New Year Customs in Different Regions and Their Causes

The Spring Festival in the northeast of China has preserved some ancient customs. On New Year's Eve, first of all, the whole family offered sacrifices to their ancestors, burned incense and lit candles, and offered sacrifices widely, bowing to the three generations of gods according to their generations to show their death. Later, a family dinner was held, in which the elders sat on the table and the younger generation sat on the table, which meant "the first reunion". Food and fruit must be rich, making people feel full, which indicates that they will have plenty of food and clothing and a prosperous career in the coming year. This meal is the first time to taste New Year's food. Usually there will be braised pork, stewed mutton, rice flour meat, braised elbow strips, Yuanbao meat, South fried meatballs, Four Joy Meetballs, frozen children, bean paste, fermented bean curd, mustard tuber, spicy mustard tuber, fried pickles and so on.

north

Tianjin

Tianjin people call the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month "Laba 'er" and have the custom of drinking Laba porridge. Many people in Tianjin still soak garlic in vinegar on this day and name it "Laba Garlic". Since the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, all kinds of new year's goods have been listed one after another, and Gongnangong North Street with Niangniang Palace as the axis is even more lively. The first goal for boys to go to Niangniang Palace is the wind gourd. Adult men can't forget to buy lanterns when they come here. Most women come to "wash dolls". The "dolls" tied back from Niangniang Palace have to be "washed once a year", which is something that women must complete before the festival.

Tianjin also has the custom of hanging money during the Spring Festival. Hanging money is a pattern cut and engraved with colored paper and pasted on the glass and horizontal edge of doors and windows as an ornament of the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. The posted money can only be damaged on the fifth day of the first month, otherwise it will mean a bad year. Tianjin people call the fifth day of the first month "breaking the fifth day". On this day, every household will eat jiaozi, and the chopping board will jingle so that the neighbors can hear it to show that they are chopping "little people". Tianjin people attribute all unhappy things to "little people", and only by getting rid of "little people" can they prosper. Setting off firecrackers on the fifth night also means avoiding evil spirits and disasters.

Shandong (province)

In many places in Shandong, after midnight on New Year's Eve, all people get up to offer sacrifices to the gods. Firecrackers should be set off in the countryside, and a table should be set in the courtyard of the building. Tributes should be placed on the table, and incense and paper should be burned. People call it "paper distribution". Of course, there are others, such as using mats to build a "heaven and earth building" to worship the gods. In many rural areas of Shandong Province, the custom of kowtowing to pay New Year's greetings on New Year's Day has been preserved. Before dawn, all the men in the family should kowtow to their elders and give "lucky money" to their children when they pay New Year greetings. After breakfast, all the women in the family kowtow to their elders to pay New Year's greetings. On the second day of New Year's Day, in some places, there is a national custom that men go to ancestral graves to worship their ancestors. They should bring rich tributes, paper money, incense platinum and a lot of firecrackers to comfort their ancestors and gods. The third and fourth days are the days of visiting relatives.

Shanxi

The custom of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors in Shanxi is rare, but the rule of eating and not talking at the age of 30 has always been preserved. The first meal of the Spring Festival is jiaozi. When cooking jiaozi, set off firecrackers. In order to drive away evil and seek good luck, jiaozi is cooked with sesame stalks in some areas, which means that the new year is like sesame blossoms and the days are getting better and better. Jiaozi wants to cook more, it must be more than enough. When eating, in addition to one bowl per person, one or two more bowls should be served in order to prosper the population.

