Jiangsu Province
Wu Di Spring Festival Fashions
Wuxi, in addition to posting peach charms, door patches and spring scrolls, there is also hanging Zhong Kui elephants on New Year's Day to avoid ghosts and spirits for a year. Legend has it that Zhong Kui is good at catching ghosts. This custom probably began in the Tang Dynasty. Wuxi folk many people still have in the lintel hanging auspicious statements of the red single link and cut paper door paper hanging custom. Wuxi region in the morning of New Year's Day, the prevalence of eating cake silk round son, to take the meaning of reunion and high rise. Also have to eat noodles, take long life, long spring meaning. Wuxi custom in the new year children come, the host will have to take refreshments candy hospitality gifts. Friends and relatives who have children come to pay tribute to the New Year should be rewarded with New Year's money. New son-in-law to the mother-in-law's home to pay tribute to the New Year, are generally selected at the beginning of the third. The third day of the year is called the small New Year's Day, and can not sweep the ground, beg for fire, draw water, and New Year's Day customs are the same. Wuxi also has a custom with other places slightly different, that is, where there are sixty, seventy, eighty birthday congratulations, are held in the Spring Festival, rather than in the birthday congratulations. New Year's Day in many places can not sweep the custom, Wuxi is the same. It is believed that sweeping the floor on the first day of the year should sweep away the wealth. On the second day of the year, even if you sweep the floor, you can not dump the garbage out of the door, but piled up in the corner of the house, until the first half of the month, known as the "gathering of wealth". The age of the custom to avoid begging people for fire, draw water, and do not move the knife and scissors, and prohibit the dumping of sewage, feces. New Year's Day when you go to sleep, and to put two or three sound closing pops. Wuxi this night to sleep earlier, such as children playful refused to sleep, parents often coaxed the child said: "go to bed earlier, tonight to listen to the old bugs do pro". Wuxi old custom on New Year's Day this day the climate is very important, often to the weather on this day to divine the future of the year's harvest.
New Year's Eve in Wuxi
The Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival of the people of Wuxi.
The old custom in Wuxi is to open the door on the first day of the year and let off three firecrackers to open the door. For breakfast, we eat cake silk, round rice and noodles, taking the meaning of reunion, high rise, long life and long spring. On this day, only eat the leftovers from New Year's Eve, meaning "surplus". Can not eat soup over rice, and do not eat congee, for fear of going out in the rain. It is also forbidden to beg fire and draw water from neighbors, and it is cautioned not to curse, not to be angry, not to speak inauspicious words, and to pray for peace and good fortune throughout the year.
During the Spring Festival, the younger generation first pays homage to the elders, and then goes to the homes of friends and relatives to celebrate the New Year. When friends and relatives meet for the first time, say some "congratulations", "congratulations", "congratulations" and other words, congratulate each other. New son-in-law to his parents-in-law's home to pay New Year's greetings, generally selected on the third day of the year. The old man since the age of 60 years old, every 10 years during the Spring Festival feast to celebrate.
Shandong Province
Laoshan Spring Festival Customs
During the Spring Festival, Laoshan villages and towns are bustling with rice-planting songs, dry-boat races, dragon lantern dances, and stilt-walking ....... Lantern Festival is a traditional Chinese folk festival of lights. In the fishing villages along the coast of Laoshan, firecrackers are blasting, and fishermen are led by boat captains to their respective fishing boats to deliver lanterns, wishing for a good fishery harvest in the new year.
The period between the Qingming Festival and the Grain Rain in the lunar calendar is the time for fishermen in Laoshan to offer sacrifices to the sea. Sacrifice to the sea, the fishermen set up on the beach pig, chicken, fish, three sacrificial offerings, large noodle buns and sweets, lighting incense and candles and firecrackers, to hold the traditional ceremony of sacrifice to the sea. On the day of the festival, the simple and bold fishermen use good wine and good food to warmly entertain their friends and relatives who come to watch the festival, and we all have a good time together.
Kongfu New Year's Festival
The Kongfu New Year's Festival has some differences from the folk
La Ba. All the activities of Lapa are centered around Lapa congee. The congee is made by a large number of people, and the fire-burning households of the "householders" are dedicated to burning the fire on this day. A large pot is set up and the porridge is served in many tanks. Laha congee is divided into two kinds: one is coarse, to the police to drink, porridge put rice, meat, cabbage, tofu and so on, porridge, a return to a catty bun; the other is fine, with barley kernel, Guiyuan, lotus seed, lily, chestnut, red dates, red cowpeas, rice, etc. boiled, porridge surface and then put with hawthorn carved "congee fruit". The congee is for the inner house, the clan, and for offerings. Kongfu outside a lot of incense houses, are on the day of the eighth day to send nuns to ask for congee, to "pot head rice".
