Information about the customs of the Spring Festival

The Origin of Various Customs in the Spring Festival —— The Origin of Dust Sweeping in the Spring Festival

Every year during the Spring Festival, every household should have a general cleaning. People painted houses, cleaned furniture and dismantled bedding, which was called "Sweeping the Year Festival" in ancient times.

The custom of sweeping dust originated in the Yao and Shun era and evolved from an ancient religious ceremony to drive away epidemics. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, "Sweeping the Year" prevailed. According to the Song Dynasty poet Wu's Dream and Liang Lu, "at the end of December ... all ordinary people, big or small, should sweep the floor, remove dust and filth, clean the family ... and pray for peace in the new year." Up to now, the proverb "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust sweeps the house" has been circulated among the people.

There is also a folk legend that the custom of sweeping dust comes from the tenant farmers in Tongzhou (now Nantong) to welcome the jade emperor's annual grain. Previously, the tenant farmers here were busy all the year round, except for paying food and rent. They prayed that when the Kitchen God gave us this gift on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, he would say something nice to make the Jade Emperor show mercy and allocate some gifts from the Tiancang so that they could have a big reunion dinner before New Year's Eve. In order to welcome the gift of the Jade Emperor, the tenant farmers cleaned the house inside and outside every year before the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, so that the national custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival was handed down from generation to generation.

The origin of celebrating the Spring Festival

On New Year's Eve, people stay up all night, playing cards, chatting, setting off firecrackers and wrapping jiaozi ... The custom of observing the age began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Geng Shouwu and Xu Du in the Liang Dynasty wrote poems about observing the age. "One night for two years, five hours for two years." In ancient times, observing the age was also called "wasting light". People light candles or oil lamps to keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been handed down from generation to generation.

The origin of New Year greetings during the Spring Festival

On New Year's Day, everyone gets up early, dresses neatly, goes out to visit relatives and friends, and wishes each other good luck in the coming year. Regarding the origin of the custom of paying New Year greetings, it is said that there was a monster in ancient times with a unicorn on its head and a mouth like a blood basin. People call it "Year". On the thirtieth night of the twelfth lunar month, it jumped out of the mountain and preyed on people. People have to prepare some meat and put it outside the door, then close the door and hide at home. It was not until the first morning that Nian had eaten enough and left that people opened the door to congratulate each other on not being eaten by Nian. So the wind of New Year's greetings spread.

The origin of setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival

Setting off firecrackers is a custom of entertainment in China during the Spring Festival. This custom originated from the Han and Wei Dynasties, and the custom book Jingchu Sui Ji in the Northern and Southern Dynasties contained: "On the first day of the first month, chickens crow and firecrackers are set off in front of the court to ward off evil spirits." It is said that people who lived in mountainous areas in ancient times often got cold and heat diseases (probably malaria today). At that time, people thought that evil spirits were at work, so for one year's safety, bamboo was burned with fire on Lunar New Year's Day, which made a loud noise and drove Shan Gui away. Because the initial explosion was to burn bamboo, it was called "firecrackers". The Tang dynasty called it "extreme explosion". Later it was also called "explosion". After the invention of gunpowder, firecrackers were made of sulfur, wrapped in thick paper and stuffed with lead wire. After the fuse is ignited by fire, the volume suddenly expands, causing the thick paper outside to explode, thus making a loud noise. Around this time, setting off firecrackers not only eliminates disasters and evil spirits, but also means celebrating. Now setting off firecrackers only symbolizes happiness.

The origin of Spring Festival couplets

Every household in our country will post Spring Festival couplets every Spring Festival. The origin of Spring Festival couplets should also start from Fu Tao. According to ancient legend, there is a big peach tree in Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea. There is a tea tree and a gloomy Er Shen and Er Shen under the peach tree. In case of trouble, they will tie it up and feed it to the tiger. Later, during the Spring Festival, in order to exorcise ghosts, people painted these two gods on a mahogany board, which is the symbol of peach. In the Five Dynasties, Meng Changjun, the master of Shu, wrote the couplets "Welcome the New Year and celebrate Changchun in the festive season" in calligraphy, which is generally considered as the earliest Spring Festival couplets. In the Song Dynasty, posting Spring Festival couplets has become a custom. Wang Anshi wrote in his poem: "Thousands of households always change new peaches for old ones." Writing Spring Festival couplets on red paper began in the Ming Dynasty.

