About the Spring Festival

In China, the Spring Festival usually begins with offering sacrifices to stoves. The folk song "Twenty-three, Melon Stick" refers to the sacrificial stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five", that is, officials hold sacrificial stoves on the 23 rd of the twelfth lunar month, people hold them on the 24 th, and houses and boats hold them on the 25 th.

Sacrificing a stove is a kind of custom with great influence and wide spread among the people in our country. In the past, almost every kitchen had a "Kitchen God" shrine. People call this deity "Siming Bodhisattva" or "Chef Siming". It is said that he is the "Nine-day East Chef Wang Siming" sealed by the Jade Emperor, who is responsible for managing the stoves of various families and is worshipped as the head of the family. Kitchen shrines are mostly located in the north or east of the kitchen, with the idol of Kitchen God in the middle. Some people who don't have the niche of the Kitchen King even put the idol directly on the wall. Some gods only draw a kitchen god, while others have two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Chef". This is probably an imitation of the image of human lovers. Most of the statues of Kitchen God are also printed with the calendar of this year, which reads the words "Oriental chefs are in charge of life", "God of human supervision" and "head of the family" to show the status of Kitchen God. On both sides, there are couplets of "Heaven says yes, the lower bound is safe", wishing the whole family peace.

Kitchen God has been staying at home to protect and supervise his family since last year's Eve. On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will report the good deeds or evil deeds of this family to the Jade Emperor in heaven. The ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen stove" or "resigning the kitchen stove". According to the report of Kitchen God, the Jade Emperor entrusted the family with the fate of good fortune and bad fortune in the new year. So for a family, Kitchen God's report is really interesting.

Sending stoves is usually held at dusk. The family went to the kitchen first, set the table, incense the kitchen god in the shrine on the kitchen wall, and present honeydew melons made of caramel and flour. Then tie the bamboo poles into paper horses and make them into animal feed. Sacrificing caramel to Kitchen God is to make his old man's mouth sweet. Some places still wrap sugar on the mouth of the kitchen god, saying, "Say more good things and don't say bad things." This is to block the kitchen god's mouth with sugar and tell him not to speak ill. In the Chronicle of the Old Times in the Tang Dynasty, there was an occasional record that "Siming (Kitchen God) got drunk by applying distiller's grains on the stove". People put sugar on the mouth of the Kitchen God, took off their idols and went to heaven with paper and cigarettes. In some places, sesame stalks and pine branches are piled in the yard at night, and then the statue of the kitchen god, which has been enshrined for a year, is taken out of the shrine and burned on the fire with paper horses and forage. The courtyard was brightly lit, and at this time, the family kowtowed around the fire, burning and praying: It's twenty-third this year, and I'm going to send the kitchen ruler to the Western Heaven. With strong horses and forage, you will arrive safely. Melon is sweet and sweet. Please speak kindly to the Jade Emperor.

When sending the Kitchen God, there are some beggars in some places who dress up, sing and dance to send the Kitchen God door to door, and name it "Send the Kitchen God" in exchange for food.

The custom of sending stoves is common all over China. Mr. Lu Xun once wrote the poem "A boxer sends a stove as a fact": only chicken glue is sweet and clothes are fragrant. If there is nothing at home, there are only a few antelopes.

He said in the article "The Day of Sending Kitchen Stove": "On the day when the chef went to heaven, there was still a kind of sugar on the street, the size of a citrus, and we also had it there, but it was flat and flat, like a thick pancake. That is the so-called' gum teeth'. " The original intention is to ask the chef to eat it and stick his teeth on it, so that he won't speak ill of the jade emperor. The allusion to "antelope" in Lu Xun's poems comes from the Biography of Yin Shi in the Later Han Dynasty: "When Xuan Di proclaimed himself emperor, Yin Zifang was the most filial and kind. Cooking in the morning of the twelfth day, seeing the kitchen god, the children have to worship and celebrate; There is an antelope at home, so it is worshipped. After the third one, he naturally became extremely rich. "I have known the third generation, and I have made a fortune. Therefore, I often recommend the antelope in the twelfth lunar month to worship the stove. " Yin Zifang met the Kitchen God and sacrificed the antelope. Later, she got lucky. Since then, the custom of killing antelopes to sacrifice stoves has been handed down.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the offerings for offering sacrifices to stoves were quite rich. Fan Chengda, a poet in the Song Dynasty, wrote a very vivid description of the folk activities of offering sacrifices to stoves at that time: it is said in ancient times that in the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen god spoke to heaven. Clouds, cars and horses linger, and there are cups and plates at home. The pig's head is cooked, the fish is fresh, and the bean paste and Gan Song bait are round. When a man asks his daughter to avoid it, he drinks and burns money. You can't smell your servant's struggle, and your cat and dog don't feel angry when they touch you. Send you to Tianmen to get drunk, and don't repeat the clouds with long spoons and short spoons, begging for points from the market.

