in addition to the big New Year's Eve.
All over China on New Year's Eve, there is the custom of posting the door god. Initially, the door god is carved mahogany as a human figure, hanging next to the person, and later is painted into the door god portrait posted on the door. Legend has it that the two brothers, Shentian and Yubi, specialize in controlling ghosts, and with them guarding the gateway, evil spirits of all sizes would not dare to enter the door for harm. After the Tang Dynasty, there are painted fierce general Qin Qiong, Yuchi Jingde two people like the door god, there are painted Guan Yu, Zhang Fei like the door god. Door gods like the left and right households each one, often a pair of descendants of the door god painted as a civil and a military. Door God is divided into three categories: the first category is the "gate door God", more than pasted on the car door or the whole door, about four or five feet high, about two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", more small streets on the door, about two feet high, about one foot wide. These two kinds of door god is a black face and a white face of the two gods. White left and black right, white good and easy, black caracal, each hand holding a battle-axe. The third type is "house door door god", compared with the street door door god is slightly smaller limited, also is black and white two god, but also black and white two god is sitting like. House door is most often posted "unicorn send son" image, two powder and grease comb Prince crown dolls, each riding the unicorn. This kind of door god, should be posted on the door of the newly married house, in order to take good luck, and then also as a common street door of the New Year embellishments.
Chunlian also known as "door to", "spring post", is a kind of couplets, because in the Spring Festival when posted, so the name. One of the origins of the Spring Festival couplets is the peach charm. Initially, people used peach wood to carve human figures to hang next to the door to avoid evil spirits, and later painted the image of the god of the door on the peach wood, and then simplified to inscribe the name of the god of the door on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. Ancient people in the spring day more stickers "Yichun" two words, and gradually developed into spring couplets. The real popularity of spring couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, with the advocacy of Zhu Yuanzhang. According to the Qing dynasty Chen Shanggu's "hairpin cloud building miscellany" records, one year Zhu Yuanzhang preparation for the New Year, ordered every door to paste a spring couplets, to show the celebration. Originally, the spring couplets were inscribed on mahogany boards, but later they were written on paper instead. The color of mahogany is red, and red has the meaning of good luck and avoiding evil, so most of the Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper. But the temple with yellow paper, keep system (service filial piety is not full) with white, green, yellow color, the first year with white paper, the second year of green paper, the third year of yellow paper, the fourth year of mourning full before resuming the use of red paper. Because the Manchu is still white, the Qing court spring couplets with white paper, blue wrapped in the outside, red strips set in the inside.
When the midnight cross positive son, the New Year's bell ringing, the whole of China over the land, the sound of firecrackers ringing the heavens. In this "year of the yuan, the month of the yuan, the time of the yuan" of the "three yuan" moment, some places are still in the courtyard of the base of the "fire", to show that Wang Qi through the sky, prosperous and prosperous. In the burning fire around the fire, the children set off firecrackers, joyfully jumping around, at this time, the house is bright lights, in front of the court is brilliant sparks, outside the house is the sound of the sky, the New Year's Eve atmosphere pushed to the climax of the bustling. Poets and ink masters throughout the ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with the most beautiful poems. Wang Anshi's poem "New Year's Day":
The sound of firecrackers is the beginning of a new year, and the spring breeze sends warmth into the tassel.
Thousands of doors and tens of thousands of pupils of the sun. The new peach is always replaced by the old one.
The Chinese character "福字", "贴窗花", "贴年画", "贴挂千", all of these have the function of praying for good luck and decorating the residence of the folklore. New Year's paintings are an ancient folk art of our country, which reflects the customs and beliefs of the people and holds the hope of people for the future. New Year paintings, like spring scrolls, originated from "door gods". While the Spring Festival couplets were developed from the names of Goddess of Mercy and Yubi to words, the New Year paintings are still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of the New Year's paintings has not only limited to the God of the Door and so on, and gradually invited the God of Fortune to the home, and then in some New Year's paintings in the workshop produced the "Three Stars of Fortune, Lust and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Provide Blessings," "Five Grains of Fortune," "Six Animals Prosperity," "Welcome to the Spring Receive Blessings" and other colorful New Year's paintings, in order to satisfy people's wish for the celebration and praying for the New Year. Because of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang advocated the Spring Festival posting spring couplets, New Year's paintings are also affected by its influence and then prevailed, the country appeared in the New Year's paintings of the three important places of origin: Peach Blossom Dock in Suzhou, Tianjin Yang Liuqing and Shandong Weifang; the formation of China's New Year's paintings of the three major genres. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo in Shanghai combined the calendar and New Year's paintings. This is a new form of New Year's paintings. This combination of two and one of the New Year's paintings, later developed into a hanging calendar. Hanging a thousand, that is, with the auspicious words engraved on red paper, long feet in length, glued to the door, and the peach symbols reflect. There are eight immortals on the figure, for the Buddha before hanging. Hanging thousands of civilian households with it, the big families with it less. Its yellow paper is three inches long, red paper is more than an inch long, is a "small hanging thousand", used for the market. The earliest hanging thousands when it is to make money (copper) string hanging, and the same as the New Year's money, the role of pressure to win.