After that, I was busy preparing for the New Year, and the atmosphere became stronger every day. Wang Min's 23rd and 24th are the days of cleaning, commonly known as "Hu Cleaning Day". Shanxi people started the Laba Festival on this day, and the preparations for the year reached a climax. There used to be a folk song in Taiyuan: "Grinding tofu brain is twenty-five, working is twenty-six, going to the market is twenty-seven, pasting is twenty-eight, drinking is twenty-nine, and jiaozi is thirty." On New Year's Eve, every household stays up all night, commonly known as "gnawing at the old". As soon as the rooster crows, they start burning incense, lighting lamps, offering offerings, setting off fireworks, offering sacrifices to their ancestors, and then the whole family pays New Year greetings to each other. Children kowtow to their elders to pay New Year greetings, and elders give them lucky money for good luck. During the New Year in China, businessmen's families are the most pious to offer sacrifices to the God of Wealth.

Datong area is rich in coal resources, which is bound to have various connections with the local people's food, clothing, housing and transportation. On New Year's Eve, every household should build a tower in front of the courtyard with large pieces of coal, which is called Wanghuo, in order to be auspicious and congratulate the prosperity all year round. Firewood was put in it, and a big red note was written on it, "Anger to heaven". At midnight, when firecrackers are ringing, light a strong fire. After being ignited, the flame spouted from countless small holes, just like a floating picture, which is both warm and spectacular. Adults and children gather in a circle, some play games, some set off firecrackers, and men, women and children will come to keep warm in order to "soar".

Shanxi province

As soon as Shaanxi people enter the twelfth lunar month, they are busy: pushing the roller to press the cake, driving the donkey to grind the bean curd, steaming the yellow steamed bread, brewing yellow rice wine, rolling the dough, frying oil cakes, and Chinese New Year meals must be prepared before the year.

There is also a custom to make "jujube cards" for children in the New Year. "Jujube brand" is to put red dates and straw with red lines on it, hang a copper coin on it, and hang a firecracker on the child's back. This is the mascot to ward off evil spirits and pray. Here, I also saw some people put on the "thimble" for needlework with red thread and hang it around the child's neck. This is also the mascot of blessing, called "aging thimble". Add one every year until you are twelve.

It's New Year's Eve, and everything is ready, such as putting up couplets, playing vinegar and charcoal, hanging red lights and cleaning the courtyard. Playing vinegar charcoal is a unique custom, that is, putting a red-hot charcoal on an iron spoon and pouring vinegar on it. "Burning vinegar and charcoal" should be carried out in every corner of the house, which means exorcism. In fact, this is a scientific disinfection method. As night falls, the old man always worships God, burns incense and paper, and leads his curious grandchildren to kowtow. The older children are busy shooting and lighting the tower. The careful aunt put charcoal blocks and ice cubes by the door, and set up a rolling pin and a knife and axe behind the door. It is said that this is evil, and it is called "guarding the old" here. People always go to bed on New Year's Eve. Generally, the lights are not turned off at home all night, which indicates peace and longevity in the four seasons. Put some food in the pot, which is called "according to the pot", which means that there is no shortage of food for a year.

Yangko is a unique custom in northern Shaanxi. During the Spring Festival, every village organizes yangko teams to pay New Year greetings from door to door, which is commonly called "along the door". Yangko pays homage to God in the temple first, praying for good weather and abundant crops for a year, and then pays a New Year call to every household. Every time the Yangko team went to a house, the umbrella head touched the scene and made impromptu lyrics to bless the host, such as "Looking up at the gate, the six-hole stone kiln will be exhibited together, and the grain will be abundant and safe all year round".

Henan Province

Henan people are used to calling New Year's Eve New Year's Eve New Year's Eve, and every household will post Spring Festival couplets on the 28th. The most important folk activities are ancestor worship and keeping watch on New Year's Eve. On the first day of the first month, we first set off firecrackers to worship the portrait of our ancestors. Then, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to the elders, who will give them "lucky money". In 2008, the whole family ate in jiaozi, and then began to pay New Year greetings to relatives and friends. In the old days, New Year greetings were generally led by parents, who first visited their elders, relatives and friends, and then went to distant homes. Every family has cigarettes, tea, melon seeds, peanuts, candy and so on. In order to wait for the new year guests. The second day of the first month is the day when girls return to their parents' homes. The third day of the first month is the day to worship ancestors and sweep graves. Because the old calendar says that this day is "not suitable for everything", it is forbidden to visit relatives in Kaifeng on the third day. The fifth day is the fifth festival. People think that the fifth day is the first unlucky day after the New Year, so relatives and friends should also avoid visiting each other. In addition to these two days, Kaifeng folks visited relatives and friends during the festival, and there were few leisure days.