The sacrificial furnace on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the New Year in China. Because, a week later, on New Year's Eve, Kitchen God came to the world with the good and bad fortune that the family should get. Kitchen God is considered to guide the gods in the sky. Other gods will go to heaven after the New Year, and only Kitchen God will stay in other people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony of welcoming God is called "receiving God", and the kitchen god is called "receiving kitchen". Generally, it is New Year's Eve to pick up the kitchen, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, just put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche.

As the saying goes, "Men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice to the kitchen". In some places, women don't sacrifice stoves. It is said that the kitchen god looks like a small white face and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, which is "suspected of men and women." The origin of Kitchen God has a long history. Among the folk gods in China, the qualification of Kitchen God has a long history. As early as the Xia Dynasty, he was already a great god revered by the people. According to the ancient book The Book of Rites, Kong Ying Da said: "Hitachi, the son of Zhuan Xu, is Zhu Rong and worshipped as the kitchen god." "Zhuangzi Sheng Da" records: "The stove has a bun." Sima Biao commented: "bun, kitchen god, dressed in red, looks like a beautiful woman." "Hold PiaoZi. "Wei Zhi" also recorded: "On a dark night, Kitchen God also accused the white man of being guilty." These records are probably the source of Kitchen God. Also, or the Kitchen God is a "Suiren" who digs firewood to make a fire; Or Shennong's "fire official"; Or "Su Liji" in "The Yellow Emperor Cooking Ren"; Or the kitchen god surnamed Zhang, the name list, the word Guo; Opinions vary. There is an interesting story circulating among the people.

It is said that in ancient times there was a family named Zhang, two brothers. The elder brother was a plasterer and the younger brother was a painter. My brother's specialty is cooking pots and pans. He was invited by East Street and West Square, and they all praised his cooking. He has been famous for a long time, and calling him "King Zhang Zao" is thousands of miles away. Strangely, Wang said that no matter who built a stove, he liked to interfere in other people's homes if there was any dispute. When he meets a noisy daughter-in-law, he will persuade him. When he meets a fierce mother-in-law, he will say that he seems to be an old elder. In the future, neighbors will look for him if they have anything, and everyone respects him. The king lived seventy years, and when he died, it happened to be late at night on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month. After the death of Wang, Zhang Jiake fell into chaos. It turns out that the king is the head of the family and everything in the family is under his command. Now that the eldest brother has passed away, the younger brother can only write poems and draw pictures. Although he spent a lot of time, he never did housework. The daughters-in-law in several rooms clamored for separation, and the painter was stirred helplessly and frowned all day. One day, he finally came up with a good idea On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the first anniversary of Wang's death, late at night, the painter suddenly called to wake up the whole family and said that the eldest brother had appeared. He took his son, daughter-in-law and the whole family to the kitchen, only to see the flickering candlelight on the dark kitchen wall showing the appearance of the king and his dead wife, and the whole family was shocked. The painter said, "When I slept, I dreamed that my eldest brother and sister-in-law had become immortals, and the Jade Emperor named him' Nine Days East Chef ordered the chef to be the king of the palace'. You are always lazy and lazy, and your sister-in-law is not harmonious, disrespectful and unfilial, which makes your family uneasy. " Big brother was angry to know that you were going to break up. He is going to tell the Jade Emperor that he will come down on New Year's Eve to punish you. Hearing these words, the children's nephews and daughters-in-law were frightened. They immediately knelt down and kowtowed again and again, and hurriedly brought Wang Pingping's favorite candy to the stove and begged the kitchen king to forgive them. Since then, uncles, brothers and daughters-in-law who often make noise have never dared to make trouble again. The whole family lives in harmony, young and old. Neighbors knew about it, and the news spread. They all came to Zhang's house and wanted to know the truth. In fact, the kitchen god on the kitchen wall on the 23rd night of the twelfth lunar month was painted by the painter in advance. He came to town to scare his children's nephews and daughters-in-law, but this method really worked. So the neighbor came to the painter to inquire about the situation, so he had to pretend and distribute the painted kitchen god to the neighbors. As a result, it spread along the countryside, and the kitchen of every household was labeled as the kitchen god. Over time, the custom of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month and praying for the safety of the family was formed. After the custom of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god spread, from the Zhou Dynasty, the palace also included it in the sacrificial ceremony, and formulated the rules of offering sacrifices to the kitchen god nationwide, which became a fixed ceremony.

