What does New Year's Eve mean? What are the customs on New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve, also known as New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve and Black Day, is the night on the last day of the Lunar New Year, that is, the night before the Spring Festival. December of the lunar calendar is mostly a big month with 30 days, so it is also called New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve. 1February 29th sunset, some areas will be renamed 29th.

New year's eve explanation

The original meaning of the word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go", which is extended to "easy", that is, alternating; The original meaning of the word "evening" is "sunset" and it is extended to "night". So "New Year's Eve" means that the old year will be removed the next night and the new year will be replaced tomorrow.

According to Lu Chunqiu Ji, the ancients used drums to drive away the "plague god" on the day before the New Year, which is the origin of the "New Year's Eve" festival.

The earliest mention of the name "New Year's Eve" is the local chronicles and other historical books written in the early Western Jin Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty.

Legend about New Year's Eve

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a monster named Xi. This guy is especially harmful, especially when he sees a beautiful girl, he will spoil at night and then eat it before he is willing to give up. The people died for it, but there was nothing they could do. ?

There is a hunter named Qi Lang, who has infinite strength and is very good at archery. The dog he feeds is also very powerful, and any wild animal dares to fight. Air billow saw that people were suffering from "Xi" and wanted to get rid of it. He picked up the dog and looked for "Xi" everywhere, but he couldn't find it.

"Xi" usually doesn't come out during the day until the sun goes down. It disappeared after midnight, and no one knew where it lived. ?

I spent a year looking for "Xi". It was the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month. When he came to a town, he saw people happily preparing for the New Year. He thought, this town is big, there are many people, and there are many girls. Maybe "Xi" will come. He consulted the people in the town and said that "Xi" was most afraid of noise and told everyone not to sleep when it was dark. Find someone who knocks loudly and put it at home. Knock hard at the first movement to scare "Xi" out and drive it away. ?

That night, "Xi" really came out, and it was discovered only after breaking into a house. The family immediately knocked on pots and pans, and when the family knocked, the whole town followed suit. "Xi" was scared to run around and was seen by air billow. Air billow released hounds to bite it, while "Xi" struggled with air billow and dogs. As soon as people heard that there was a fight outside, they all picked up their things and knocked at the door loudly. At this time, "Xi" is a bit overwhelming. I tried to escape, but I didn't know that my hind leg was bitten by a hound. Air billow took the opportunity to shoot with a bow and killed "Xi" with an arrow. ?

Since then, people have called the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month in the summer calendar New Year's Eve. On this night, every household should keep watch and shoot guns to show that they can get rid of the ominous and welcome happiness and auspiciousness. ?

The custom of New Year's Eve

1, have New Year's Eve dinner

New Year's Eve is extremely important for China people. On this day, people are ready to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and have a family reunion dinner. In ancient China, some prison officials even let prisoners go home to reunite with their families for the New Year, which shows how important "reunion dinner" is to ancient China people. Family is the cornerstone of China society, and the annual reunion dinner fully shows the mutual respect and care among family members in China, which makes the relationship between families closer. Family reunion often comforts and satisfies the head of the family spiritually. The old people see their children and grandchildren all over the house, and the family is happy. The care and hard work of raising children in the past were not in vain. How happy this is. The younger generation can also take this opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents for their parenting.

When children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. The New Year's Eve dinner was prepared a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner was always cooked by the chef. In the north, jiaozi on the first day of New Year's Day will also be wrapped up on the evening of 30th. At this time, everyone's chopping boards are busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of every household's chopping board, firecrackers in the streets and lanes, the "scratching" abacus sound of shops and shops and the cadence of firecrackers are mixed with laughter and laughter everywhere, one after another, echoing joy and interweaving into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.

Speaking of the anvil sound on New Year's Eve, Deng Yunxiang's "Yanjing Local Records" recorded a very bleak story on New Year's Eve: in the old society, the poor lived a hard life, and the New Year's Eve was a pass. There is a family whose husband hasn't brought money back until late at night. "There is no bottle of millet at home, and there is no new year's goods. When a woman puts her child to bed at home, she is at a loss. She was in great pain when she heard the chopping block next door. I wonder if her husband can bring back some money or something. I don't know how to spend this year tomorrow, and I'm afraid there is no chopping block at home to make people laugh. So, she picked up a knife, chopped down the chopping block, and shed tears ... this story was listened to. It's really sad.

