China's New Year Customs and Habits

New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month).

Except for the word "yes"; Easy; "Alternating" means that New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People should bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year.

In addition, the new year means the last night of the lunar new year, so the activities during the period are all around saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.

Misfortune is the center.

During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, at the end of each year, an exorcism ceremony was held in the palace to beat drums to exorcise epidemic ghosts, which was called exorcism.

",later called the day before New Year's Eve Xiaoexcept, that is, New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is a big festival, that is, New Year's Eve.

doorman

During the Spring Festival, there is a custom of sticking to the door gods all over China. The earliest door gods carved peach trees into human shapes and hung them beside people, and then painted them.

The portrait of an adult god is pasted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu specialize in ghosts. They guard the portal, regardless of the size of evil spirits.

Dare to do something. After the Tang Dynasty, there appeared portraits of Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde as door gods, and those of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods.

There is one door keeper in every household, and later generations often draw a pair of door keepers as martial arts. Door keepers are divided into three categories: the first category is "door"

Door god ",usually posted on the door or the whole door, is about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide." The second is the "street door god", which is often posted on the side door.

In fact, the height is about two feet and the width is about one foot. These two goalkeepers have a black face and a white face, and they both worship God. White is left and right, white is good and easy, and black is evil.

Each hand holds a lot of cymbals. The third category is the "gatekeeper", which is slightly smaller and limited than the gatekeeper on the street. It is also a black and white Er Shen, but there is also a black and white Er Shen sitting.

Yes At most, there is a photo of "Kirin sending the child" posted at the door, and two dolls with powder crowns and grease combs of the Prince's House each take a Kirin. This kind of goalkeeper should have.

It was pasted on the wedding door for good luck, and later it was used as a New Year decoration for ordinary street doors.

paste up Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets" and "spring posts", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Fu Tao.

At first, people carved figures in mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the keeper on the mahogany and simplified it on the mahogany board.

The name of the keeper. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients used to paste the word "Yichun" every day in the early spring, and then gradually developed into Spring Festival couplets. Spring Festival couplets are really.

Popularization began in the Ming Dynasty and was related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy. According to Chen Shanggu's Miscellaneous Notes on Mao Yunlou in Qing Dynasty, one year Zhu Yuanzhang

When preparing for the Chinese New Year, we ordered each door to post a Spring Festival couplets to celebrate. The original Spring Festival couplets were carved on mahogany boards, which were later rewritten in 1920.

On paper, the color of mahogany is red, which means good luck and avoiding evil spirits, so most Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper, while temples use yellow paper.

There are three colors of birthday paper: white, green and yellow. In the first year, white paper is used, in the second year, green paper is used, in the third year, yellow paper is used and in the fourth year, funeral paper is used.

The red paper was restored. Because Manchu is still white, the Qing court Spring Festival couplets are white paper, with blue edges outside and red stripes embedded inside.

Posting the word "Blessing", stick grilles, New Year pictures, and hanging thousands of pictures.

These have the folk functions of blessing and decorating houses. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people.

The customs and beliefs of the general public pin people's hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods".

Lei Yu's name developed into words, but New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of block printing, New Year pictures have developed.

The content of painting is not limited to the door gods, but gradually invites the god of wealth to his home, and then makes "Fu Lu" in some New Year pictures workshops.

Colored New Year pictures, such as three stars of life, God bless the people, abundant grains, prosperous livestock, welcoming the Spring Festival and so on.

Meet people's good wishes for blessing in the New Year. Because Zhu Yuanzhang, the great ancestor of Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures were also influenced by it and became popular.

Since then, Chinese New Year pictures have three important producing areas: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; China's New Year pictures were formed.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the month card with the New Year pictures, forming a new form of New Year pictures.

The new year pictures, which were combined into one, later developed into calendars. Hanging a thousand is an auspicious word engraved on red paper, and a long ruler is attached to the door.