The origin of the janitor

In the past, every household had to buy a door god and stick it on the door during the Spring Festival. One is to show good luck and the other is to "ward off evil spirits". There is such a myth about the origin of door gods in a book in the Warring States period. In Dushuo Mountain in the East China Sea, there is a huge peach tree with a bend of 3,000 miles. Its branches extend all the way to the death gate in the northeast, and all ghosts come and go from here. There are Er Shen, Shen Tu and Mao Yu under the tree. They specialize in monitoring the behavior of ghosts. When they found out which ghost was running amok, they tied it up with straw rope and fed it to the tiger. Therefore, people painted portraits of Shen Tu and Mao Yu on two mahogany boards. Put it by the door to protect it from ghosts. This is the earliest goalkeeper image in legend.

After the evolution of the past dynasties, the content of the door god is constantly changing. The gatekeepers in the Tang Dynasty were not Shen Tu and Mao Yu, but Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde. According to legend, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, was once ill because of nightmares. In the middle of the night, I often hear ghosts. When this matter was known by the ministers, they suggested that Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, the founding fathers, should dress up and stay outside the door all night. After a few nights, Taizong's illness really recovered. Then, he ordered the painter to draw portraits of Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde and put them on the door to ward off evil spirits. This practice soon spread among the people. Later, the caretaker added new content. People hang portraits of Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde (and other sages) at the front door to welcome guests, and the portrait of the legendary ghost catcher Zhong Kui at the back door to exorcise ghosts, thinking that the front and back are tight and wild ghosts can't get in.

The origin of not killing chickens on New Year's Eve

It was strange that it was forbidden to kill chickens in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province in the old days. Because on such a festive day as Chinese New Year, people in China have to have a big banquet, and chickens are often indispensable at the banquet. Why does Zhoushan spread such a custom?

According to legend, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, King Lu fled to Zhoushan with the assistance of Zhang Mingzhen, a native of Zhoushan. Zhang Ming is really a famous anti-Qing soldier in the East China Sea, who has repeatedly defeated the Qing army. 165 1 New Year's Eve, the Qing army raided Dinghai City, and Zhang Ming Town led his troops to the war. The Qing army killed everyone, and they met until the cock crowed. They killed 18000 people in Zhoushan, leaving only six families and six surnames. When the Qing army killed Liu Jia 'ao, it suddenly heard a chicken crow and stopped killing. It is because of this cock crow that the last six families in Zhoushan have been preserved and Zhoushan talents have been multiplied. Since then, in order to commemorate the kindness of roosters, the custom of not killing chickens on New Year's Eve in Zhoushan has been handed down.

The origin of eating rice cakes in the New Year.

The custom of eating rice cakes in the New Year is said to have a history of more than 3,000 years since the Zhou Dynasty. Because the maturity of grain is called a year, it means that future generations eat rice cakes in the New Year to congratulate the harvest of grain. Eating rice cakes also means "old" and longevity. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there is a story about rice cakes. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu, a doctor of the State of Wu, was given a sword by Fu Cha, the king of Wu, and died. Legend has it that Wu Zixu told his cronies before he died: "After my death, if the country is in trouble and the people are short of food, you can dig three feet to the Xiangmen city wall to get food." After Wu Zixu's death, Gou Jian, King of Yue, heard that Wu had lost his commander-in-chief, so he attacked Wu and avenged himself. Fu Cha was defeated, the capital was trapped, the food in the city was exhausted, and the soldiers and civilians starved to death. At this time, Wu Zixu's cronies, according to his life instructions, dug three feet like a door and found the "city brick" to satisfy their hunger. It turned out that this was Wu Zixu's secret plan for a rainy day. The city bricks he used in Xiangmen area were all steamed with rice flour. This kind of rice brick is very tough, which can be used as a brick wall and can satisfy hunger if necessary. Since then, every local household will steam Jiangmi rice cakes like steamed city bricks during the Chinese New Year to pay tribute to Wu Zixu's achievements. Because it was made during the Chinese New Year, it is called rice cake, which has been passed down to this day.