Eating New Year's Eve is the most lively and enjoyable time for every household in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, a table of rich Chinese New Year's dishes, family reunion, sitting around the table and having a reunion dinner, I really can't tell you the sense of fulfillment in my heart. People not only enjoy the delicious food on the table, but also enjoy the happy 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 "auspicious celebration is more than enough" and also a metaphor for "more than enough every year". There are also radishes, commonly known as vegetable heads. Good luck. Lobster, abalone and other fried foods, I wish my family prosperity as "cooking oil with fire." Finally, I want a dessert. I wish you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if I can't drink, I will drink a little. In ancient times, people paid great attention to the quality of wine when drinking during the Spring Festival. Some wines are gone now, leaving only many touching names, such as wine, Wei Lan wine, Yichun wine, Mei Huajiu wine, peach blossom wine wine and Tu Su wine.

2. Post Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets are also called door couplets, spring stickers, couplets, couplets and peach symbols. They depict the background of the times and express good wishes with neat, dual, concise and delicate words, which are unique literary forms in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of bright red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom began in the Song Dynasty and was popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju's monograph Poetry of Spring Festival couplets discusses the origin of couplets and the characteristics of various works.

There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door heart, frame pair, cross string, spring strip and bucket square according to the place of use. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "door frame pair" is attached to the left and right door frames; "Cross-dressing" is posted on the crossbar of the door; "Spring strips" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; "Dou Jin", also known as "door leaf", is a square diamond, often attached to furniture and screen walls.

3. stick grilles

In the folk, people also like to stick various paper-cuts on the windows-window grilles. Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in China, which has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is often pasted on the window, it is also called "window grilles". With its unique generalization and exaggeration, window grilles show auspicious things and good wishes incisively and vividly, and decorate festivals with colorful colors.

4. Paste the blessing word

While putting up Spring Festival couplets, some people have to put large and small "Fu" characters on doors, walls and lintels. Sticking the word "Fu" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in China. The word "Fu" symbolizes good luck and wishes for a happy life and a bright future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply put the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "Fu has arrived" and "Fu has arrived". Others elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp yue longmen, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on.

Step 5 paste new year pictures

Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. Thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and festive atmosphere to thousands of families. These new year pictures are mine.

An ancient folk art in China reflects people's simple customs and beliefs, and places their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is not limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. Some New Year pictures workshops have produced classic color New Year pictures, such as Fu Lushou's Samsung, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperous livestock and welcoming the New Year, to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. There are three important producing areas of Chinese New Year pictures: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; Three schools of New Year pictures have been formed, each with its own characteristics.

The earliest existing collection of New Year pictures in China is the woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. The most popular folk painting is the Year of Marrying the Rat. It depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human custom. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the monthly calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This new year's picture, which was combined into one, later developed into a calendar and has been popular all over the country.

6. Set off firecrackers

There is a folk saying in China that "open the door and set off firecrackers". That is, when the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Firecracker is a specialty of China, also known as "Firecracker", "Firecracker" and "Firecracker". Its origin is very early, and it has a history of more than two thousand years. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is a kind of entertainment in festivals and can bring happiness and good luck to people. With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers has become more and more extensive, and the varieties and colors have become more and more diverse. Every major festival and happy celebration, as well as marriage, building, opening, etc. We should set off firecrackers to celebrate and make good luck. At present, Liuyang, Foshan in Hunan, Dongyao in Guangdong, Yichun and Pingxiang in Jiangxi, Wenzhou in Zhejiang and other regions are famous fireworks towns in China. The firecrackers produced have many colors and high quality, which are not only sold well all over the country, but also exported to all parts of the world.