Nearing the 30th, the Kongfu busy annual activities in the most lively scene "steam strong" appeared, "steam strong" is for the New Year steamed all kinds of steamed buns, dumplings, cakes. At this time, the "fire household" to burn the fire, steaming a variety of steamed buns.
Dumplings were wrapped all night on New Year's Eve. Inside the house everywhere burning lamps, burning sandalwood incense, laying carpets, the yard to build a colorful tent, pulling colorful ribbons. In the afternoon, we go to the temple to perform rituals, and after dinner, we go to the ancestral temple to say goodbye. Adults give children send "New Year's money", in a red paper bag, written on it "long life," the word, placed on the child's pillow, each person to prepare a cloisonné food box, in which to put sticky rice noodles made of Ruyi, small persimmons, oranges and other things.
New Year's Eve night Diffractive Shenggong also personally to Anhuaitang set up offerings, worship white-bearded old gods, it is said that all the spirits in the Confucian House of all the ghosts and monsters belong to this white-bearded old gods.
After midnight all the people get up to worship the gods of heaven and earth. In the courtyard of the front upper room, they set up a "heaven and earth building" with mats. In each direction, east, west, south, north, northeast, southwest and northwest, a table was set up on which the tablets of the gods were placed, and a table in the center was set up with the tablets of the gods of heaven and earth. "Heaven and earth building" next to the establishment of "heavenly pole", point "heavenly lamp", day and night, has been point to point half a month long.
Waking up on the morning of New Year's Day, we don't say anything, and we touch the things in the food box and the New Year's money with our hands. Wake up and worship temples, ancestral halls, and receive New Year's greetings from servants. The family comes to pay homage to the Confucius House. In the afternoon, the local "Dragon Lantern Society" lion dance and other performances into the Confucius House, the Confucius House and the "fireworks household" fireworks to celebrate the New Year.
Zhejiang Province
Wenzhou Spring Festival Folk 28
Open the door cannon: early morning on the first day of the morning, the first thing every household is to scramble to play "open the door cannon", the whole city a firecrackers, a symbol of the old to welcome the new and to receive the blessing, commonly known as "to receive the New Year". Playing the "door cannon" also has the practice, generally is the first small firecrackers a string, called "100 children gun"; and then put a double sound of big firecrackers, big firecrackers only three hair, meaning that can be lifted a year of plague plague obscurity, and said to receive the New Year. Requirements for three shots are loud, loud and clear sound, the most auspicious. Common belief that playing "open the door cannon" the sooner the better, symbolizing that this year, do whatever will go smoothly, as you want to get rich, planting people will have a bumper crop. Some places in the open door when the cannon, but also read in the mouth: "open the door, fire the cannon; wealth is also to, hi also to." General firecrackers of the outer skin and the inner skin are a color red, after burning paper flowers all over the ground, Can in the cloud brocade, forming a full color, joyful. Now firecrackers have been banned in towns, but in rural areas and fishing islands can still be set off.
Worship of the six gods: hit the door cannon, men and women of all families to wear new clothes. The housewife burns Buddha tea, to Jiangxi porcelain bowl containing a variety of offerings, for the incense case. In the center of the hall hangs the image of the ancestors, first worship ancestors, then worship six gods (God of the stove, the eaves God, the White Tiger, the well God, the God of the land, the God of wealth). Folk believe that these six gods and goddesses are the protectors of each family, and they are worshipped in the New Year to pray for the safety of the population and the prosperity of the family throughout the year.
Receive the three gods: after worshiping the six gods, and in the atrium set up a small square table, a bowl of rice, covered with red paper, sticking around the solid, placed on the table, burning incense and candles, worship, called "receiving the three gods" (i.e., Taoism's Yuqing, Shangqing, Taiqing), after the sacrifice to the indoor until the fourth day of the first month of the new year, to send the gods to withdraw from the seat.
Ancestor worship: In the old days, at noon on the first day of the first month of the year, in Dongtou County, families would worship their ancestors. The ceremony is presided over by the housewife. The offerings are listed first, wine cups and chopsticks are set up, and yellow wine is poured in the wine compote. A bench should be set up in the middle of the shrine and the offering table, then red candles are lit and incense is burned on the incense burners of all the shrines for the ancestors, the three gods, the land god, the stove god, and so on. When the red candle has burned about three-quarters of the way through or the incense will be burned out, then start burning "gold paper" (a kind of gold foil, folded into the shape of a treasure of paper money, the common belief that after the chanting of scripture to be effective), set off firecrackers. Finally, the food is removed, and the chairs in front of the offering table are moved before the food is removed. When worshipping the ancestors, the gifts on the offering table are not allowed to be moved; all offerings that have been worshipped, with the exception of pastries and fruits, must be re-cooked or steam-heated before they are eaten. Otherwise, they are considered to be disrespectful to the gods and ancestors.