Hebei Province

In ancient times, in the New Year's Eve celebration in Handan, Kyoto, Zhao, there was a strange custom called "throwing mourning hats". Throwing sad hats is always done in the dead of night on New Year's Eve. Before going to bed, adults and children in every household quietly throw their old hats or headscarves into the street. When cleaning the street the next day, sweep it into the corner and burn it when you are afraid of the spirit fire on the fifteenth night of next month. The old man said that by doing so, one year's old worries can be thrown away and one year's new happiness can be ushered in.

Gansu

In Gansu, the New Year's Eve Dance is an important activity during the Spring Festival in all parts of Gansu, and it is also a comprehensive performing art with diverse genres and styles, which is mostly held in the first month of the lunar calendar. In the folk social fire performance, heroes in history, good men and filial daughters and various characters in folklore are taken as roles. In order to shape the characters, artists start from the different personalities of the characters, paint various faces with rich imagination and use various colors, and gradually form a unique art of facial makeup. She Huo's Facebook faithfully expresses people's aesthetic psychology of truth, goodness and beauty and their likes and dislikes of historical figures. Through Shehuo's Facebook, they expressed their feelings in an exaggerated, vivid and vivid way. The performances of Shehuo include Lanzhou Taiping Drum, Wuwei Attack Drum, Zhangye Top Bowl Dance, Longdong Yangko, Tianshui Fan Drum and Wax Flower. Swing in the first month, enter the first month of the lunar calendar, and the annual swing game begins among the trees in Linxia Mountain Village. Swing, there are two basic postures, one is sitting on the crossbar, someone behind, swinging, flying not too high, this posture is suitable for children; The second is to stand on the horizontal board and use your own strength to make the swing fly quickly. This posture is most popular with adults. In this way, happy people fly on the swing, flying day and night until the end of the fifteenth day of the first month.

south

Fujian Province

The Chinese New Year custom in rural areas of southern Fujian has its own characteristics. In the countryside, there are many farmers' houses. In addition to posting Spring Festival couplets, there are two red paper sugarcane trees on both sides of the door, which are called "door sugarcane". The dialect "sugarcane" is similar to "Jia", which means to enter a good environment. In the hall, there are New Year's Eve dinners, long vegetables and cakes on the table, and "spring branches" tied with red and yellow paper are inserted, which means that food is abundant all year round, auspicious and rich. Every household should pile sweet potatoes, vines and sticks outside the door and light them until there is smoke around the fire. The man jumped over this pile of flames according to his generation, thinking, "Jump in and make a fortune every year;" Jump out, carefree * * *; Skip the east, the grain is not empty; Skip the west and money will roll in. " This is called "fire group", which symbolizes burning the evil spirits of the old year, eliminating disasters and welcoming a clean and prosperous New Year. After the "fire jumping", we must clean the hall with a new broom. After sweeping, put the broom cupboard together and dump it by the door, hoping to get out of the broom again and help make a fortune. At the same time, we must collect some ashes from the jumping fire and put them in the charcoal stove, which is called "Tianwang", symbolizing more prosperity. Parents lead their children to sit around the stove, which is called "keeping watch around the stove". It is best to stay up late. It is said that this is to add longevity to parents. At this time, the elders give the younger generation lucky money, which is called "dividing the circle". With the progress of society and the acceleration of the pace of life, some complicated customs in rural areas of southern Fujian have gradually faded, but the custom of farmers looking forward to a good year still exists. [26]

