? The Spring Festival, that is, the Lunar New Year, is the first of the year, the traditional festival of the year (New Year's Day). It is commonly known as the New Year, the New Year, the New Year, the New Year's Day, and the New Year's Day. New Year, the new year, the first day of the year, the new jubilee, the year jubilee, the big year, etc., and verbally known as the degree of the year, the celebration of the year, the New Year, the New Year, over the big year.
? The origin of the Spring Festival:?
According to historical records, the Spring Festival in the Tang Yu called "Zai". The Xia Dynasty called "year", the Shang Dynasty called "sacrifice", the Zhou Dynasty called "year". The original meaning of "year" refers to the growth cycle of grain, grain a year a hot, so the Spring Festival once a year, contains the symbolism of celebrating abundance. It is also rumored that the Spring Festival originated from the "Lunar Sacrifice" at the end of the primitive society. At that time, every time when Lunar Spring came, the ancestors would kill pigs and slaughter goats, sacrificing to the gods, ghosts and ancestral spirits, and praying for good weather in the new year to avoid calamities. They painted their faces with vermilion sand, wore bird feathers, sang, danced, ate and drank, and were very lively. However, one of the commonly accepted stories is that the Spring Festival emerged from the Yu and Shun period. On a day more than 2,000 years B.C., Shun assumed the throne of heaven and led his men to worship heaven and earth. Since then, people have taken this day as the first day of the year. This is said to be the origin of the Lunar New Year, later called the Spring Festival.
The name of the Spring Festival varied in different times. In the pre-Qin called "on the day", "the first day" and so on; to the two Han Dynasty, and was called "three dynasties", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day", "the first day" and so on. "," the first day "; to the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming, it is known as" New Year's Day "," Yuan ", etc.; and the Qing Dynasty, has been called "New Year's Day" or "New Year's Day". Lunar New Year officially named the Spring Festival, is the Xinhai Revolution. Republic of China Beiyang government period, because then to change to the solar calendar, in order to distinguish between the two sections of the lunar and solar, Yuan Shikai will be the New Year's Day defined as the Western calendar 01 January 01, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar renamed as the Spring Festival. Chinese people have been celebrating the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years. People start the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar as the Spring Festival, and the New Year is usually not over until at least the fifteenth day of the first month (Shangyuan Festival).
Customs of the Spring Festival:
? First, the New Year's Eve: New Year's Eve vigil?
? Spring Festival couplets, Spring Festival couplets, also known as "spring stickers", "door pairs", "couplets", is an important symbol of the Spring Festival. When people put the Spring Festival couplets and blessings on their doorsteps, it means that the Spring Festival is officially kicked off. Every Spring Festival, no matter in the city or rural areas, in addition to the Spring Festival couplets, families also have to put up window decorations, New Year's paintings, and lucky charms to increase the festive atmosphere.
? New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Eve dinner is also known as New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Eve dinner, reunion dinner, etc., specifically refers to the end of the year on New Year's Eve of the whole family dinner. The New Year's Eve dinner is the main event of the year before, not only colorful, but also very concerned about the meaning. There are usually chickens (meaning that there is a plan) and fish (meaning that there is more than enough for every year) on the table for good luck. The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is a family reunion dinner, which is the most sumptuous and important dinner at the end of the year.
? Shou Nian (守岁), Shou Nian is also known as the light of the virtual consumption, the point of the year fire, stay up the year, stay up all night, and so on. Vigilance folklore is mainly manifested in the New Year's Eve lamps and lanterns all night long, vigilance is called "burning lamps and candles", that is, the New Year's Eve all burning lamps and candles, it is said that so after the light, it will make the next year at home rich in wealth. It also refers to the family reunion on New Year's Eve, staying up all night to welcome the arrival of the Lunar New Year.
? Firecrackers, firecrackers, is one of the traditional New Year's customs, it is said that firecrackers originated from firecrackers. This custom has a history of more than 2000 years in China.? Nowadays, whether it is a New Year's festival, or marriage, into the school promotion and so on, as long as in order to show joy, people are used to firecrackers to celebrate.
? The New Year's Eve money , after the New Year's Eve dinner elders will be prepared to the New Year's Eve money to the younger generation, the New Year's Eve money symbolizes the "pressure of the year to pray for blessings", and it sends the elders of the growth of the children's good wishes.
? Dumplings, dumplings are eaten on many traditional festivals in China, and on New Year's Eve they are wrapped in dumplings, which has a different meaning than usual. Whoever eats the dumplings wrapped with coins, it is a sign of good luck and good fortune in the new year.
? Second, on the first day of the New Year, to pay homage to the New Year?
