Cantonese Chinese New Year customs

1 Guangdong Chinese New Year Customs.

The Spring Festival is the most significant traditional festival in China and also in Guangdong. The Spring Festival in Guangdong has its own local characteristics. From the middle of December of the lunar calendar to start shopping for New Year's goods; before New Year's Eve, on the door or in the hall hung "Fu" word or New Year's paintings, some people will also "Fu" word hanging upside down, meaning "Fu" to. On New Year's Eve, some families go to hotels and restaurants to have a reunion dinner, and then "line flower street". From the first to the fifteenth, friends and relatives or acquaintances pay their respects to each other, married or older people should give unmarried people or children to seal the "Lishui"......

Guangzhou Spring Festival Local Characteristics

The Spring Festival is the New Year's Day of the lunar calendar, which is the most important traditional festival in China and also in Guangzhou. It is the most important traditional festival in China and Guangzhou. The Spring Festival in Guangzhou has both the basic elements of the Chinese Spring Festival and its own local characteristics. From the middle of December of the lunar calendar, people start to buy new year's goods; before New Year's Eve, the word "Fu" or New Year's paintings are hung on the main door or in the hall, and some people hang the word "Fu" upside down, which means "good fortune". On New Year's Eve, some families go to hotels and restaurants to have a reunion dinner, and then "line flower street". From the first to the fifteenth, friends and relatives or acquaintances pay their respects to each other, married or older to the unmarried or children to seal "Li Shi" (i.e., red envelopes), in order to show that good luck. The Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, eating "soup dumplings", meaning that the whole family in the new year, peace and reunion, happiness and contentment.

Guangzhou's Spring Festival customs are also different from those of other regions:

1. The Spring Festival Flower Market is held from December 28th of the lunar calendar to late at night on New Year's Eve, and millions of people participate in the flower market activities.

2. Every family must have flowers, including Chinese New Year oranges, daffodils and flowers.

3, celebrating the Day of the People. People's Day is the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Guangzhou people set up a sumptuous family feast on this day to celebrate.

Customs of Chinese New Year in Chaoshan

Among the traditional Chinese festivals, the most important one is the Spring Festival. As a result, the Chaoshan region has many customs and activities that are both similar to and different from those of the Central Plains.

At the beginning of the Spring Festival, the first thing to do is to put up door gods and couplets. In the Chaoshan region of spring couplets, often also seen on a single door or woven grass mat, fortune niche with a big bucket of the word "spring". The word "spring" here has two meanings: one layer indicates that spring has returned to the earth and everything is renewed; the other layer harmonizes with "spring" and the Teochew sound of "deposit", which indicates the good wish of having more money every year. This is similar to the northern people who eat fish at their wedding feasts, which is harmonized with the word "Yu". Legend has it that the most famous couplet in Chaoshan is the one written by Lin Daqin, a talented scholar from Chaozhou in the Ming Dynasty, which reads, "The sky increases the number of years and the life of the people, and the spring is full of blessings for the whole country".

During the Spring Festival, another characteristic folklore activity in Chaoshan is "guandan chunsheng" (Chunsheng is a kind of bamboo hamper divided into three or four tiers with lids, usually used in pairs, so it is also called "tandan chunsheng"). Giving New Year's money is an important part of the Chaoshan Spring Festival custom, in which the elders give money to their offspring, and the offspring who can earn money also give money to their elders. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the first thing to do is to pay New Year's greetings to one's own family pairs, and often it is the juniors who bless the elders first. After breakfast, they each pay New Year's greetings to their own friends and relatives. Chaoshan proverb says: "have the intention to worship the first day of the year, the second, no intention to worship the New Year the third, the fourth." The saying is that the earlier you pay your respects, the more sincere you are.