Jiangsu Province

The Spring Festival customs in Jiangsu have their own characteristics. Suzhou people cooked water chestnuts in New Year's Eve meals and dug them out when eating, which is called "digging ingots". When visiting relatives and friends, you should put two green olives in your tea, which is called "Yuanbao Tea". Congratulations on getting rich. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Wujin people hung up their ancestors' portraits in nave, presented tea fruits and rice cakes, and the whole family took turns to pay New Year greetings, which was called "the shadow of worship". Don't let them sweep the floor from home, for fear of sweeping out "wealth" and "wishful thinking", they can only sweep from the outside to the inside. Jiangning people have the custom of "knocking on the drums" during the Spring Festival. The flag was won, and the gongs and drums team drummed everywhere. On the third day of the third year, night drums are played, and on the seventh day of the seventh year, bare-chested drums are played from 13th to 15th. The atmosphere is very warm. Nantong people have the custom of planting sesame stalks, holly and cypress branches at home or in front of the church, which means that life is blooming every day and the seasons are evergreen. Huaiyin people also have the custom of "roasting the head wind" for their children on the sixth day. In the evening, I took my children to the fields to light torches to drive away diseases. While roasting, I sang: "Roast my head, wake up, roast my feet, correct my steps, roast my stomach without diarrhea, and roast my whole body." This disease will never be seen. " On the eighth day of this year, Wuxi fishermen took a boat to the Western Hills to worship the Wang Yu Temple, praying for the blessing of the water god and offering sacrifices to the Buddha, which was called "Shang". After the Wang Yu Temple was demolished, this custom disappeared.

Zhejiang Province

In the middle and lower reaches of nanxi river, Yongjia, Zhejiang Province, during the first Spring Festival, the son-in-law went to his parents' house to pay a New Year call and wanted to make rice cakes, commonly known as "sending cakes". Cooked with white rice flour, mashed in a stone mortar, kneaded into rice blocks, and then put into a wood carving mold to print a round and flat rice cake with patterns on the front, such as double immortals and harmony, bangs giving money, champion elephant and so on. The quantity should be a load, about 50 pairs to 100 pairs. In addition, there are pork, muffins and longevity noodles (noodles). In Wencheng, New Year greetings are called "the year of appearance".

In Shaoxing, after sending the kitchen god and before New Year's Eve, every family always chooses an auspicious day to pray, which is the most solemn festival for every family. The deities worshipped are "Southern Tour", which Shaoxing people call the Blessing Bodhisattva and the Great Bodhisattva, and they are said to be the emperors of the Song Dynasty. After the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, the adherents were afraid of the arrogance of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty and did not dare to publicly sacrifice to the king of the Song Dynasty, so they had to do it quietly in the dead of night. This kind of eulogy with national consciousness was not only widely circulated later, but also added the significance of thanking the gods for blessing and praying for happiness in the coming year. According to the old people, the bodhisattva in the sky is not allowed to enter an unclean house. Therefore, before praying, the main hall, sacrificial platform and sacrificial vessels must be cleaned and cleaned. After the "Five Sacrifices and Blessings" are cooked, put them in a wooden red lacquer dish. If the ceremony is held late at night, the atmosphere will be more solemn. Men should kneel and knock three times according to their seniority, and women and men who are jealous of individual zodiac signs should avoid it. Not to mention Xianglinsao, the widow of Baitiling, even Lufu's wives and concubines were deprived of the qualification to pray. In ancient times, in Yoichi Higashi, Zhejiang, whenever the twelfth lunar month came, there was a folk custom called "ghost". The "ghost of the year" begins on the first day of the twelfth lunar month and ends on the fifteenth. Because, at this time, the old year is about to resign and the new year is coming. For the sake of thousands of families in Qian Qian, we want to celebrate the Spring Festival safely and happily, so we should eliminate all ghosts on the earth so as not to breed disasters.

