Customs and habits of moving in Shanghai

Custom 1: What must be prepared when moving.

Shanghainese hope to live a stable and safe life in their new home.

When moving to a new home, the items to be prepared include rice-packed in a rice bucket, red envelopes-put on the rice bucket, a pair of dustpans, a new broom, red cloth strips to be tied, water in the bucket, plates, chopsticks-even numbers are better, put in the bucket, stove and so on.

If these items are ready, they must be put in the kitchen before moving, and other things can be moved into the house. In addition, some people will take some dirt with them to avoid acclimatization.

Custom 2: The moving custom of Dawu people.

It is the custom of Dawu people to move after midnight.

Speaking of this custom, it is quite particular.

If the big Wu family has a new house completed (even if the working class is assigned to a new house), moving will also be put on the agenda.

Moving is a big deal. After the auspicious day of the ecliptic was decided, they began to do some preparatory work, cleaning up some broken pots and pans, scrubbing large items and loading the vehicles that were invited to carry them.

In Dawu, the most common way to move is to pull a cart by a donkey.

After everything was ready, the host prepared a little thin wine to entertain the people who came to help move.

After eating, they are in no hurry, just like keeping watch on New Year's Eve, guarding the clock devoutly, waiting quietly for that solemn and mysterious moment.

As soon as zero o'clock arrived, firecrackers and the bell of zero o'clock sounded almost at the same time, and the touching activity officially began.

It's just common courtesy. For those who are particularly particular about it, they have to worship their ancestors a few days before moving, and burn incense and worship the god of wealth before moving.

Custom 3: Burning incense

Many people are particularly puzzled about moving and burning incense. For us in China, it is a habit to burn incense during the Spring Festival or during ancestor worship.

So why do Shanghai locals burn incense when they move to a new home? According to the local people in Shanghai, earthwork excavation must be started in the process of building a house, so that the grandfather of land resources who used to live underground in the future, also known as the land guy, will be disturbed by everyone and people will occupy their homes. At this time, people will give incense to the land guys so that they can live elsewhere.

In fact, on the day of moving, we should light incense in every corner of our home to show respect for the landlord, so that they can not only live in other places, but most importantly, let the landlord protect everyone's home feng shui.

It is a long-standing traditional custom for local people in Shanghai to burn incense when they move. In fact, up to now, there are not many effective components of feudal superstition, but a traditional ceremony when everyone moves.