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Sweep dust

After the Stove Festival, preparations for the Chinese New Year officially began. Every year from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to New Year's Eve, we folks call this period "Spring Festival" or "Dust Day". Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. It is a traditional habit of our people to sweep the dust before the Spring Festival. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. North and south of the great river, everywhere is filled with the atmosphere of being willing to engage in hygiene and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

Interestingly, there is a strange story about the origin of ancient dust sweeping. Legend has it that the ancients believed that everyone was attached to a three-corpse god. Like a shadow, he followed people's whereabouts and was inseparable. Three dead gods are a guy who likes flattery and gossip. He often tells stories in front of the Jade Emperor and describes the world as ugly. Over time, in the jade emperor's impression, this world is simply a dirty world full of evil. Once. The secret report of the three dead gods tells us that the world is cursing the Emperor of Heaven and wants to rebel against him. The jade emperor was furious and made an imperial edict to quickly find out what happened in the world. Anyone who hates gods and insults them writes their crimes under the eaves. Then let the spider cover it with a net and mark it. The Jade Emperor ordered Wang Lingguan to go down on New Year's Eve, and all the marked families were beheaded, not one left. Seeing that the plan was about to succeed, three resin gods took advantage of the gap and flew down to earth. Indiscriminately, they marked the eaves and corners of every household to make the tomb palace extinct. Just as the Three Corpses God was doing evil, the Chef God discovered his whereabouts and was frightened to disgrace, so he quickly sought out various Chefs to discuss countermeasures. So, I came up with a good idea. From the day when the kitchen is delivered on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to the time when the kitchen is closed on New Year's Eve, every household should clean up the house. If any household is not clean, Kitchen God will refuse to enter the house. According to the instructions of the kitchen god before he ascended to heaven, everyone cleaned the dust, dusted the cobwebs, cleaned the doors and windows, and thoroughly cleaned their houses. When Wang Lingguan visited the lower bound on New Year's Eve, he found that every household had bright windows and bright lights, people were reunited and happy, and the world was beautiful. Wang Lingguan was surprised that he could not find a sign indicating bad behavior. He rushed back to heaven, told the Jade Emperor that there was peace and happiness on earth, and prayed for a happy New Year. The Jade Emperor was greatly shocked after hearing this. He made a decree to detain the Three Corpses God, ordered him to be slapped for 300 mouths, and put him in prison forever. Thanks to the help of Kitchen God, this human disaster was spared. In order to thank the Kitchen God for helping people to solve disasters and bless Zhang Xiang, the folk dust-sweeping always starts from the kitchen and is busy until the New Year's Eve.

The custom of "sweeping the house with dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "bad luck" and "bad luck". This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

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Spring Festival couplets

As a unique literary form, Spring Festival couplets have a long history in China. It began in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and has developed for more than a thousand years today.