7. ancestor worship

In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to the different customs and habits in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some people worship their ancestors in the wild, while others worship their ancestors in the ancestral temple. Most of them put ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to show their offerings, and then worshippers worship in the order of old and young. Han people worship their ancestors and make more fish tanks filled with high bowls, which means ringing bells. Southerners live in Beijing, and ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of big dishes with hot pot in the middle, and cups and chopsticks are placed according to their positions. New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, hot pot fans, change dishes at any time. Manchu and Mongolian people sacrificed their 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 plain wax sandalwood to worship their ancestors, which was very quiet. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian cakes will be made, and on the last night, Lantern Festival will be held. Burn incense and kowtow every morning and evening and offer new tea. Although the forms of ancestor worship are different, most of them are hanging shadows on New Year's Eve, and the confession was withdrawn on the last night of the Yuan Dynasty. They are close to their relatives and friends. When they visit the New Year, they should also knock on the ancestral temple. They should not only pursue the future cautiously, but also preserve their virtue of respecting their ancestors.

In some parts of our country, there is a custom of going to the grave on New Year's Eve, which is called giving new year's goods. The time to go to the grave is usually New Year's Eve afternoon. People send the prepared New Year's Eve dinner to the graves of their deceased relatives, so that the deceased relatives and the living can enjoy the delicious food on New Year's Eve together, in order to pin people's grief over their deceased relatives.

8. Divide the lucky money

Lucky money is given to the younger generation by the elders. In some families, everyone is not allowed to leave the lucky money table after the New Year's Eve. After everyone has finished eating, the elders give it to the younger generation to encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and improve in the new year. In some families, parents put their children under pillows after they fall asleep at night, and in more families, children gather in the main hall, shouting Happy New Year to grandparents and parents, and queuing up to bow down; Then reach for the red envelope. They even took back their grandparents' bedrooms and ran to the bed together, shouting "lucky money, lucky money!" " "The old man is not busy enough, so he is stingy. From bargaining to siege, he finally dug up the red envelope of his ancestors. Everyone took them and roared away. The old man was overjoyed to see this scene and thought it was a good sign for all the best in the new year. 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. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethics.

9. Go to the grave

There is a custom of going to the grave on New Year's Eve in the mountainous area of Lvliang in western Shanxi, which is called sending new year's goods. The time to go to the grave is usually New Year's Eve afternoon. People send the prepared New Year's Eve dinner to the graves of their deceased relatives, so that the deceased relatives and the living can enjoy the delicious food on New Year's Eve together, in order to pin people's grief over their deceased relatives.

10, Leiwanghuo

In the Qing Dynasty, Datong County Records recorded: "On the first day of the New Year's Day, every family cut firewood and bases, which looked like a small floating map. Send it in time, call Wanghuo. Leiwanghuo is a traditional Spring Festival custom in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi. In the folk, flourishing fire point means prosperity.

At midnight, when firecrackers sound, the fire will be lit. 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". Children can also walk around the street, watching and commenting on the size of the fire. Whoever has a big fire and is prosperous will have a strong spirit.

The custom of flourishing fire was later developed in Shuozhou area. Not only during the Chinese New Year, but also at weddings, funerals and major festivals on weekdays. Some people have a strong fire to keep warm in winter, such as singing opera outdoors in winter or in the first month, so that the audience can bake a strong fire; Some people are lucky in summer. For example, when rural people get married, there is a prosperous fire, and the bride turns around it, similar to the "jumping brazier" in the south.

In a word, the customs of New Year's Eve in China are roughly the same, but some places have their own characteristics, such as Suzhou, Beijing and Taiwan Province Province. On New Year's Eve in Suzhou, everyone has to wait for the bell from Hanshan Temple in Qiao Feng. When the bell passes through the dark night and reaches thousands of households, it marks the arrival of the new year. Hanshan Temple rings at midnight every day, regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, which is called "minute by minute" by the people. This clock has become the time information of people's lives dozens of miles away in Fiona Fang, Suzhou. The bells of Hanshan Temple still appear in poems, and the most popular one is a night-mooring near maple bridge written by Zhang Ji, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: A Cold Night, Jiang Feng, Fishing Boat and Sleeping. In the lonely Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou, the bell that rang in the middle of the night reached the passenger ship.

Now, every year on New Year's Eve, Hanshan Temple in Suzhou still follows the eternal custom, and the bell rings every minute. In the urban and rural areas of Gusu, at the last moment of the year, the bells of Hanshan Temple will be heard on the radio to report the beginning of the year. Thousands of families, hearing the bells and firecrackers, regard the bells of the ancient Hanshan Temple as a symbol of the times.