Why is the Lunar New Year called the Spring Festival?

The original intention of the two concepts of Spring Festival and New Year comes from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of the valley "year", and Shuowen supplemented it with "year, the valley is ripe". During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, the Xia calendar came into being, with the full and short moon as the month, and a year was divided into twelve months. Every month, the day when the moon can't be seen is the new moon, and the first day of the first month is called the beginning of a year, also known as the year. The title of the year began in the Zhou Dynasty and was officially set in the Western Han Dynasty, which continues to this day.

Spring Festival, one of the four traditional festivals in China, is the traditional Lunar New Year. The Spring Festival is usually called "the festival of the year". Its traditional names are New Year, New Year, God, New Year, and it is also called "New Year" and "Happy New Year" verbally.

People in China have celebrated the Spring Festival for at least 4000 years. In the folk, the Spring Festival in the old traditional sense refers to the sacrificial furnace from the 23rd or 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month in La Worship to the 19th of the first month. In modern times, people set the Spring Festival on the first day of the first lunar month, but it generally doesn't end until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month (Shangyuan Festival).

Information on expanding the custom of Spring Festival:

1, post Spring Festival couplets. Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets", "couplets" and "peach symbols", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. It depicts the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival.

2. Paste the 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. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's simple customs and beliefs and places their hopes on the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods".

3. Give lucky money. Lucky money (called "Billy" in Guangdong) is given by the elders to the younger generation. In some families, everyone is not allowed to leave the table after eating. 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 will put lucky money under their pillows after their children fall asleep at night, which shows the care of the elders and the respect of the younger generation for the elders. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethics.

References:

People's Network-The Origin of Spring Festival