? Open the door cannonball , the morning of the Spring Festival, open the door for good luck, the first firecrackers, called "open the door cannonball". Put three called "even three yuan"; put four called "fortune, fortune and longevity"; put five called "five blessings"; put six called "six six big luck! "...... after the sound of firecrackers, broken red all over the ground, brilliant as a cloud of brocade, known as" full of red". At this time, the street is full of gas, joyful. Everyone meet each other said a "good new year", this new year also began.
? New Year's greetings, New Year's greetings is an important activity in the Spring Festival, is to new friends and neighbors to congratulate the New Year, the old name of New Year's greetings. New Year's greeting is a traditional Chinese folk custom, is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and express their good wishes to each other. New Year's greetings generally start at home, the first morning, the younger generation to get up, to first pay tribute to the elders, blessing the elders a long and healthy life, all the best. After the elders are worshipped, the "New Year's money" prepared in advance will be distributed to the younger generation. After paying homage to the elders at home, people go out to pay homage to the New Year.
? Do not kill, do not sweep , every New Year's Eve, there are a lot of conventions and customs to comply with, commonly known as the New Year's ban. Because the first month is the beginning of the year, people tend to see it as the new year's fortune sign period, so the New Year's time "taboo" especially much. For example, the first day of the New Year is taboo to kill, because killing is believed to lead to knife disaster, military disaster, blood disaster and other calamities. The first day of the first month of the year can not use the broom, otherwise it will sweep away the luck and wealth. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep from the outside to the inside. New Year's Day can not break the furniture, broken is the omen of bankruptcy, have to quickly say "years (broken) years of peace" or "the ground to blossom, wealth and honor.
? The first day of the first month, the Lantern Festival?
? Eating Lantern Festival, the first month of the 15th eat Lantern Festival, "Lantern Festival" as a food, in our country also has a long history. The north "roll" Lantern, the south "package" dumplings, which are two practices and taste are different food, but all symbolize the meaning of reunion.
? Lantern , the Lantern Festival folk hanging lanterns, playing lights, watching lights custom, so also known as the Festival of Lights. Lantern Festival is a traditional Lantern Festival custom, began in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Sui and Tang dynasties. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the wind of lights prevailed, and inherited in later generations.
? The Dragon Dance, also known as the Dragon Lantern Dance or Dragon Dance. Its origin can be traced back to ancient times. Legend has it that as early as during the time of the Yellow Emperor, in a large-scale song and dance called "Qingjiao", there was an image of a dragon head with a bird's body played by a human being, and later a dance scene with six augur dragons interspersed with each other was choreographed. See in the written records of the dragon dance, is the Han Dynasty Zhang Heng's "Xijing Fu", the author of the hundred plays in the narrative of the dragon dance made a vivid depiction. According to the "sui book - music" records, the emperor of sui yang similar to the hundred plays in the dragon dance performance of the "yellow dragon change" is also very wonderful, the dragon dance is popular in many parts of China. The Chinese people revere the dragon as a symbol of good luck. There is also a legend, the Tang Dynasty, a year of drought, the Dragon King wrong cloud rain drowned a lot of people in Chang'an, the Jade Emperor beheading the Dragon King, after the Dragon King, the Dragon King's spirit is not dispersed, night and night disturbances in the palace scared Li Shimin, the ministers think that we should be over the Dragon King, and so, the folk have the practice of the lanterns of the lanterns of the Lantern Festival.
? Guess the riddles , every first month of the lunar calendar on the fifteenth, the folk have to hang up colorful lanterns, fireworks, and then some people write riddles on the paper, pasted on the colorful lanterns for people to guess. Because riddles can enlighten wisdom and cater to the festive atmosphere, so the response of many people, and then riddles gradually become an indispensable program of the Lantern Festival. Lantern riddles add to the festive atmosphere, showing the ingenuity of the ancient working people and the desire for a better life.
? Lion Dance , lion dance is an excellent Chinese folk art, every Lantern Festival or gathering celebrations, folk lion dance to cheer. This custom originated in the Three Kingdoms period, began to popularize the North and South Dynasties, has been more than a thousand years of history. Lion dance began in the Wei and Jin dynasties, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, also known as the Lion Dance, Taiping music, generally completed by three people, two people dressed as a lion, a person acting as a lion head, a person acting as a lion body and back feet, the other when the lion guide, the dance method and there is a cultural and military, cultural dance to show that the lion's docility, there is a shaking of the hair, rolling and other actions, martial arts lion lion lion lion ferocious, there is a prancing, stomping high, rolling colorful ball and other actions.
The Spring Festival is an ancient Chinese festival, but also one of the most important festivals of the year, how to celebrate this festival, in the development of thousands of years of history, the formation of a number of relatively fixed customs, many of which have been passed down to the present day. New Year's culture north and south are different, but one thing is basically the same, that is, the family reunion, visit friends and relatives, visit the elders, etc., may we will be full of these rich affection and good wishes of the custom in mind, passed on from generation to generation.