Hanging incense: early in the morning on the first day of the first month of the year, the old custom of "Hanging Incense". The city's civil and military officials, the crown with a moped, full deacon, sounding the gong to open the way to the temple incense, the prestige of the ceremony is very prosperous, each family elderly and family members before dawn, has been bathed and dressed, competing first rushed to the community temple or the nearby temples to open the door and burn incense, incense lamps, and some even so much as the New Year's Eve do not sleep, in the temple guards and so on. Ohio time, hurry to burn incense, show piety. Common belief that the first person rushed to point on the incense is most auspicious, so there is a race to be the first to point the first pair of candles custom. As the saying goes, "Whoever opens the temple door earliest, this year must earn big silver." Elderly people go to temples to worship the temple god, mainly pray for blessing the new year auspicious, the whole family peace. But because of the class, industry, gender, age and other different, come to worship the god of the people are endless, there is to do business to get rich, there is to seek agricultural harvest, there is to seek children to renew the heir, and so on. Larger temples such as Dongou Wang Temple, worshippers have to give the temple blessing red packets, such as prayers are effective, the first day of every year, the rich, to use a large candle weighing more than a hundred pounds to return the wish.
Kaizheng: in the old days in dongtou island, every family thirty night vigil to c d time or so, are to be held "Kaizheng" ceremony. By the family's elders or the family in charge of production and life presided over. The presiding officer should be "purified" (i.e., to abstain from sex on New Year's Eve) and bathe the whole body, and should not touch anything dirty before the "opening of the main". The table is placed in front of the door or in the patio, and two benches should be padded on the foot of the table to make the table elevated. Offerings are three animals, fish, fruit, pastries, vegetarian noodles, etc., on both sides of a pair of foot-long red candles, commonly known as "overnight". Kaizheng", the presiding officer lit "overnight", burning incense three columns, the whole family kneeling, palms together to ask the sky, a devout prayer, praying for God's blessings, blessing the whole family in the new year, peace, wealth, all the best. After the prayer, the whole family stood in silence for a while, and then burned "gold paper" firecrackers. Finally, the withdrawal of food. 80's, has been the "open positive" time advanced to midnight zero hour, accompanied by CCTV ringing the New Year's bell. Ceremony is also more simple, some just firecrackers, fireworks. But more firecrackers, especially the "hundreds of guns", and even several thousand strings together, the sound is loud, long, lively and unusual. Worship tea that is to red dates, cinnamon, rice cakes, etc. cooked into a sweet tea called "red dates tea", to take its auspicious meaning: red dates - more and more prosperous days, cinnamon - family reunion, safe and smooth, rice cakes - step by step. Worship tea" is divided into two parts: one is to worship the ancestors, a small bowl, offered to the God of the stove in front of the statue; the second is to worship the God of the stove, are to burn incense and candles, burn gold paper, firecrackers. After worshiping the tea, each member of the family will have a bowl to drink. Because the first meal of the New Year is to drink soup, so, in the days to come, or go out, or work at home, if the rain is blocked, people will be "the first day of the first month of the soup," this self-deprecating. After drinking tea, and then burn the line noodles to eat, commonly known as "longevity noodles", both for luck, wishing the whole family a long life, but also because the tea is not enough to fill, as an addition to the food, can be harvested in one fell swoop.
Breakfast: the first day of the first month of breakfast, Wenzhou people like to eat cake (a kind of cooking and steamed into a sweet rice cake). Eat, cut the cake into thin slices, and then the soy sauce meat in the fat meat is also cut into thin slices, embedded in the two slices of cake between, eat up sweet with salt, a unique flavor. Some people also eat dumplings, or cook a bowl of vermicelli with a hard-boiled egg on top. These foods contain "year high", "reunion" symbolism. Some people cook New Year's Eve rice and eat pounded cake and muffin at the same time. In Pingyang, eat rice cakes and dumplings, some first drink brown sugar soup, after adding noodles and eggs; in Taishun, the housewife to make sugar tea, steamed sugar cake, end out of the vegetable head (salted radish) to the family "sweet mouth, good luck". But Yueqing Yandang area, then eat brown. New Year's Eve, each family to cook a pot of rice dumplings, such as the first day of the year early, the whole family to eat. It is said to eat rice dumplings have two meanings, one is because of rice dumplings and "Zong" homophonic, take the meaning of nostalgia for the ancestors; two is because of rice dumplings and "in" the word homophonic, take the meaning of fame in. In Yueqing, the average person uses jujube, persimmon cake, dumplings. In Yueqing Baishi Town, the first day of dinner to eat soup dumplings, mushy soup, the first cake. When going to sleep, shoes are placed in front of the bed to seek blessings from the Heavenly Palace. In the city during the Spring Festival, guests have offered Yuanbao tea custom, that is, put two fresh olives in the tea, not only the tea flavor fragrance, Dan see in the yellowish-green tea broth floating olives, shaped like a Yuanbao, commonly known as the "Yuanbao tea", containing New Year's good luck, the colorful head of wealth. Dim sum useful round eyes meat or lotus seeds, red dates, but also meatballs, eggs with vermicelli.
