Chinese folk "open door firecrackers". That is, at the arrival of the new year, the first thing that families do when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to beep and blare the sound of firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new.
Firecrackers for the Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers". Its origin is very early, so far has a history of more than two thousand years.
Now we generally think that firecrackers can create a festive atmosphere, is a holiday entertainment, it can bring people joy and good fortune. However, if we trace the origin of firecrackers, we will understand the original intention of the ancient people to set off firecrackers and the history of its derivation.
The Jing Chu chronicle: "the first day of the first month, the rooster rises, first in front of the court firecrackers to avoid the evil spirits of the mountain shame." This record shows that the firecrackers in ancient times is a plague-exorcising audio tool, which makes the custom of burning firecrackers from the beginning with a certain superstitious color. In fact, this is entirely due to the misunderstanding of the ancients.
According to the "Divine Scriptures" said that in ancient times, people traveled through the mountains to sleep, the night to point the campfire, one for cooking and warmth, and the second to prevent wild beasts invasion. However, there is an animal in the mountains that is not afraid of people or fire, and often steals food while people are not prepared.
People in order to deal with this animal, remembered in the fire firecrackers, with the cracking sound of bamboo to make it far away from the approach. The animal here is called "mountain shame". The ancients said that it can make people hot and cold, is to make people get hot and cold disease ghosts, scared away the mountain shame, that is, to expel the plague, can get lucky and safe. To the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the plague, a man called Li Tian, the saltpeter in a bamboo tube, lit so that it emits a louder sound and more intense smoke, the results dispersed the mountain miasma, to stop the epidemic. This is the earliest form of nitrate firecrackers.
After the emergence of gunpowder, people will be nitrate, sulfur and charcoal, etc., filled with bamboo tube burning, resulting in "firecrackers". To the Song Dynasty, the folk began to commonly use paper tubes and hemp stems wrapped in gunpowder woven into a string made of "braided cannon" (i.e., firecrackers).
On the evolution of the firecrackers, "popular choreography excellent" recorded: "Ancient firecrackers. All with real bamboo fire, so the Tang poetry also known as popping rod. Later people rolled paper for it. Called "firecrackers".
With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers more and more widely used, varieties and colors are also increasingly numerous. Hunan Liuyang, Guangdong Foshan and Dongyao, Jiangxi Yichun and Pingxiang and Wenzhou, Zhejiang and other places is China's famous "hometown of the firecrackers", the production of firecrackers not only sells well across the country, but also exported to the rest of the world and regions.
Firecrackers have become a recreational activity with national characteristics. People in addition to the old and new in the Spring Festival firecrackers, every major festivals and celebrations, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and marriage, building, opening and so on, also want to set off firecrackers to show their congratulations.
Chinese New Year Dragon Dance
Juggling dragon lanterns, also known as the "Dragon Dance", "Dragon Dance", is China's unique folk entertainment. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, China's urban and rural areas have the custom of playing dragon lanterns. After thousands of years of inheritance, development, playing dragon lantern has become a form of lively, beautiful performance, with romantic folk dance. Dragon lanterns originated from people's superstitious belief in dragons, which has a history of more than two thousand years. In ancient times, people prayed for the blessing of the dragon with the dragon dance in order to get good weather and good harvests.
The main prop of the dragon lantern is the "dragon". Dragon with grass, bamboo, wood, paper, cloth, etc. Tied and become, the number of sections of the dragon to the odd number for good luck, most often see nine sections of the dragon, eleven sections of the dragon, thirteen sections of the dragon, up to twenty-nine sections. Fifteen or more sections of the dragon is more bulky, not suitable for dancing, mainly for ornamental purposes, this dragon is particularly concerned about decoration, has a high craft value. There is also a "fire dragon", with bamboo gabions woven into a cylinder, forming a cage, paste transparent, beautiful dragon clothes, burning candles or oil lamps, night performances are very spectacular.
There are many ways to play the dragon lantern, nine sections of the focus on tricks, the more common action: dragon roaming, dragon head drilling stalls, head and tail drill, dragon swinging tail and snake shedding skin, etc. Eleven, thirteen sections of the dragon. Eleven sections, thirteen sections of the dragon, focusing on the action show, the golden dragon chasing the pearl, flying and jumping, sometimes flying into the clouds, sometimes into the sea breaking waves. It is very beautiful.
The custom of the dragon dance has been carried forward and flourished by overseas Chinese. Whenever the Chinese celebrate traditional festivals and major celebrations, they will dance lions and play dragon lanterns, presenting a strong oriental atmosphere.
Stilts
Previously, every first month of the lunar calendar, a team of stilts would, in the waist drums, small 铴 gongs, large and small hairpin percussion through the streets. The number of stilts in a set of children is variable, usually more than a dozen people. The taller ones step on low stilts and the shorter ones step on high stilts. The performers are dressed in traditional theater costumes. They are led by a stick, and then the artistic images of Sean, White Snake, Tang Monk, Ugly Woman, and Jiang Ziya appear. Because of the witty and funny, rough and cheerful, voice and emotion, sometimes with music and laughter, has always been a favorite of the people in Beijing.
The stilt walkers are generally organized by the mass spontaneous string. The first month of the eleventh and twelfth began to step on the street, meaning to inform the people in the many folk flower fair, this year to hang a number. New Year's Day 15 officially on the street, until the end of the eighteenth party. In the meeting, along the way, the big business in front of the door set up eight immortal table, set up tea, snacks, firecrackers to say hard, to express condolences. The stilt team here to stay a little, or perform a thank you.