As early as before the Qin and Han dynasties, there was a custom of hanging peach symbols around the gate every New Year. Fu Tao is two big boards made of peach wood, on which are written the names of the legendary gods and spirits who exorcise ghosts and suppress evil spirits. This custom lasted for more than 1000 years. It was not until the Five Dynasties that people began to put couplets on mahogany boards instead of the names of gods. According to historical records, on New Year's Eve in 964 AD, Meng Chang, the master of Houshu, wrote a couplet on the bedroom door, namely, "On New Year's Eve, Jia Jienuo. Changchun ",the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China.

After the Song Dynasty, it has become quite common for people to hang Spring Festival couplets in the New Year. Therefore, Wang Anshi wrote in the poem "January Day" that "thousands of households always change new peaches for old ones" was a true portrayal of the Spring Festival couplets at that time. Due to the close relationship between the appearance of Spring Festival couplets and Fu Tao, the ancients also called Spring Festival couplets "Fu Tao".

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, strongly advocated couplets. After establishing the capital of Jinling (now Nanjing), he ordered ministers, officials and ordinary people to write a couplet and put it on the door before New Year's Eve. Dressed in casual clothes, he went out door to door to watch the excitement. Scholars at that time also regarded couplets as elegant enjoyment, and writing Spring Festival couplets became a social fashion.

After entering the Qing Dynasty, couplets prevailed in Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang generations. Just like the prosperous Tang Dynasty, many famous couplets appeared.

With the development of cultural exchanges among countries, couplets were introduced to Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Singapore and other countries. These countries still have the custom of pasting couplets.

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New Year picture

During the Spring Festival, people not only paste Spring Festival couplets and cut window grilles, but also like to hang New Year pictures in the living room and bedroom. A New Year picture adds a festive atmosphere to every household.

New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China. They reflect people's customs and beliefs and place their hopes on the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". Spring Festival couplets developed from the names of Shen Tu and Lei Yu to figures, while New Year pictures still developed along the direction of painting.

With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to the door gods, but gradually invites the god of wealth to their homes, and then in some New Year pictures workshops, colorful New Year pictures such as three stars of Fu Lushou, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperity of six animals, greeting the spring and praying for blessings are produced to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year.

As Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets, New Year pictures became popular, and three important producing areas of New Year pictures appeared in China: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong. Formed three schools of Chinese New Year pictures.

The earliest collection of New Year pictures in China is woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which shows four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. However, the most popular picture among people in China is the New Year picture of marrying a mouse. This painting depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human custom. His paintings are lively in composition. This painting left an indelible impression on Lu Xun. As he said, this entertaining "Marry a Mouse" not only aroused the interest of adults, but also had a stronger artistic appeal to children.

According to folklore, New Year's Eve is an auspicious day for mice to get married. People should put some food under the bed and in the kitchen as gifts for the groom of the mouse to pray for a bumper harvest next year. Some grandmothers often tease their children before they go to bed and say, "Hide your shoes quickly, and don't let mice steal them as sedan chairs." This is the origin of words. Therefore, the New Year's picture Marry a Mouse can especially arouse the children's voices.

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Family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve

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.

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 with firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. Chinese New Year's food is cooked a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked on New Year's Eve. 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 chopping boards from every household, firecrackers from streets and alleys, the sound of "scratching" abacus, and the cadence of reimbursement from shops and shops are mixed with laughter and laughter everywhere, echoing with 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. The woman let her children sleep at home and could do nothing. 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 chopped the chopping board with a knife, smashed and chopped, and shed tears ... This story is 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, fried fish and other fried foods, wish your family prosperity, such 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 fermented grapes, Wei Lan wine, Yichun wine, Mei Huajiu wine, peach blossom wine wine and Tu Su wine. Among these wines, Tu Su wine is the oldest and most popular. But how did the name of Tu Su wine come from? What is it made of? Legends are never the same.