Guangdong

In Chaoshan area of Guangdong Province, the 24th of the twelfth lunar month is the day when "immortals" go to heaven to report their work. From that day on, every household was cleaning, packing things and bills, which was called "picking up". One or two days before New Year's Eve, every household is making all kinds of new year's goods. On New Year's Eve, you will visit the flower market and flower street. Lily, orange, chrysanthemum and peach blossom are all essential, because flowers are the most auspicious flower street, so you can have good luck and have a good year. The first day of the first lunar month is called January Day, which is the head of the New Year and the beginning of spring. At the dawn of heaven, I heard guns. On the big table in the hall of every household, red plates are filled with good luck (oranges are bigger than oranges, so they are called good luck), green olives and various exquisite sweets. Decorated with lanterns in front of the door, the younger generation wishes the older generation tea. On this day, most families should be vegetarian, at least not eating meat for breakfast. After breakfast, adults and children go to relatives and friends' homes to pay New Year greetings with good luck, and the host and guest exchange blessings, congratulations on making a fortune and adding blessings. The host treats you with Daji, Betel nut (the ancient custom of honoring Betel nut is now changed to green olive) and * * * congou. The guest presents Daji and congratulates the host for good luck. The host wants to give it back with Daji, which is said to be a good wish to give it back.

On the morning of New Year's Day, many lion dance classes and English song teams beat gongs and drums to pay New Year greetings to every household in every village, and the host set off firecrackers to welcome them. On the second and third days of junior high school, rural towns organized many cultural activities to celebrate the Spring Festival. In addition to putting up a theater shed to perform Chaozhou Opera, Mountain Opera and Shadow Play, there are also gongs and drums, tigers and lions, English singers and dragon dancers marching in the villages along the street. Giving lucky money is an important part of Chaoshan Spring Festival custom. The elders should give money to the younger generation, and those who can earn money should also send money to the elders. Money can't be sent directly to wait for a while, but it should be packed in a profit bag or a red paper bag. This is commonly known as "pressing the abdomen and waist", which means that from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the pockets will be full of reality and wealth. On the surface of the "Little Three Gorges" in Zhaoqing section of Xijiang River in northwest Guangdong, there are still some "boatmen" who take boats as their home. Some of these fishermen have lived on boats for generations. Most of them cook on the boat and most of them burn firewood. Fishermen also like to grow sweet potatoes, rape, onions and garlic seedlings. Subsidize their lives in the open space on the river bank. During the Chinese New Year, fishermen like to paste "Smooth sailing" on the bow, "All goes well" and "Peace through the year" on the cabin, and "red money" printed with unique money paper-cut patterns. In addition, they will set off firecrackers at the bow, worship their ancestors first, and worship the gods on the shore to bless peace and happiness.

Hainan

In the eyes of Hainan people, all folk customs are artificially created according to people's will and will. Therefore, in Hainan dialect, all folk behaviors begin with the word "do", such as doing Qingming and working as a wife (that is, getting married), while northerners "celebrate the New Year" and Hainan dialect calls it "do the Year". It should be noted that "Chinese New Year" means "Chinese New Year", that is, celebrating the Spring Festival. In the north, New Year is celebrated, while in Hainan, it is called "New Year". However, in the rural areas of Hainan, the "New Year" of that year was not "over". As the saying goes in Hainan, "The year is afraid of Mid-Autumn Festival, and the month is afraid of 15th". As soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival is over, the countryside is ready to celebrate the New Year. On New Year's Eve, lights should be lit in the room and family room day and night for several days until the next morning. Commonly known as "lighting a lamp", it means "adding Ding to make a fortune". On the morning of the first day, people, old and young, have to get up and eat "fast food" (that is, clean and white to commemorate their ancestors). "Vegetarianism" is not only similar to Muslim halal food, but also just like northerners must eat fish (for more than one year) during the New Year. What they eat must have auspicious meanings, including fried eggplant (which means eggplant is getting better every year in Hainan dialect), fried celery (which is homophonic with "Qin" and "hard work", I hope the whole family will work hard in the new year) and long fans (which means to live).