The Chaoshan people back to the bride's home

The second and third day of the first month, married out of the daughters have brought their husbands, children back to the bride's home to pay homage to the New Year. When a daughter returns to her mother's home, she must have a big bag of cookies and candies, which will be distributed by her mother to her neighbors, just like the New Year's scene. If there are more than one daughter at home, and these daughters do not return on the same day, then, we have to come to a sub once, the gift is quite thin, four cookies only. However, it reflects the sentiment is very strong, the real "gift is light and heavy", it expresses the girl to the townspeople of the cut longing. The girl returned home, if there are nephews at home, when the aunt must be again out of pocket, although the first day of the new year's money to the new year's money has been sent, but this time the significance is different. This custom, the Chaoshan people called "eating day day". As the name suggests, it's just a midday meal, and daughters must make it back to their in-laws before dinner.

Taboos of Spring Festival in Chaoshan

Because the first month of the year is the beginning of the year, the Chaoshan people tend to regard it as a sign of good or bad luck in the new year, and therefore there are many "taboos" at the time of the New Year. In terms of language, any "broken", "bad", "no", "death", "light", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death", "death" and "death" are all taboo, "light", "ghost", "kill", "sick", "pain", "loss", "pain", "pain", "pain", "pain", "pain", "pain". ", "lose", "poor" and other unlucky words, are forbidden to say. Also taboo baby crying, because crying is "no head color", signs of disease, disaster. Therefore, even if the child has caused trouble on this day, can not beat him or scold him, so as to prevent him from crying endlessly. Behavior, end cups, plates, bowls, dishes to be extra careful, can not be broken, accidentally broken, in the water a custom has been in vain form only. Prohibition of sweeping the custom is also slowly being eliminated, because during the Spring Festival firecrackers, people come and go, the ground confetti, garbage, especially more, not to clean up indeed impede the elegance. Therefore, from the point of view of hygiene, a lot of young people on these traditional taboos custom not pay attention to.

This day the debtor is not allowed to door to door debt collection, because it is believed that this day of debt collection on both sides of the borrower and lender are unlucky. It is also forbidden to take things out of other people's pockets, it is believed that the first day of the first month of the pockets of people, may lead to the danger of the year is "empty".

The taboo on death, also taboo funeral, because it will bring bad luck to the family. At the same time, avoid the day haircut, because people in this day, day always like to hair cut with the funeral associated. This day even avoid killing, killing is believed to lead to knife disaster, military disaster, blood disaster and other calamities, but now people's standard of living has improved, eat something fresh, in order to fast for the mouth and stomach, there is nothing to worry about.

Diet, this day is strictly prohibited to take medicine. Otherwise, it is thought to lead to a year from the beginning to the end of the disease, medication constantly. The first day of the morning meal to avoid eating meat, there are several ways to say: one is this meal to eat fasting, its function is equal to a year; the other is an allusion to the frugal management of the family, not to be wasteful. （

The Spring Festival in Zhanjiang

Like the rest of the country, the Spring Festival is the grandest and richest traditional festival among the people, but it also has local characteristics. The Spring Festival in the countryside usually takes about a month to prepare and ends in mid-December of the lunar calendar, when preparations begin, including the refurbishment of the house, the purchase of furniture, the addition of new clothes, and the purchase of various types of New Year's goods. New Year's goods include sugar, glutinous rice, New Year's paintings, couplets, candies, cookies, firecrackers and the like, and most of the money earned in a year is used for the Spring Festival.

The most lively scenes on the 29th or 30th day of the year are the slaughter of pigs, catching fish in ponds, and catching the New Year's Eve Wei, with men, women, and children all out in force. In the evening, every household puts up "New Year's Red", both new year's paintings and traditional "door god", most of the couplets are related to fortune and so on, and the martyrs' families put up the couplets "Carry forward the tradition of the revolution and strive for greater glory" issued by the civil affairs department on the main door, and the kitchens, pigs and chickens put up the banners "sufficient food" and "prosperity of the six animals", etc. After the reunion dinner, they share the money to pay off the debts. After the reunion meal, the new year's money is divided. 12:00, every household firecrackers, to send off the old and welcome the new.