Peach blossom symbols reflect each other. There are eight immortals hanging in front of the Buddha statue. Thousands of people use it more, but aristocratic families use it less. Its yellow paper

It is three inches long, and the red paper is more than an inch long. It's a "small hanging thousand", which is used by shops. The earliest hanging thousand was linked by making money (copper coins), which was pressed out.

Like money, it has the effect of overwhelming victory.

Tian di Ji Biao

This is a temporary table, specially designed for New Year's Eve. Generally, no big Buddhist temple will pay special attention to the heaven and earth table, because at ordinary times,

There are few offerings to the Buddha, and a large reward will be given to the Buddha at the end of the year. In addition, this table is mainly used to pick up the gods.

Different from Buddhist temples all the year round, their idols are mostly temporary except for some hanging money, incense sticks, five sacrifices and big sacrifices.

Yes, for example, "Percent" is a woodcut version of the idol album; "Eighteen Buddhas and Eighteen Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a piece of paper with large yellow folds.

The complete code of woodcut watercolor printing; Fu Lushou's three-star portrait, etc. Some of the above images are burned out after receiving god, such as "percentage" Some of them must be there.

It didn't burn until the Lantern Festival. The position of the table is not uniform. For example, if the room is spacious, it can be put in the room, if there is no room.

The ground is put in the yard. It is said that this night is the time when the gods in heaven are in the lower world, so people have this custom of receiving gods.

stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve

In our country, people have the habit of observing New Year's Eve, commonly known as "Enduring the Year". Observing the New Year's Eve begins with eating the New Year's Eve, and this New Year's Eve should be done slowly.

When you eat, you sit at the table when you light lanterns, and some people eat until late at night. According to Zonggu's records of Jingchu years, at least in the north and south.

It is a custom to have New Year's Eve dinner in Korea.

The custom of observing the old age not only expresses farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting time, but also expresses good hope for the coming New Year.

Setting off firecrackers

When the midnight bell strikes, the New Year bell rings, and firecrackers shake the whole sky of China.

At the moment of "Three Yuan", some places still set up "Wanghuo" in the yard to show the take-off and prosperity of Wang Qi.

Around the raging fire, the children set off firecrackers and danced happily. At this time, the house was brightly lit and the front of the court was brightly lit.

Sparks and deafening noise outside pushed the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to a climax. Poets of all ages have always taken their essence.

Poetry, praise the arrival of the new year. Wang Anshi s poem January Day;

Except for the one-year-old in firecrackers,

The spring breeze warmed the Tusu people.

Every family has a primary school birthday.

Always trade new peaches for old ones.

It depicts the grand festival scene of China people celebrating the Spring Festival. Firecrackers are a sign of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and they are a festive mood.

Lou, a businessman, setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a fortune in the new year.

But according to the old custom, respecting the god of wealth should be the first, and setting off firecrackers should be the last. Legend has it that if you want to get rich, firecrackers will ring at the end.

Sincerity.

Eat new year's eve dinner

When children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. All the dishes for the Spring Festival were prepared a few days ago.

Yes, New Year's Eve is always cooked on the 30th. In the north, jiaozi on the first day of New Year's Eve was also booked on the evening of 30th.

At this time, every family's chopping board is busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards from every household was heard in the streets and alleys.

Firecrackers, the "scratching" abacus sound and the cadence of reimbursement from the shop were mixed with laughter everywhere.

, one after another, reverberating, interwoven into happy music on New Year's Eve.

Eating New Year's Eve is the busiest and happiest time for every household in the Spring Festival. On new year's eve, a table of rich new year's dishes brings the whole family together.

Sitting around the table, eating a reunion dinner, the feeling of fullness in my heart is really unspeakable. People enjoy not only the delicious food on the table, but also a kind of enjoyment.

In that joyful atmosphere, there are big dishes, cold dishes, stir-fried dishes and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot and the other is fish.

The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, which indicates that it is thriving; "Fish" and "fish" are homophonic, which is a symbol of "more than good luck and celebration" and also a metaphor. "

"For more than a year. There are also radishes, commonly known as vegetable heads. Good luck. Lobster, fried fish and other fried foods, I wish my family a rich life.