Sichuan Province

Ethnic minorities in Sichuan: Qiang is one of the ethnic groups with a long history in the big family of Chinese nation. Now he mainly lives in Maoxian, Wenchuan, Lixian and Songpan in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The Qiang people's New Year is celebrated on the first day of the tenth lunar month every year, usually lasting 3-5 days, and in some villages it lasts until the tenth day of October. According to the folk custom, in the year of Qiang, gods should also be sacrificed, such as the gods of heaven, mountains and landlords (village gods). The whole village will have a reunion dinner, drink Zasa and dance Sharon until everyone is happy. The whole ceremony was presided over by Xu, while the miscellaneous wine was opened by the respected elders in the village. During the festival, relatives and friends can congratulate each other and welcome each other. During the Spring Festival, the continuous migration of Hakka people in Sichuan made them miss their homeland more. The nostalgia for the landscapes, customs and customs of their hometown has enabled them to unite closely and overcome difficulties and hardships again and again. Traditional customs have become a powerful link to maintain Hakka people. Among the Hakkas in Sichuan, the traditional customs and habits of Hakkas have been maintained for two or three hundred years. Hakka people attach great importance to the Lunar New Year. Every household hangs colored lights, sticks door gods, and sticks auspicious words on granaries and poultry and livestock pens to show the bumper harvest in the coming year. Conditional Hakka towns and villages,1-will have a lantern dance in February. The types of lanterns are dragon lanterns, lion lanterns and clam lanterns, which are the custom of colored lanterns handed down by Hakka people in their original places. In addition, there will be a large-scale celebration-dragon dance, which can be divided into colorful dragons, fire dragons, water dragons, disjointed dragons and Shangchuan dragons. Among them, Shangchuanlong is the most distinctive. Shangchuanlong was brought to western Sichuan by Jiangxi immigrant Liu in the early Qing Dynasty. Liu people hold dragon dances every year to celebrate the New Year and pray for good weather. Shangchuanlong is huge and magnificent. Dancing is operated by 30 to 50 people, and the faucet weighs 30 to 50 kilograms. It is very skillful in playing with dragons, and there are many ways. People in Chengdu don't eat during the New Year, because "rice" and "sin" are homonyms. In order to avoid taboos, they eat glutinous rice balls or dried noodles to pray for family reunion and longevity. Liu Ge and other places will celebrate the "off-year" on the seventh day of the first month. Besides worshipping God and ancestors, they will also have a family reunion dinner. Chengdu people visit Du Fu Caotang in the western suburbs every day. On the first day of the Lunar New Year in Changshou County, nine candles are lit outside the door, which are called "nine-level candles" to respect heaven and earth. Sichuanese like to watch "lights" during the Spring Festival. The land of Sichuan is brightly lit and beautiful, and the Zigong Lantern Festival with the theme of "exotic customs" emits bursts of "foreign flavor"; On the other hand, the traditional Chengdu Lantern Festival is changing with the charming ribbons for the 35th time. In Jianyang in central Sichuan, Jiangyou in northern Sichuan and Yibin in southern Sichuan, it is also the second time to light three New Year lanterns with different styles. Sichuan in the Spring Festival of the Year of the Sheep is brightly lit. Lantern Festival is a traditional folk cultural activity of the Chinese nation. During the Spring Festival holiday, many places have the tradition of hanging lanterns and holding lantern festivals. For lively and peaceful Sichuanese, Lantern Festival is indispensable, and it has also become an indispensable "new year's goods" for Sichuanese. Therefore, Sichuan Lantern Festival has a long history and a high level, and is known as "Yi Deng in the world" and "the first of Chinese Lantern Festival". In particular, Chengdu Lantern Festival and Zigong Lantern Festival, with their majestic, ingenious conception, exquisite craftsmanship and rich local customs, have become the outstanding local lantern festivals in China.