The first day of the Lunar New Year, the rural areas are generally popular three taboos: taboo killing, taboo pouring, taboo sweeping, some rural areas are still accustomed to eating fasting. The second day of the year began to go to friends and relatives, you come and go. Most of the villages and towns during this period are lion dance, God, floating color parade, do opera, martial arts performances, ball games, etc., a variety of folk activities, has been extended for more than half a month.

Zhaoqing people shouting tired of the New Year

Zhaoqing people have many unique customs for the Spring Festival. For example, frying the horn, cooking brown, cooking brown alone can be exhausted a person. Family women first have to spend half a day with a large basin to wash dozens of pounds of glutinous rice, if it is a large family may be more than a hundred pounds, ready to fat meat, soybeans and other ingredients, will be pre-washed winter leaves spread on the table, the first to put the glutinous rice, and then in the middle of a piece of fat and a small amount of soybeans, mung beans and other ingredients, dense and closed on the winter leaves, wrapped into a pyramid-like shape, bundled up with grass, leaving the handles, so that a steam wrapped brown is completed, and then the whole family is not a big deal. This will complete a package of steam wrapping work, a skilled woman wrapping a package of steam takes two minutes. Wrapped steam the size of the family's habits related to, generally speaking, in rural areas wrapped wrapped steam are more than a catty, big more than two pounds, the city also has 7, 8 two, dozens of pounds of glutinous rice is also dozens of wrapped steam. Don't think the package is finished, in fact, the most cozy and most time-consuming work is about to begin - is to cook the steam.

If the preliminary work is done by women, then the work of steaming is the work of men and children, Zhaoqing people have a preoccupation with boiling steam must be boiled for twelve hours, perhaps this is not a preoccupation, but if you do not boil so long, it is difficult to cook. Dozens of wrapped steam into a large iron bucket, iron bucket with a large gasoline tank, filled with water, set up in a temporary stove made of stone and brick, point on the firewood, firewood is usually used wood, so you can slowly burn a few hours before you need to fill the firewood. It takes twelve hours to cook, and there's no shortage of work to do to keep an eye on the fire. This is the unique New Year's Eve enjoyment of Zhaoqing people, why? Why? You'll know after reading this. Wrapped steam cooking good aroma four escape, New Year's Eve reunion dinner on the necessary staple food, home-made, neighbors send each other, open the winter leaves hot steam wafting, winter leaves fragrance, glutinous rice mixed with the aroma of meat filled with lanterns and colorful house, a room of happiness and joy. Zhaoqing people's simplicity, warmth, hard work is like this solid fragrant steamed

The 50s of the last century, to the mid-80s, one to the Spring Festival, walking in the streets of Zhaoqing, you can see this scene, every family in front of the house have built a makeshift brick stove, the stove is cooked on a large iron bucket. Surrounded by a family watching the fire, adults smoking cigarettes, occasionally adding a piece of wood, make fire, children around the side of the cold wind by the stove fire and steam to drive away, the children's chubby faces reflecting the fire, are red, wide open bright eyes, listening to the adults to tell the story of the autumn moon and spring flowers, the fairies down to earth, and the fuss about the Palace of Heaven. This scene is now extinct in Zhaoqing's urban areas, but this unique memory still warms the hearts of many Zhaoqing people.

At that time, outsiders said that Zhaoqing people were tired of the festival and asked for suffering, but Zhaoqing men, women and children are looking forward to New Year's Eve, and more than anyone else, they want to relive the warm family reunion, the dancing flames, and the fullness of the labor. The present reminiscence makes how many Zhaoqing people from the dantian attacked a warmth, sour nose, wet eyes, reset the heart. E? A sigh of relief, beautiful, simple folk, Zhaoqing people's hearts forever pure land. (End)