Tu Su is a grass name. Some people say that Tu Su is an ancient wine brewed by this family, so it is called Tu Su wine. According to legend, Tu Su wine was created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor at the end of Han Dynasty, and its formula was made by soaking rhubarb, Atractylodes macrocephala, Cinnamomum cassia twig, Saposhnikovia divaricata, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Radix Aconiti Lateralis and Radix Aconiti Lateralis in the wine. This medicine has the effects of warming yang, expelling wind and cold, and avoiding epidemic diseases. Later, it was spread by Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in Tang Dynasty. Every year in the twelfth lunar month, Sun Simiao always sends a pack of medicine to his neighbors, telling them to take medicine to soak wine and drink it on New Year's Eve, which can prevent the plague. Sun Simiao also named his house "Tu Su House". Since then, after several generations, drinking Tu Su wine has become the custom of China New Year. In ancient times, Tu Su wine was drunk in a unique way. Most people drink alcohol, always starting from the elderly; But drinking Tu Su wine is just the opposite, starting with the smallest. That is to say, when a family gets together to drink Tu Su wine, they should start with the younger children and the older children should drink a little one by one. Su Zhe, a writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Except for Japan": "Drinking Tu Su at the end of each year is not over 70 years old." It's a custom. Some people don't understand the meaning of this habit. Dong Xun explained: "Young people will get old, so congratulations; The old man lost his age, so he was punished. "This custom was still very popular in the Song Dynasty. For example, Su Shi said in the poem "Sleeping Outside Changzhou": "Only learn from your worries, and never hesitate to drink Tu Su. "Although Su Shi was poor in his later years, he was optimistic. He thinks that as long as he is healthy and doesn't care about his old age, he naturally doesn't have to refuse to drink Tu Su wine in the end. In ancient times, this unique drinking order often caused people to have various emotions, so it left a deep impression on people. This custom remained unchanged until the Qing Dynasty. Although this custom is no longer popular on a large scale today, the custom of drinking these medicinal liquor still exists on festivals or at ordinary times.

There are many kinds of New Year's Eve dinners, including jiaozi, wonton, long noodles and Yuanxiao. , and each has its own emphasis. Northerners are used to eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival, which means "making friends when you are young". Because the white flour jiaozi is shaped like a silver ingot, the pots on the table symbolize the meaning of "getting rich in the New Year, and the ingots are rolling in". Some wrapped jiaozi and some coins sterilized with boiling water, saying that whoever ate first would make more money. The custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint, saw that the poor people's ears were frozen and rotten in the cold winter, so he made a kind of "cold-dispelling Joule soup" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, peppers and some herbs to drive away the cold and warm, made ear-shaped "corners" out of flour bags, cooked them in a pot and distributed them to the poor. After eating it, people feel hot all over and their ears are hot. Since then, people have followed suit and spread it to this day. Eating wonton in the New Year is based on its 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. Eating noodles in the New Year is to wish you a long life.

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Shousui

In our country, people have the habit of keeping watch on New Year's Eve. Watching the new year begins with eating New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting with lighting lanterns, and some families have to eat it until late at night. According to Zonggu's record of Jingchu's age, there was a custom of New Year's Eve dinner at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The custom of observing the old age not only includes the feeling of farewell and nostalgia for the fleeting time, but also expresses the good hope for the coming New Year. The ancients wrote in the poem "Shousui": "Invite Shousui Arong's family to spread red candles to green gauze; Thirty-six years have passed, and I am more willing to cherish my youth from this night. "It is human nature to cherish the years, so the great poet Su Shi wrote a famous sentence:" There will be no years next year, and I am worried about waste; "Do your best tonight, young people can still boast!" This shows the positive significance of keeping old on New Year's Eve.