Boil oil on fire. " Finally, dessert, I wish you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you can't drink, you can drink a little.

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There are many kinds of New Year's Eve dinners, including jiaozi, wonton, long noodles and Yuanxiao. , and each has its own emphasis. Northerners.

I am used to eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival, which means "making friends when I am young" when the old and the new turn. And because jiaozi with white flour looks like a silver ingot, it is a pot of pots.

Serving on the table symbolizes the meaning of "getting rich in the New Year, and gold ingots are rolling in". Some people wrap jiaozi with a few coins sterilized by boiling water.

Say that whoever eats first can earn more money. The custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint, was in the cold winter.

In the twelfth lunar month, he saw that the poor people's ears were frozen rotten, so he made a kind of "cold-dispelling Joule soup" to treat frostbite for the poor people. He used mutton and pepper.

As well as some herbs to dispel cold and warm, they are made into ear-shaped "dumplings" with dough and cooked in a pot for the poor.

I feel hot all over and my ears are burning. Since then, people have followed suit and spread it to this day. Eating wonton in the New Year is the original meaning.

Legend has it that the world was in a chaotic state before it was created, and Pangu created a universe with four long faces, also called longevity noodles.

I wish you a long life.

Give lucky money

Lucky money is given to the younger generation by the elders. In some families, after eating, everyone is not allowed to leave the table until everyone is waiting.

After eating, the elders will give it to the younger generation to encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and improve in the new year. Some people are parents.

At night, when children fall asleep, they are put under pillows. More people gathered in the hall, shouting for grandparents and dad.

Happy new year, mom and dad, bow in line; Then he reached for the red envelope. He even came back from his grandparents' bedroom and ran to the bed together.

Make way: "lucky money, lucky money!" " The old man is still too busy, pretending to be stingy, from bargaining to siege, and finally

The ancestors' red envelopes were dug out, and everyone robbed them before they left. The old man was overjoyed to see this scene and felt very novel.

Everything went well in 2008, which is a good sign. Giving lucky money in the New Year reflects the care of the elders for the younger generation and the respect of the younger generation for the elders.

Folk activities of integrating family ethics.

There is a nursery rhyme cloud:

Samsung is in the south, and every family pays New Year's greetings;

The younger generation kowtows and the older generation pays the bill.

If you want money, turn around and leave.

Communicate with god

There are new and old years to receive God, but the time to receive God is not uniform. Some people begin to hold ceremonies as soon as the children arrive, while others go to find the children.

At the time of "Zheng Zheng", that is, at midnight, some people began to accept the gods, while others were after "self-correction". After the sacrifice, all the gods returned to the Heavenly Palace, ignoring human customs.

Things, after New Year's Eve, that is, the arrival of the New Year, came to the human director again. The ceremony of receiving gods was held at the table of heaven and earth, attended by the whole family.

Presided over by the oldest. Because the celestial bodies where the gods live have different orientations, the lower bound naturally comes in different directions. As for who to meet, providence will follow.

He Fanglai should check the Constitution in advance, and then lead the whole family to hold incense in the yard and follow their instructions to visit the gods. For example, Xin Weinian's Constitution states:

"The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Wealth is due south, your God is northeast, the West God is southwest, and the Tai Sui God is southwest." . After kowtowing in different directions, stand still and wait for the incense.

Finally, take off the fragrant roots, idols, ingots, etc. Put them in the prepared money and grain basin in the yard and burn them. When burning,

Burning pine branches, sesame stalks, etc. The gods are connected, firecrackers are ringing, and the atmosphere is extremely strong.

tread on

After receiving the gods, sesame stalks spread from the street gate to the door of the house, and people walked on it, making a noise, which was called "stepping on the old" or "stepping on the special".

Because "broken" and "precious" are homophonic, it means to drive away evil spirits in the new year.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to different local customs, the forms of ancestor worship are also different, some go to the wild to worship ancestors, and some go.