Gao Yao County Spring Festival customs

The first day of the first month of the lunar calendar for the Spring Festival, is the most important traditional festival of the people of Gao Yao County. Before the festival, every family is busy with cleaning and hygiene, preparing New Year's goods, wrapping the "fruit steam" dumplings. New Year's Eve. Commonly known as the New Year's Eve, households in front of the red couplets, indoor lights and colorful, set up pots of orange, flowers, that night to eat New Year's Eve dinner, gathering Tianlun music, sitting around the New Year's Eve, all the firecrackers sounding. The first day of the New Year, the old custom of anonymity, do not go out, do not sweep the floor. The second day of the New Year is commonly known as the "New Year", slaughter three birds, prepare lettuce and garlic to worship God, praying for good weather, take the meaning of good fortune. During the Spring Festival, people wear red and green, the market flags flying, colorful. Folk organizations lion dance to celebrate the New Year, held a variety of recreational activities. Friends and relatives pay New Year's call to each other, send fruit steam, oil angle, head fruit, etc., see friends and relatives of children rewarded with red packets (lai see), acquaintances meet, said each other auspicious words. Newlyweds go to relatives' homes to pay their respects to the New Year, which has become an indispensable rite of passage.

Fengkai County Spring Festival Customs

The Spring Festival is the most important folk traditional festival in Fengkai County, this day, people who go out have to go home to reunite. The mass festivities generally begin on December 23rd of the lunar calendar, with indoor and outdoor cleaning, preparation of New Year's goods, and women busy wrapping mochi and steaming rice cakes to welcome the New Year. New Year's products are mainly sticky rice cakes, sometimes wrapped in steamed, peanut and sesame sticky rice paste, sweet cakes, "sha shuang" (sticky rice products), deep-fried sugar rings, deep-fried diabolo (hollow in the north and solid in the south), and after the liberation of the People's Republic of China, deep-fried horns, wontons, and soup balls are also fashionable. Before New Year's Eve, there is a custom to send welcome Zaojun. December 23rd of the lunar calendar to send Zaojun to heaven, New Year's Eve night to set up Zaojun god. To welcome Zaojun, we should prepare three animals and wine to worship him. Legend has it that Zaojun has to go up to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor about the situation of the master of the house, so the people respect Zaojun, and burn incense and pay homage to him every first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, hoping that Zaojun will say a few good words for him when he goes up to heaven. On New Year's Eve, every family puts up couplets and door gods, buys meat and kills chickens, and prepares silk powder, bean curd sticks, needle vegetables, joss sticks and other offerings to pay homage to the god. For dinner, each family eats a "New Year's Eve dinner" with plenty of food and wine. In many rural areas, it is customary for the whole family to gather around a fire pit in the hall until dawn, which is called "observing the New Year". Hearths were lit with grain husks or charcoal, and smoke and fire were kept overnight, and "long-lighting lanterns" were lit to show the goodwill of "long celebrations". In many places, it is also customary to keep the "next year's rice" to show that "every year has more than enough". Starting at 00:00, firecrackers and bamboo "to receive the New Year". City people also went up the street to turn around, meaning that the New Year "good luck", "good luck". The fireworks and firecrackers in the city and the countryside are constantly.

On the morning of the first day of the year, some places are used to eat sweet soup balls, noodles, and some places are used to eat vegetarian all day without meat. Young and old meet for the first time, are saluting and bowing, wishing each other good luck, young people to the elders to pay tribute to the New Year, the elders to the younger generation to distribute red envelopes, sugar fruit. Each family has tea, cigarettes and candies to entertain their guests. Everyone puts on new clothes, and the streets and villages are filled with people, a joyous atmosphere. On the second day of the New Year, it is customary in many places to kill chickens to worship the gods. On the first day of the New Year, those who ate fasting and vegetarian food would have a feast on this day. Thereafter, it is customary to pay New Year's call to each other, visit relatives and friends, and the city and countryside present a festive and joyful atmosphere. Lion dance team, dragon dance team, eight sound drum band into the city to congratulate the New Year, the congratulation should be prepared tea, candy, cigarettes, warm reception. There are also lion dances, martial arts performances, firecrackers, red envelopes, etc., to see the scene of a crowd of people, very lively. County boundaries of Dazhou Siaco Shaanxi tendons white horse dance, five horse patrol dance and tea ceremony and other traditional folk programs, in the four townships tour, but also to the neighboring Cangwu County, Guangxi, Wood Shuang and other places to perform. The seventh day of the year for the "people day", generally do not go out, do not visit friends and relatives. Lantern Festival many places over the Lantern used to eat soup balls, signaling the beginning of the new year, "the number of heart". County Nanfeng and Jinzhuang Wanggao over the "Lantern Festival" than over New Year's Eve, the first day of the year and more lively. Ferry City West Temple is held on the Cannonball, many merchants or residents of the partnership to prepare the golden pig (i.e., burnt pig) to worship the Bodhisattva, praying to the gods to keep drilling in the new year, prosperous business, financial resources; Blessing the residents of the neighborhoods in the four directions of the big profits, the six animals, people and well-being. Inside and outside the gun site, a sea of people, year after year.