New Year's greetings: On the morning of the first day of the new year, first at home, the younger generation in the order of the elders to bow and salute, called "New Year's greetings". From the second day, neighbors and friends and relatives, to and from the festival. If you meet in the road, long bow to congratulate (now nodding and shaking hands to say hello), but also each other's palms chest said "New Year's Day". To each family door to congratulate each other on the new year, also known as the "New Year", "worship". First, the next generation went out to the elders to pay homage to the New Year, and then the generation back to pay homage, it is called "back to the New Year". Newlyweds first to the in-laws to pay homage to the New Year, said "worship the first year", after the generation to the funeral home to pay homage to the New Year, said "worship the New Year".
According to old habits, Wenzhou people do not go to relatives on the first day of the first month. Worship time is generally the second to the tenth or extended to the fifteenth. In Cangnan, called "explore the first month", to the general relatives to go home, have to bring gifts. 50 years ago, agricultural products are relatively simple, mostly cinnamon, lychee, jujube, jujube, brown sugar, persimmons, etc., with special straw paper wrapped in red paper sealed on the top (some of the printed congratulations to the New Year's lace lettering), it is known as the "paper Pengbao", also known as the "high packet," "red packet". Each package of gifts about half a catty, how many packages need to be sent, according to the relatives of the situation set. In the old days, the South Shop, every Chinese New Year, buy red packets of people especially. From December 20, every night after 9:00 pm, the shopkeepers are busy wrapping red envelopes late into the night, each person can also eat a bowl of mustard fried rice cakes as a night meal. If business is good, they are wrapped until after the Lantern Festival. Some stores only pack twenty or so red dates in a red envelope. It is ridiculous to say that after the east sends the west, the west then sends the south ......, and finally, the bag is broken, the red dates in the bag are dug a hole by the children to touch and eat, and sometimes there is only one left, and it is still being sent to and fro.
In Yongjia Nanxi River in the middle and lower reaches of the area, in the first Spring Festival just married, son-in-law to his parents-in-law home to pay tribute to the New Year, to do the rice cake, commonly known as the "door cake". Cooked with white rice flour, put in a stone mortar pounded mushy, kneaded into a rice block, and then placed in a wooden mold, printed into a round and flat rice cakes, the front has a pattern, such as the double immortal and cooperation, Liu Hai dedication of money, Scholarship Elephant and other characters. The quantity to be made is one quart, about 50 pairs to 100 pairs. In addition to this, there should be pork, muffins and longevity noodles (somen).
In Wencheng, paying homage to the New Year is called "Maungnyeon". In the old days, such as bringing children over the age of one year to "look" grandma and grandpa, generally choose three, six, nine days, called "three, six, nine, no taboo". Going out, in the child's brow and the tip of the nose painted with red or black ink, meaning to avoid "brats" offenders. On the fourth day of the first month, most of the folk do not travel, do not work, because with the "dead" resonance, the people who speak southern Fujianese, on the ninth day of the first month of the taboo. Because the "nine" and "dog" harmonics.
In Yueqing, the first day of the first month not out of the local to visit friends and relatives. Baixi and other places even the second day is also listed as a taboo day, such as into the countryside do not ask the customary people rush to the door, will be accused of face to face. From the third day of the year, did not look forward to the "New Year's Eve" picking the gold box to look at parents-in-law, aunt and uncle, godparents, and also line to pay tribute to the New Year, commonly known as "look forward to the first month". Gifts to muffin or pounded cake, followed by fish, meat and lychee, kuiyuan, etc., red seal Yuanbao paper package, the custom provides that the old relatives of four, the new relatives of six. The above are looked forward to (including looking forward to the New Year's Eve) elder relatives, generally in the light of the beginning of the period before the return to worship, if the son-in-law, nephews, godchildren's grandparents, parents are already dead, then you can send the son to go. Where the first time in the first month of visiting friends and relatives, regardless of seniority, are required to carry two red envelopes; the person being visited must make tea, cooking snacks, or host a banquet, otherwise, the custom is considered rude. In Pingyang, when a nephew returns to his grandmother's house for the first time to pay a New Year's visit, there is a gift of a calf from his grandmother's house.
