The custom of Chinese New Year in Anxiang, Changde, Hunan Province

"Jingchu Chunqiu" records that on the first day of the first month, "firecrackers are set off in front of the crow court to avoid evil spirits in the mountains." Changde old custom, every year in the early morning of the first day of the first lunar month, when the rooster crows for the first time, the male householder gets up and opens the door to set off firecrackers, which is called "opening the door to make money". At present, most firecrackers are set off at 0: 00 Beijing time.

On this day, the whole family, men, women and children put on new clothes, which is called "going to the old and welcoming the new". The front of the hall was brightly lit and filled with cigarettes. After family members pay homage to the world and ancestors, the younger generation will pay New Year greetings to their elders and their children will pay New Year greetings. Traditionally, elders will wrap some money in red paper for their children, which is called "lucky money".

Once upon a time, the younger generation had to kneel and kowtow when greeting their elders. Peer-to-peer New Year greetings. Men bow and women say "Happy Birthday". Later, influenced by other places, they bowed instead. In the past, people would say auspicious words like "Congratulations on getting rich" when they pay New Year greetings, but now they often say "Happy New Year!"

In the past, the rules of New Year greetings were: "First birthday, second birthday, fourth birthday to the neighbor's house". That is, the children and grandchildren of the first day pay New Year greetings to grandparents and parents; The girl who got married on the second day of the second year led her son-in-law back to her mother's house to pay New Year's greetings, but according to the custom, she had to go back that day and could not leave the house "empty";

Neighbors, relatives and friends don't visit each other until the third day, but they believe that "they don't go out for seven days, don't return for eight days, and return empty-handed for nine days", which means that people who are not far from the seventh day don't go home for eight days and don't go out for business for nine days, so "you must choose luck when you go out." It is an indispensable move in the custom of paying New Year greetings in recent days, and you don't need to choose a lucky day.

In the old countryside, from grade one to grade three, there was no sweeping the floor and taking out the garbage, which meant "accumulating wealth". On the fourth day of the fourth year, we should respect the Bodhisattva. Every household sent people to the field corner to plant incense sticks, light a small oil lamp made of a rotten spoon, and put a little paper money under the clod to show respect for the land.

During the Spring Festival, all parts of Changde have the habit of decorating at the gate. In the old days, the rich wanted to hang two red tassel yuanbao headlights at the gate to show "good luck." The poor should also light a small oil lamp at the gate for good luck. Therefore, there is a saying in folk songs that "the first month is the Spring Festival, and every household hangs a red light".

Now all units are popular to tie colored doors and install colored lights at the gate. Although the people's custom of lighting lamps during the Spring Festival has been sad for some time, it has gradually begun to flourish with the continuous improvement of living standards. Sticking Spring Festival couplets is a common custom in Changde urban and rural areas. In the auspicious words written by Spring Festival couplets, there is a big "blessing" on the lintel.

On the wall (nave) opposite the gate, the words "Make money for me", "All the best" and "Open the door" should be pasted, the door leaf should be pasted with a door keeper or goddess, and the word "money" should be pasted at the junction of the gate to indicate that the door is wide open. Sticking Spring Festival couplets is still very popular now, but in a new language. "Door gods" have been replaced by New Year pictures, and others are out of fashion.

During the Spring Festival, both cities and villages in Changde play with dragon lanterns. The varieties of Changde dragon lanterns are long dragon, old dragon, young dragon, Aolong, Caoba dragon and so on.