Yichang Spring Festival custom

Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Cleaning before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. Clean thoroughly outside, in front of and behind the house to welcome the new year. The custom of "sweeping the house with dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to Lu Chunqiu, 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 "unlucky" and "unlucky". 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.

Second, the twelfth lunar month, New Year's Eve

The night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, that is, the last day of the lunar year (30 days old and 29 days old) is called "New Year's Eve". It is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month), which is a day for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Because the big moon has 30 days and the small moon has only 29 days, the date of New Year's Eve is different. But this day, whether it is 29 or 30, is customarily called "New Year's Eve". On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together to have a New Year's Eve dinner (the last meal of the Lunar New Year). After New Year's Eve, there is a custom of giving lucky money and staying up on New Year's Eve, which means from the last day of the lunar new year to the first day of the following year.

During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "exorcism" was held in the palace at the end of each year to beat drums to drive away epidemic ghosts, which was called "banishment". Later, the day before New Year's Eve was called "small exorcism". New Year's Eve is a big festival, that is, New Year's Eve.

Third, eat New Year's Eve dinner.

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 in every household, firecrackers in streets and alleys, abacus and accounting sounds in small shops are full of laughter and laughter, one after another, echoing, interwoven into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.

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 is full of rich New Year's dishes, and the family get together, sit around the table and have a reunion dinner. The sense of accomplishment in my heart is beyond words. 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, symbolizing "more happiness and more celebration" and also meaning "more than one 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, dessert, I wish the future sweet. Even if you can't drink on this day, you can drink a little.

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 Chinese New Year (the custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty), which means "making friends when young". Because the white flour jiaozi is shaped like a silver ingot, the pots and pans 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. Eating wonton in the New Year is based on its original meaning. Legend has it that the world was in chaos before it was created, and Pangu began to create the universe. Long noodles, also known as longevity noodles, eat noodles in the New Year and wish you a long life.

Step 4 keep your age

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.

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. After the ancients burned bamboo poles, the air in the bamboo seams expanded, and the bamboo cavity burst, making a crackling sound. This 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 this 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. In the new year, a large plate of apples is indispensable, which is called "Ping An". In the north, some families will provide a pot of rice, which was cooked years ago and provided for China 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 bowl of New Year's Eve dinner is usually cooked with rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice" because it is yellow and white. 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.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) New Year greetings.

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 greeting the elders at home, you should also greet people with a smile when you go out to meet them, and exchange auspicious words such as "Congratulations on getting rich", "Best wishes in the four seasons" and "Happy New Year". Neighbors, relatives and friends also visit each other or invite them to drink and entertain.

In ancient times, if there were too many relatives and friends in the neighborhood, it was difficult to visit the whole house, so servants were sent to bring business cards to pay New Year greetings, which was called "flying cards". A red paper bag with the words "Fu Jie" written on it is placed in front of every house to hold the flight cards. 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.

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings is constantly adding new contents and forms. Nowadays, in addition to following the previous way of greeting the New Year, etiquette telegrams and telephone greetings have mushroomed.

Sixth, Lantern Festival.

The 15th day of the first lunar month is the traditional Lantern Festival in China. Because the first month is also called January, the night of the fifteenth day of the first month is the first full moon night in a year, and "night" means "night", so the festival on the fifteenth night of the first month is called Lantern Festival.

On the Lantern Festival, people in China have the custom of enjoying lanterns and eating Yuanxiao. As the saying goes, "Lantern Festival is also called Lantern Festival".

The custom of enjoying lanterns on the Lantern Festival has a history of more than 2,000 years. Lantern Festival is full of lanterns and colorful decorations, which is very lively. When night falls, people flock to see lanterns. Multicolored palace lantern, wall lamp, figure lamp, lantern, animal lamp, toy lamp, etc. , gathered into a sea of lanterns. Some lanterns also have riddles written on them, which make the lantern watchers scramble to guess.

Eating Yuanxiao is a traditional custom of China people. As early as 1000 years ago in the Song Dynasty, there was this kind of food. Yuanxiao is a small ball made of glutinous rice flour, and the stuffing is made of sugar and various nuts. When cooked, it tastes sweet and delicious. Because this kind of food was eaten on the Lantern Festival, people later called it Yuanxiao. China people want everything to be perfect. Eating Yuanxiao on the first full moon night at the beginning of the year means their family reunion, harmony, happiness and fulfillment.