In Dongtou, the same is a daughter to return to her mother's home, it is necessary to carry a "red bucket" to the parents, as a sign of filial piety. The so-called "red bucket" is a small wooden bucket carved or red lacquer, which is filled with cooked food, and large fish and meat as a condiment made of pasta or glutinous rice, generally in 2.5-5 kilograms or so. The saying goes: "Give birth to a child soul streamer pole, give birth to a woman red bucket treasure". The meaning is that the birth of a son, after the death of some people wearing mourning, mourning raised soul streamers; birth of a daughter, the first month of the "red bucket" filial piety. 70 years later, the custom of red bucket basically disappeared, the "paper pong package" is also extinct, and instead of sending wine, meat and canned food.
During the Spring Festival, to come to the New Year's friends and relatives, most of the host family to stay and drink wine hospitality, commonly known as "called New Year's wine", that is, the spring feast, there are also specialized in setting up wine banquets to invite friends and relatives to drink. Generally, the food and wine are more sumptuous. If friends and relatives with children under 16 years old (the age of false) to come, then, we must give these children the New Year's money, known as the "pressure belly pocket". When friends and relatives leave, there should be a return gift, usually sweets, pastries, water chestnuts and so on. The old custom, if you do not go to the New Year's Eve, is a sign of broken relatives, so some of the old relatives (relatives of the previous generation) the next generation to take turns to go to the New Year's Eve, four seasons and eight sections of the old relatives did not have to deal with, but the Spring Festival must go to pay respects to the New Year's Eve.
Hall layout: New Year's Day, the rich family in the hall, high hanging red gold life screen (family longevity of the elderly can) or large paintings and calligraphy, screen in front of a long table, the left end of the Ninety Thousand Years of Youth, adorned with safflower, the right end of the fine carvings of an inset screen, the center or pendulum clocks, or pendulum large treasure. Around a pair of large tin table (some weighing more than a hundred pounds, high and people), inserted with large candles. Long table arranged in front of two square tables, both sides in addition to the same display of large tin table, large candles, there is a pair of bright corner lamps (commonly known as "Hall Light"), the middle of the two tables and a large yuanbao (made of a bucket of glutinous rice and brown sugar), inserted silver flowers, wrapped with colorful red, on the top of a few horizontal citrus, symbolizing the source of wealth into the door. In addition, the display of a number of Jiangxi kiln pots, planted on a variety of flowers, such as plum, lilac, daffodil, Buddha nails, and so on, in the pots attached to the red paper strips written with the word "auspicious" in front of the long table and the square table, hanging embroidered red satin table around the left and right corners of the configuration of the finely carved gold-lacquered railing, the two sides of the narthex is full of paintings and drawings. On both sides of the arrangement of large chairs and coffee table, draped in large red satin embroidered chair cape, placed on a few dishes of refreshments. Such as guests, divided into guests and hosts seated, in addition to refreshments, there are lacquer-painted wooden tray tray jiangxi tea into the tea or lotus seeds, cinnamon and other snacks, there are also dumplings, red dates. This day, even the room of the bed curtains, bed amount, bedding and so on, are washed and replaced, even the dressing table and mirror, are draped in satin embroidered mirror cover, all the beams, eaves on the edge of the steps above, are hung up beautiful lanterns, only the front beam hanging two pairs of red gauze lamps, to show the grandeur.
New Year's Pen: readers with large red paper, writing auspicious words, or "four seasons of the year, read the great fortune," such as this, this is called "New Year's Pen", there are also written longer, such as "New Year's Pen, great fortune. All seasons of the year, all the best. Business is booming, the source of wealth. The six animals are thriving, and the five grains are plentiful. The family Qingji, the population is healthy. The wind and rain are favorable, and the country is at peace." After they are written, they are pasted on the wall. The people who know how to write poems, then touch the scene, do a few new self-exciting poems.
Set Yuanbao: each family with brown sugar and glutinous rice, indica rice made of large and small Yuanbao, take the meaning of fortune, where the home for storage objects, such as barns, rice tanks, bookcases, boxes and cages, closets, drawers, altar jars, etc., are put on a small Yuanbao.
Wearing new clothes: the first day, people have to wear new clothes, also contains the old and welcome the new meaning. In the old days, the rich gentry, rich family tweed and silk wear a new; poor families wear even if it is coarse old clothes, but also neat and clean, different from the weekdays, in order to be the lucky day of the New Year. Children wear big red clothes, young women of course, full of red, even the old woman also tied a big red skirt, because the folk to red symbolizes good luck. Children are usually forbidden to wear brightly colored clothes, today is the exception, there are in the red coat over the net, wearing a tiger's claw, some people are still in the children's belts, hanging on the small knife and sword, shells, wood or copper engraving of the gossip, is to "ward off evil" means. Now people are wearing has been a big change, color, style, texture more bright and colorful, and to a high level of development. But the point of wearing new clothes to welcome the New Year remains the same.