Keep your age at 30, commonly known as "endure the year." Why is it called "Endure the Year"? There is an interesting story from generation to generation among the people: It is said that there was a fierce monster in the ancient wild times, and people called it "Nian". Every New Year's Eve, Nian beast will climb out of the sea to kill people and animals, destroy the countryside and bring disaster to people who have worked hard for a year. In order to avoid the Nian beast, people close the door early on the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month, dare not sleep, wait until dawn, and drink to kill time and courage. On the first morning of the new year, you dare not go out until the Nian beast comes out. When people saw it, they bowed to each other, congratulated each other, and were glad that they had not been eaten by Nian beast. After many years, nothing happened, and people relaxed their vigilance against Nian beast. On the evening of 30th one year, Nian beast suddenly fled to a village in the south of the Yangtze River. A village was almost eaten up by Nian beast, and only a pair of newly-married couples in red curtains were safe and sound. There are also a few childish people who lit a pile of bamboo in the yard and were playing. The fire is red. Bamboo exploded after burning. Nian beast turned here and saw the fire turn and flee. From then on, people know that Nian beast is afraid of red, light and noise. At the end of each year, every household sticks red paper, wears red robes, hangs red lights, beats gongs and drums, and sets off firecrackers, so that Nian Beasts dare not come again. In The Book of Songs Xiaoya Tingliao, there is a record of "the light of Tingliao". The so-called "pavilion" is a torch made of bamboo poles. After the bamboo pole burns, the air in the bamboo joint expands, and the bamboo cavity bursts, making a crackling sound, which is the origin of "firecrackers". However, villagers in some places don't know that Nian beast is afraid of red and is often eaten by Nian beast. This story later spread to Zixing in the sky. In order to save people, he is determined to destroy Nian beast. One year the beast came out, knocked it down with a fireball and chained it to a stone pillar with a thick chain. From then on, every New Year, people always burn incense and ask Zixing to come down to keep safe.

On the night of "two years old in one night, two years old in class five", families get together and get together. The family sat together and the table was full of tea and fruit. If you are young, you can't get a big plate of apples, which is called "peace". In the north, some families still have to provide a pot of rice, which was cooked before the New Year. It's called "annual meal", which means that there are leftovers every year, which can't be eaten all year round, and this year we still eat the grain of the previous year. This new year's rice bowl is usually cooked with rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, for the sake of yellow and white, it is called "two rice". This is called "golden rice with gold and silver, gold and silver everywhere". In many places, cakes, melons and fruits are prepared to win a lucky one: eating dates (spring comes early), persimmons (all the best), almonds (gratifying), longevity fruit (immortal) and rice cakes (getting higher every year). On New Year's Eve, the family ate happily, talking and laughing. Some vulgar families push pai gow, roll dice, bet on stud and play mahjong, and the noise of laughter and laughter has become the climax of New Year's Eve.

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Exploding bamboo

At midnight, the New Year bell rang and firecrackers shook the whole sky of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "year yuan, month yuan and time yuan", some places still set up "flourishing fire" in the yard to show the take-off and prosperity of Wang Qi. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and danced happily. At this time, the bright lights in the house, the sparks in front of the court and the deafening noise outside the house pushed the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to a climax. Poets of all ages always praise the arrival of the New Year with the most beautiful poems. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day" says: firecrackers make one year old, and the spring breeze warms Tu Su. 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. In the book Jing Di Ji Sheng at the age of four in the Qing Dynasty, Pan Rongbi recorded the firecrackers on New Year's Eve at that time: "On New Year's Eve, we meet at midnight, and the treasures and fires outside the door compete for glory. The firecrackers are like thunder, all over the government and the people, all night." There is also a description in A Dream of Red Mansions: "There are screen frames and fireworks in the yard. These fireworks are tributes from all over the world. Although it is not very big, it is extremely exquisite. There are all kinds of stories and fireworks. During the talk, the color outside was put and put. " There are also a lot of sporadic firecrackers, such as "the sky is full of stars", "Kowloon enters the clouds", "the ground thunders" and "flying to ten ring". "From this, we can also see the grand occasion of setting off fireworks in the old Spring Festival.

Firecrackers are a sign of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and also an expression of festive atmosphere. Businessman. Setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make a fortune in the new year.

After setting off firecrackers and returning home, the first thing everyone does is to worship heaven and earth, god and ancestors. In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to different local customs and habits, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to sweep graves, and some go to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. Most of them put their ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to show their worship, and then worshippers worship them in order of age. After paying homage to their ancestors, southerners looked at the auspicious trend of this year recorded in the almanac, lit lanterns and torches, carried pots and wine, incense and set off firecrackers, and opened the door to meet the western gods, which was called "going out to the Arabian Nights" or "going out", which was called "going out for a visit" in Zhejiang and "going out for happiness" in Shanghai. This custom is to get good luck and pray to God for a smooth year. On New Year's Eve, you stay up all night.