Ancestors worship their ancestors in ancestral temples, and most of them put ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to show their sacrifice, and then worshippers burn incense in order of age.

Bow. Han people worship their ancestors, and most of them make fish tanks filled with high bowls, indicating that southerners live in Beijing, especially to worship their ancestors.

Grand, mostly eight bowls of big dishes, with hot pot in the middle, and a cup of chopsticks according to the coffin. On New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and Lantern Festival, hot pot can be fanned at any time and changed at any time.

Dishes. Manchu and Mongolian are different when banners are used to worship ancestors. Mongolian flag bearer offered butter to stir-fry yellow wheat, fried it with sesame oil and dipped it in sugar when withdrawing the offering, which had a unique flavor.

Manchu banner people offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples and sandalwood, which was very quiet. Vegetarian pancakes are served on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

On the Lantern Festival, people burn incense and kowtow and offer new tea every morning and evening. Although the forms of ancestor worship are different, most of them hang shadows on New Year's Eve.

Those who withdraw their confessions at night and are close to their relatives and friends must also knock on the ancestral temple when they pay New Year greetings, and they will not only pursue the future cautiously, but also never forget their own intentions, because they respect the beauty of their ancestors.

De, also saved.

Send the god of wealth

In the old society, since the opening of the financial door at midnight during the Spring Festival, there were people who sent the god of wealth, holding a piece of paper and shouting outside the door: "Send the god of wealth!" "

God is coming! "At this time, in order to welcome the god of wealth, the owner of this family gave the messenger a gratuity and sent it to the mouth of the god of wealth. Of course, it's always free.

No, say something auspicious. For example, "the treasure is rolling"! There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenix on the right! wait for

And so on. The other is to dress up as a god of wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat and a fake beard.

They carried a yellow cloth bag to collect money, followed by several drummers, and distributed statues of the god of wealth from door to door in order to win.

A reward. Every time people go to the door, they sing, "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right compartment is full of treasure." There are many auspicious words.

Mouth, until the shopkeeper happily took the red paper like the god of wealth and gave them some money. These people who played the role of the god of wealth, after thanking them, they

I knocked hard for a while, and in the sound of gongs and drums, I went to another house.

Drink Tu Su wine.

Tu Su wine is a kind of medicinal liquor. In ancient customs, the whole family in Yuan Dynasty drank Tu Su wine to get rid of unhealthy gas. How to make Tu Su wine?

There are: rhubarb for a penny, platycodon grandiflorum and Sichuan pepper for a penny and five cents each, cinnamon for a penny and eight cents, dogwood for a penny and two cents, and windproof for one or two.

Hanging in the well, it was picked up in Yin Shi on January, and it was boiled with wine for four or five times. In ancient times, the way to drink Tu Su wine was very unique. Most people have been drinking since 2000.

Old people drink alcohol; But drinking Tu Su wine is just the opposite, starting with the smallest. Probably young people grow up day by day and drink first.

Congratulations, older people have a drink every year to show their reservations. Su Zhe, a writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote a poem in "In addition to Japan": "At the end of each year.

Drinking Tu Su, I don't think it has been more than 70 years. "This is the custom. This unique drinking order was often prolific in ancient times.

I was deeply impressed by all kinds of feelings.

Next year's meal

In the north, some families also provide a pot of rice, which is cooked before the New Year. It's called "every other year's meal", and there are leftovers every year.

If you can't finish it in one day, you will still eat the food of the previous year this year. This kind of New Year's meal is usually a mixture of rice and millet. As the Beijing saying goes, "

Two meters of rice is for the sake of yellow and white. The so-called "golden rice with gold and silver, full of gold and silver". In many places, it is available at the time of keeping the old age.

Prepared cakes, melons and fruits,

They all want to win a lucky one: eating dates (spring comes early), persimmon (all the best), almond (gratifying) and longevity fruit (

Live forever), eat rice cakes (getting taller every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family, old and young, ate, laughed and chatted.