Travel: the first day of the first month to go out, to choose the direction. First burn incense in front of the God of the stove, and then take an empty pot, put a spoon in the middle, spinning hard, according to the last stop of the handle pointed in the direction of the head, by a person with a shear to go, and then heard and remembered to meet the first person to cut the words spoken (virtual action), meaning that half of it, return to divination, which is called the "incense divination", commonly known as the "divination shear hearing".
Hi mouth color: every New Year, Wenzhou area folk like to discuss the mouth color, only allowed to speak auspicious words, avoid speaking inauspicious words." Relatives entertaining, auspicious words, that is, the year gifts must be added to the Taiping money, Mannianqing cypress and other things, or else referred to as a good luck." (Qing Sun Tongyuan "Yongjia heard the record")
Send Yuanbao: the first day, some people put the brown sugar Yuanbao with red rope tied to the branches of the tree in WanNianQing, along the door from door to door to send auspicious words, by a person playing the bamboo board, the current slang, a person shook the spring firewood (camphor tree branches and leaves) should be specialized in the "good", it is called "send Yuanbao" or "shouting Yuanbao". Wenzhou has a proverb: "the first day of the first month to send Yuanbao, sentence to say good." After speaking, each family gives some rice cakes or change. Yongjia send Yuanbao song cloud: "Yuanbao into the door stage, good! Gold and silver will make you rich, good! Accumulate virtue and goodness in previous lives, good! Yuanbao twisting, good! Raise pigs as big as oxen, good! Show me your Yuanbao! Liu Haixian, with bare feet and puffy head, good! Liu Haixian plays with the Golden Toad! Money and silver are sent to the house. Good! Good!"
Selling skills: in Cangnan, Pingyang area, the first to the third night of the first month, there are selling skills team carrying lanterns, on the doorstep of people chanting words of good luck, commonly known as "selling skills" or "selling odd". The home is to send some rice cakes, cigarettes or red packets, three nights is stopped. Some of the happy family (such as marriage, birthday, house building, birth, etc.) also made an appointment in advance, open the door to welcome into the hall, to cigarettes, wine and hospitality, called "play the new house" or "play the bride".
New Year's Drums: During New Year's Day, there are folk cultural and entertainment activities, such as new drums and playing music. New Year's daybreak, children in groups, with drums and gongs, along the street beating, here and there, an endless stream, called "New Year's drums". Some people gather their neighbors and friends to play all kinds of music, from playing to singing, which makes them happy and lively.
Dance Dragon Lantern: Spring Festival folk dance dragon custom. In Pingyang, more than a dozen people hold colorful dragons in their hands and dance in front of temples and big houses, and the host families are rewarded with red packets, rice cakes and candies. There are also white dragons, which are made of white ramie cloth and can be lit with lamps inside, also known as "dragon lanterns", which are carried by more than 10 young people, who usually stay at the temples and set up incense burners, gongs and drums, and have stories or hymns sung by Mr. Chanting, which is known as "joining the dragons". The head of the temple pays money and arranges for accommodation. The event is limited to one month.
Welcoming the New Year: In Pingyang and other places, at midnight on the New Year's Day, people set up joss sticks and candles in the room and set off firecrackers in front of the gods, which is called "welcoming the New Year".
Lighting the lanterns: from the first to the fifth, every night in the bedroom lights until dawn, called the "light of the year".
Welcoming the god of the stove: in Pingyang and other places, the early morning of the third or fourth night of the custom of welcoming the god of the stove. It is said that "the god of the stove on the 24th day of the lunar month, today's return, so pray for this welcome" ("Pingyang County"). In Yongjia, on both sides of the Nanxi River, in the early morning of the first day of the first month to welcome the stove. It is commonly said that the god of the stove goes up to heaven on the 24th night of December, and comes back from heaven on the morning of the first day of the first month of the lunar year. Each family puts a new image of the God of Zao in the shrine, then lights incense and candles, makes a cup of tea and worships the image.
Collecting the treasures: on the fifth day of the first month, every family will be placed in the New Year's Eve in the center of the hall on the portrait of the ancestors and a variety of treasures and paintings and other things to collect the collection of hidden, which is called "collect the treasures. When collecting treasures, family members should worship, and the next generation of foreign relatives also come to worship. In Pingyang, "five days and withdraw, or hanging to half a month," in Wencheng, called "the first five flowers bloom", people put away the ancestral figure, meaning that the Spring Festival comes to an end, all taboos and specific rituals lifted, and return to the normal order of life. In the old days, in the town, the stores in addition to some of the third and fourth in succession, most of the market in the fifth and sixth day to open for business. When the market opened, the store to firecrackers, there are also scenic lights and colors, to celebrate.