The stilt walkers march in the street, generally using a single line of a long snake formation, in the busy and crowded area using two people in parallel formation. The steps are changed into walking eights. In the performance of a small whirlwind, flower bladder, harrier turn, big split and other difficult and dangerous action.
The art of stilts in some rural areas in the winter, there are still organized rehearsals. In the capital everywhere in the garden party, temple fair can be seen from time to time.
Dumplings
Dumplings are a kind of folk food with a long history, which is very popular among the people, and there is a saying that "dumplings are delicious". During the Chinese New Year festivals, dumplings become an indispensable delicacy.
According to "Guangya", a book written by Zhang Yi, a native of the Three Kingdoms period, there were already foods shaped like crescent moons called "wontons", which were basically similar in shape to today's dumplings. To the North and South Dynasties, wontons "shaped like a crescent moon, the world's common food". It is assumed that after the dumplings were cooked, they were not fished out and eaten separately, but were mixed with the soup and served in a bowl, so the people at that time called the dumplings "wontons". This way of eating is still popular in some areas of China, such as Henan, Shaanxi and other places people eat dumplings, to put some parsley, green onion, shrimp, chives and other small ingredients in the soup.
Around the time of the Tang Dynasty, dumplings had become exactly like those of today, and were fished out and put on a plate to be eaten separately.
The Song dynasty called dumplings "jiao'er," which is the etymology of the word "dumpling" in later times. This style of writing can still be seen in the subsequent Yuan, Ming, Qing and Republic of China.
Dumplings were called "flat food" in the Yuan Dynasty. Ming Dynasty Wanli years Shen Bung's "Wan Agency Miscellany" records: "New Year's Day to pay homage to ...... as a plaque food. Liu Ruoyu's "discretion in the Zhi": "the first day of the first day of the festival ...... to eat fruit snacks, that is, plaque food." Yuan and Ming Dynasty "plaque food" of "plaque", now known as "flat". "flat food" a, may come from the Mongolian language.
The Qing Dynasty, such as "dumplings", "water snacks", "boiled meat and potatoes" and other dumplings about the new title. The increase in the number of names for dumplings suggests that the geographical area in which they have been passed down is expanding.
The custom of eating dumplings at the Spring Festival has been quite prevalent in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Dumplings are usually wrapped before 12:00 pm on the night of the thirtieth year, to be eaten in the middle of the night, when it is the beginning of the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, eating dumplings to take the meaning of "more years of the cross," "son" for "son of the time!
There are many legends about eating dumplings on New Year's Day, one of which says that it is in honor of Pangu's opening of the heavens and the earth, ending the mixed state, and the second is to take it with the "muddy hoard" of the harmonies, which means "grain full of hoards". In addition, folklore has it that the folklore of eating dumplings is related to the creation of man by Nuwa. When Nuwa created man, due to the cold weather, the ears of the yellow earth people would easily freeze off. In order to keep the ears in place, Nuwa tied a small eye in the ear, tied the ear with a thin thread, and put the other end of the thread in the mouth of the yellow earth people to bite on, so that the ear could be considered done. In order to commemorate Nuwa's achievements, the people made dumplings, kneaded the dough in the shape of human ears, wrapped the filling (thread) inside, and ate them by biting them with their mouths.
Dumplings have become an indispensable part of the Spring Festival program for a number of reasons: First, they are shaped like Yuanbao. People eat dumplings in the Spring Festival to take the sound of "attracting wealth and treasures", and the second is that dumplings have a filling, so it is easy for people to put all kinds of auspicious things into the filling, in order to send people's prayers for the new year.
When making dumplings, people often put gold ruyi, sugar, peanuts, jujubes and chestnuts into the filling. Those who eat ruyi and sugar will have sweeter days in the coming year, those who eat peanuts will live a long and healthy life, and those who eat jujubes and chestnuts will give birth to precious children early.
In some areas, people eat dumplings with some side dishes for good luck. For example, eating tofu, symbolizing the happiness of the whole family; eating persimmon cake, symbolizing everything is going well; eating three fresh vegetables. Symbolizing the three suns. Taiwanese people eat fish dumplings, meat dumplings and hairy vegetables to symbolize reunion and wealth. Dumplings come in many varieties depending on the filling and the method of preparation. Even if the same kind of dumplings, there are different ways to eat them: the Daur people in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang want to cook the dumplings in vermicelli broth. Then eat the soup with dumplings; some areas of Henan will be dumplings and noodles cooked together, the name of the day "gold thread through the treasure".
Dumplings have become an important part of China's food culture while bringing joy to people during the New Year's festival. "Sneaky" harmonic, the younger generation to get the New Year's Eve money can be safe and sound through the year. There are two kinds of New Year's money, one is to colorful rope threaded woven into the shape of a dragon, placed at the foot of the bed, this record is found in the "Yanjing Yearly Record"; the other is the most common, that is, wrapped in red paper by the parents of the money given to the children. New Year's money can be given in public after the younger generation pays homage to the New Year, or it can be placed under the child's pillow by the parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve.
Folk believe that when the New Year's money is given to the child, when the evil spirits, demons or the "New Year" go to harm the child, the child can use the money to bribe them to turn bad luck into good luck. Qing people Wu Man Yun "New Year's money" poem in the cloud: "a hundred and ten money through the colorful line long, divided again pillow from the collection, the discussion of firecrackers to talk about xiao price, added to the children of the night busy". From this point of view, the new year's money is tied to a child's heart, and the child's new year's money is mainly used to buy firecrackers, toys and sweets and other festive things.
Now the custom of elders giving new year's money to their seniors is still prevalent, with the amount of money ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred, which is mostly used by children to buy books and school supplies, a new fashion that gives new content to new year's money.
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