Place heaven and earth table, which is a temporary table, is the table dedicated to New Year's Eve. In general, no big Buddha Hall home special attention to heaven and earth table, because usually less to the Buddha offerings, to the end of the year when the end of the year to the gods and Buddha big reward once, in addition, this table is mainly for the reception of the use of God. The contents of the heaven and earth table is different from the permanent Buddha Hall, in addition to **** there are hanging money, incense and candles, five offerings, large offerings, the worship of the idol is also mostly temporary, such as: "100 percent", which is a woodblock version of the image of the gods; "heaven and earth and the three worlds of the eighteen Buddhas and gods," is a large yellow burlap woodblock watercolor printing of the whole God code; three stars of the blessing of three-star portraits, and so on. Some of the above statues of God after receiving the incineration, such as "percent". Some of them have to be burned until the fifth day of the week, or even until the Lantern Festival. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform, such as the hall place wide, can be placed in the house, such as the house has no land, will be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night for the gods in the sky when the world, so the folk have this custom of receiving God.
China's folk in the New Year's Eve has the habit of year-end vigil, commonly known as "boiled year". The New Year's Eve vigil begins with the New Year's Eve dinner, which is eaten slowly, from the time of the lamp, some people have to eat late into the night. According to the record of "Jing Chu Yearly Records", there was a custom of having New Year's Eve dinner at least in the North and South Dynasties. The custom of the New Year's Eve is to say goodbye to the years that have gone by and to express hope for the coming New Year.
The firecrackers depicted our people celebrating the Spring Festival grand festive scene. The sound of firecrackers is a sign of resignation and welcome the new year, the flow of festive mood. Business people. There is another meaning of firecrackers: they are in the night of New Year's Eve firecrackers is for the new year Dafa Dali. However, according to the old custom that, to honor the God of Fortune to compete first, firecrackers to the back. Legend has it that those who want to make a fortune, the firecrackers have to ring to the end to be considered sincere.
Children at play when the firecrackers, but also is the housewives in the kitchen the busiest moment, New Year's dishes are done in the first few days, and the New Year's Eve dinner always have to be in the New Year's Eve on the day of the kitchen to do out. In the north, the dumplings on the first day of the New Year are also wrapped up on the evening of the thirtieth. At this time the cutting boards of the families are thumping and busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards coming out of every house, the sound of firecrackers coming out of the streets and alleys, small stores coming out of the "chopping and popping" sound of the abacus and the rhythmic sound of the accounts, mixed with the sound of jokes and laughter everywhere, one after another, the foreign ears, interwoven into the New Year's Eve joyful music.
Eat New Year's Eve dinner, is the Spring Festival families the most lively and enjoyable time. On New Year's Eve. Abundant New Year's Eve dishes on the table, the whole family reunion, sitting around the table, *** eat a reunion dinner, the heart of the fullness is really hard to describe. People are enjoying the table full of delicacies, but also to enjoy the happy atmosphere, the table has a big dish, cold pots, stir-fry, snacks, generally less than two things, one is the hot pot, the other is the fish. One is fish. Hot pot boiling, steaming, warm and provocative, indicating that the red hot; "fish" and "Yu" consonance, is a symbol of "auspicious celebration of surplus", but also a metaphor for "year after year". It is also a metaphor for "having more than enough for every year". There are also turnips, commonly known as "choy tau" (菜头), which is a wish for good luck, and fried foods such as lobster and popping fish, which is a wish for good luck in the family, such as "blazing fire cooking oil". Finally, more than one for a sweet food, blessing the sweet days ahead, this day, even if you will not drink alcohol, but also more or less drink a little.
New Year's Eve dinner hall of fame, different places in the north and south, there are dumplings, wontons, long noodles, snacks, etc., and each have their own instructions. Northern people are accustomed to eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, is to take the old and the new, "change of year," the meaning of the child. And because the white dumplings are shaped like silver dollars, a pot of dumplings on the table to symbolize the "New Year's fortune, Yuanbao rolled in" meaning. When some dumplings are wrapped, several coins sterilized in boiling water are wrapped into them, saying that whoever eats them first will earn more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, the sage of medicine, saw that the ears of the poor were frostbitten in the winter months, so he made a kind of "Cold-removing Ear Soup" for the poor to cure frostbite. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold and warm herbs, wrapped in dough into an ear like "Jiao Er", boiled in a pot, distributed to the poor to eat, people ate, feel warm, two ear heat. Afterwards, people followed suit and the tradition has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons in the New Year is to take the meaning of the beginning. Legend has it that the world was chaotic before the creation of the world, Pangu opened up the sky and the earth, so that there is a universe of four sides, long noodles, also known as longevity noodles. The new year to eat noodles, is to wish a long life of 100 years.
New Year's money is sent by the elders to the elders, some families are eating New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sitting at the table is not allowed to go, and so we all finished eating, sent by the elders to the elders, and encourage children and grandchildren in the new year to learn to grow and do a good job. Some people are parents in the night when their children are asleep, put them under the pillow, more people are small children gathered in the main hall, shouting grandparents, mom and dad Happy New Year, kneeling in line; and then reach out for red envelopes. Even to the bedroom of the grandparents, all ran to the edge of the bed, yelling: "New Year's money, New Year's money!" The old man is still not lively enough, pretending to be petty, from bargaining to the siege of groping, and finally the old ancestor's red envelopes to dig out, we looted, only to whistling and scattered. The old man in this scenario but happy, think this is a good omen of the New Year everything goes well. New Year's Eve to the pressure money, reflecting the elders of the care of the younger generation, and the younger generation of respect for the elders, is an integration of family ethical relations of folklore activities.