New Year's Taboo: In the old days, the first day of the first month of the year does not cook (New Year's Eve, more rice in the New Year to eat, take "eat leftover" meaning), do not take the water, not strings, not sewing needle and thread. Generally do not sweep the floor, if you have to sweep the floor must be from the outside to the inside of the broom, it is forbidden to sweep the floor outward, commonly known as wealth will be lost. Early dinner, do not light the lamp, put on firecrackers (so-called "shut the door gun"), go to bed early. During the New Year, there are no quarrels, do not move the knife and axe, do not kill, as well as the prohibition of debt collection and other taboos. It is said that the quarrel will fall off the color; knife and axe is a murderous weapon, moving the unlucky, etc.; and can not say unlucky words, can not scold people, etc.. Yongjia Ruoxi area, some people in the New Year hit a child, said to be "the beginning of the year", a year will not go well. In Pingyang, five days, not picking dung, not pouring the toilet, not knocking the ground, that is, such as "bucket" and so on. Now these customs have basically disappeared. In the past, there are still rural "first month of slow" custom, farmers to the seventh and eighth before going to the field, the general store to the fifth before opening. Now a change in culture, in recent years, to break this traditional custom, some areas, on the second day of the first month on the team (some also the whole family) to the field hoe and send fertilizer to the field. Some stores also break the custom, the second and third on the door.
Reunion: after the founding of the country, because the summer new year is the traditional festival of our nation, our government regulations for the "Spring Festival". In Wenzhou, every year, the Spring Festival time, the party committee and the people's government on New Year's Day to hold a "reunion", that is, the collective New Year's Eve. This can save time, not a family to congratulate the New Year, but also more people, the surface is also wide. Party, government, military and people from all walks of life get together, eat some refreshments, perform some after-party programs, talk about celebrating the fruitful results of the year, and plan to talk about how to get a bigger harvest this year. We are all in a good mood and in good spirits, full of joy.
Telephone New Year's greetings: New Year's greetings, is to congratulate in the new year, life is better, more prosperous business, people more healthy. Now more convenient to pay homage to the New Year, whether international, domestic, far and near the road, do not have to meet at the door, a phone call one or two minutes will be enough, it is called the phone to pay homage to the New Year. Time from the first day until the first ten are available. It is said that some people received more than fifty New Year's calls in one morning.
Supporting the military and supporting the military and the people: now during the Spring Festival, but also held to support the military and the people, support the military and the people symposiums and carnivals, in order to enhance the unity of the military and the people. At the same time to carry out colorful cultural and recreational activities, in addition to retaining and carrying forward the fine traditional customs such as dragon dance, lion dance, guess the Spring Festival riddles and other activities, but also held a variety of cultural evenings, movie nights, garden parties and exhibitions.
Shaoxing New Year's Eve customs
In Shaoxing, a cross into the lunar calendar in December, people are busy preparing for New Year's Eve: buy wine, spring cake, wrapped in rice dumplings, dusting, killing chickens and geese, buy fish and meat, prepare for the new year wearing clothes and shoes and hats, the purchase of gifts for friends and relatives, etc., can be said to be too busy to be able to work together, fearing that financing is not weekly, make a joke. On the night of the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, every family should send the God of the Stove to heaven and offer a kind of sticky sugar to stick to the teeth of the God of the Stove, so that he can't tell the Jade Emperor about people's faults. After sending the Zaoshen, before New Year's Eve, each family always chooses a blessed auspicious day, and this is the most grand festival of the year for each family. The idol of the deity has the words "Saint Emperor of the Southern Dynasty", which is called the Bodhisattva of Blessing and the Great Bodhisattva by the Shaoxing people, and is said to be the emperor of the Song Dynasty. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the surviving ministers were afraid of the Yuan Dynasty rulers and did not dare to openly offer sacrifices to the Song Dynasty kings, so they had to do it quietly in the dead of night. This kind of festival with national consciousness was later not only widely spread, but also added the meaning of thanking the gods for their blessings and praying for happiness in the coming year. According to the old people's saying, the Bodhisattva in heaven will not enter an unclean house. Therefore, before the blessing, the hall, the sacrificial table, and the sacrificial vessels must be swept and scrubbed clean. After the "five sacrificial offerings" are cooked, they are placed on large wooden vermillion-lacquered plates. There are certain rules for its arrangement, such as chickens and geese to kneel, head toward the God of Fortune, to show welcome; a live carp with a red rope through the back of the thorns hanging in the "Dragon Gate frame", with red paper pasted color eyes, is to take the "Carp jumped the Dragon Gate" meaning. If the ceremony is held late at night, the atmosphere is more solemn. Men according to the seniority of the three kneeling and nine kowtow rite, women and individual jealousy of the Chinese zodiac sign of the male should be avoided. Not to mention the widow of the hundred body Moling Xianglin sister-in-law, is the wife of the Lu Fu, the ladies are also deprived of the blessing qualification.