When the door is opened in the morning of the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door to set off firecrackers". After the firecrackers, the ground is broken red, which is called "full house". At this time, the streets were full of anger and joy.

During the Spring Festival, in the streets and alleys, large families hang lanterns and tie the knot. In the streets and alleys, all kinds of arts and crafts in the village offer their high skills. In busy rural areas, theatrical troupes are invited to perform, and all kinds of entertainment and play are also carried out, such as listening to Taoist feelings, dancing yangko, singing flower drums, dancing lions, playing dragon lanterns and so on. People celebrate the Spring Festival happily.

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New Year greeting is a traditional folk custom in China, and it is a way for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and express their best wishes to each other. In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "Happy New Year" was to pay New Year greetings to the elderly, including kowtowing to the elderly, congratulating them on a happy New Year and greeting their lives. In case of friends and relatives of the same generation, you should also salute and congratulate.

New Year greetings usually begin at home. On the morning of the first day, after getting up, the younger generation should first pay a New Year call to their elders, wishing them a long and healthy life and all the best. After the elders worship, they should distribute the "lucky money" prepared in advance to the younger generation. After paying New Year greetings to the elders at home, people should greet each other with smiles when they go out to meet, and exchange auspicious words such as "Congratulations on getting rich", "Best wishes in the four seasons" and "Happy New Year". Neighbors or relatives and friends also pay New Year greetings to each other or treat them to drinks and entertainment. In the sixth volume of Chinese Dream in Tokyo, the veteran Meng described the time of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty and said, "On October 1st, the Kaifeng government was opened for three days, and scholars celebrated each other early." In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Lu Rong said in Volume V of Miscellaneous Notes on Gardens: "On New Year's Day in the capital, people who travel to Shu Ren for several days from court officials are called' New Year greetings'. However, Shu Ren worships his relatives and friends. " When dealing with North Korean officials, they are more caring than experts ... "... Gu Tieqing, a native, described in Lu:" Men and women pay homage to their parents, and the Lord leads them to humble their children, or stop sending their children congratulations, which is called' New Year greetings'. "Even people who don't meet for a lifetime, at this time, they also worship each other at the door ..."

In ancient times, if neighbors had too many relatives and friends, it was difficult to walk around the whole house. It's called "flying mail", and let the servant take the business card to pay a New Year call. There is a red paper bag in front of every house with the word "Fu Jie" written on it, which is the purpose of airmail. This custom began in the upper class of the Song Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, Yantai's Order of Last Month described the Beijing New Year Festival: "It's the moon, the film flies, and the car goes empty." Become fashionable. "A large family has a special" door book "to record the guests' contacts and flying photos. There are four virtual "relatives" on the front page of the door: one is a centenarian who lives in centenarian lane; One said he was rich and lived in Yuanbao Street. One is your infinite adult, living in the university archway; One day, Fu Zhao visited his master and lived in Five Blessingg Building. For good luck. So far, the gift of New Year cards and greeting cards during the Spring Festival is the legacy of this ancient exchange of flying cards.

Scholars in the upper class have the custom of greeting each other with famous cards. Hui Zhou, a poet of the Song Dynasty, said in Qingbo magazine: "During the reign of Emperor Yuanyou of the Song Dynasty, people were often stabbed with servants in the name of Chinese New Year." . At that time, the scholar-officials had a wide circle of friends, and it took time and energy to pay New Year greetings everywhere. Therefore, some close friends did not go in person, but sent their servants to take a card cut with plum blossom stationery, two inches wide and three inches long, with the recipient's name, address and congratulations written on it. In the Ming dynasty, people visited instead of paying New Year's greetings. Wen Zhiming, an outstanding painter and poet in the Ming Dynasty, described this in his poem "New Year": "I don't want to meet each other, but I want to talk, and my famous articles are full; I also throw a few pieces of paper at people. The world is too simple and empty. " The "famous thorn" and "famous divination" mentioned here are the origins of today's New Year cards. New Year cards are convenient and practical, which can connect feelings and exchange greetings.