After the blessing, the ancestor worship (commonly known as "please return to the hall soup and rice"). The table is laid horizontally according to the wood grain of the table during the blessing, but straight during the ancestor worship; the sweeper salutes outward during the blessing, but kneels inward during the ancestor worship. After the ancestor worship, the juice soup of the blessing ceremony is used to cook rice cakes or noodles to eat, the name of which is "scattered blessings", indicating that the "blessings" given by God are released to the family. New Year's Eve customs, Shaoxing and foreign similar. The culmination of the New Year's Eve is the "New Year's Eve Eating and Drinking, You've Been Wearing", which is the culmination of the New Year's Eve. This is the culmination of the New Year's celebrations, and people are so busy during the month of New Year's and Old Year's alternation. However, in the old cannibalistic society, for the working people, New Year's Eve is like crossing the border, praying to the gods and sacrificing to ancestors is not a "blessing". Like the pipe four masters home that kind of generous blessing row, people only in the movie "Xianglin wife", as a historical relics and reappearance.
Kaifeng New Year
Kaifeng folk call the Spring Festival "New Year". However, the New Year does not only refer to the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, but also includes the beginning and end of the year, from the eighth day of the twelfth month of the old year to the fifth day of the first month of the new year are the New Year's Day. In the old days, Kaifeng circulated a proverb that says: "Lapa, sacrificial stove, the New Year came, the girl wants to spend, the boy wants to gun." Therefore, a "Lahai", Kaifeng city and countryside will have "the flavor of the year".
Twenty-three, sacrificial stove officer. December 23 for our country folk festival, people in order to let the stove king to the heavenly Jade Emperor more good words, every family should be set on the stove on the throne, some on both sides of the throne on the pair wrote "on the sky to say good things, the world to send good luck". The meaning of this is that it is a farewell party for Mr. Zaowang.
After the festival, families are busy buying new year's goods, cleaning the house to welcome the New Year, especially cigarettes, wine, fish, meat and gifts for relatives can not be less. The shopping for New Year's goods was busy until the 30th day of the Lunar New Year. In Kaifeng today, there is still a Spring Festival ballad: "Twenty-three, sacrificing the stove officer; 24, sweeping the house; 25, playing bean curd; 26, to cut meat; 27, to kill a chicken; 28, to kill a duck; 29, to beat the wine; the year 30, posting the door flag."
New Year's Eve is customarily referred to as New Year's Eve, and every household has to put up spring scrolls. In the past, this day, Kaifeng also has many old customs. Such as "civil sealing", "military sealing drill", "commercial sealing door", "book sealing board", "beggars seal stick", and so on and so forth. And the most important folk activities on New Year's Eve ancestor worship and year-end vigil. Now New Year's Eve, Kaifeng people still inherited many good customs. New Year's Eve, although no longer "ancestor worship". But some worship each other's friends and relatives, watching TV, guessing the magic words, until late at night, some family reunion, mutual encouragement, summarize the harvest of the year, to develop a new year's work and study plan." The "New Year's Eve" has been given a new content in the new era. When the clock strikes midnight, people scramble to set off the first firecracker, which in turn signifies Kaifeng people's determination and energy to open up the future.
On the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, families get up early, change new clothes, wash and clean, the first firecrackers, worship ancestors statue. Then, the younger generation to the elders to pay tribute to the New Year, the elders to give the younger generation "New Year's money". The family eats New Year's dumplings and then begins to pay New Year's visits to friends and relatives. In the old days, New Year's greetings were usually led by parents, who would first pay tribute to the elders' close relatives and neighbors, and then go to distant families. Each family for the reception and other New Year's guests, the family often prepared cigarettes, tea, melon seeds, peanuts, candies and so on. According to Kaifeng "early worship, late worship" of the custom, the first afternoon, the New Year's activities that ended.
The second day of the first month is the girl back to her mother's home. In the old days on the second day of the month, Kaifeng City, four townships, firecrackers, sirens, whistles into a piece, mules and horses, big car shuttle, an endless stream.
The third day of the first month for the sacrifice of graves, sacrificing ancestors of the date, because the old calendar said that this day, "all things are not appropriate", the third Kaifeng taboo on going to relatives. The first five for the broken five festival, folk believe that the first five is the first year after the first inauspicious day, friends and relatives are also jealous of each other to visit. In addition to these two days, in addition to the festival, Kaifeng folk go to friends and relatives, a few idle days.