Heyuan Hakka Spring Festival Customs

The Spring Festival, commonly known as New Year's Eve, is the biggest and grandest festival of the year. In the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, men try to find more money to buy new year's goods, while women chop wood and cut grass in preparation for the New Year. December 25 for "into the New Year boundary", commonly known as "ghosts lock the door", the women do not go up the mountain to cut wood and grass, but rather at home, cleaning, sanitation, to welcome the New Year. In December of the lunar calendar, families began to organize "New Year's goods" and rush to make "New Year's materials". Indispensable New Year's goods are as follows:

Chuan sugar. Longchuan, Heyuan, Zijin and other places produced a cane sugar. Characterized by strong viscosity, suitable for making rice cakes, almost every household to buy hundreds of pounds. New clothes. Each person should at least make a new set of clothes, a new pair of shoes and buy a new pair of socks. Rice. Generally speaking, each family should have at least one month's worth of rations, and no one is allowed to pound the pestle until the first month of the year. In the past, there is no rice mill and other processing machinery, all rely on manual hulling, pestle and mortar processing, the workload is very large, most of them have to struggle for three or four days to complete.

Fried rice cake. Its production process is: the sticky rice or glutinous rice cooked into a dry rice, and then mixed with dry rice with sand in the iron pot heated fried burst, some with vegetable oil fried burst, called fried rice. Then the sugar will be fried into syrup, fried rice, peanuts, sesame seeds and other ingredients into the syrup and stirred up into the wooden frame made of boards paved and compacted, cut into small rectangular pieces with a knife. Fried rice cake tastes sweet, crisp, adults and children love to eat. Playing fried rice cake is very concerned about the technology, not only the ingredients to be proportionate, and frying paste to pay attention to the "fire", get it wrong can not become a block, and become scattered rice is not eaten. Generally speaking, a bucket of rice with 2.5 pounds of sugar, only more, not less, pay special attention to the "fire". Experienced people put a bowl of water on the stove, Sichuan sugar fried to a certain time on the beginning of the pulp, with bamboo chopsticks to drop a little syrup in the water, such as has become a "pine point" can be immediately extinguished at the bottom of the pot fire, put the fried rice into the pot constantly stirring, try with your hand, if it is very sticky on the pot will be poured into the fried rice within the wooden frame paved and compacted until the condensation before cutting with a knife. it sets before cutting it into small pieces with a knife. Oil fruit. Also known as "fried fried pile". Oil fruit production is relatively simple, the first glutinous rice into powder, each bucket of glutinous rice with 2.5 pounds of sugar. Sugar will be boiled into sugar liquid and glutinous rice flour rubbed evenly, rub the longer the more fluffy, rolled into powder dough and then pinched into a ping-pong ball-sized powder, the surface of the white sesame seeds, and then put into the frying pan burned fried, fried into a deep red color can be removed from the pot. The fried fruits will be steamed and softened as a wine, which is an indispensable food for every meal during the New Year.

Vermicelli. The sticky rice into a rice paste, with soybeans, sesame seeds, peanuts and other ingredients, the rice paste into the iron spoon into the frying pan frying, deep red until the frying can start. The fried noodles are crispy, savory for young and old, and are one of the foods used to entertain guests during the New Year.

Sesame Seed Crisp and Peanut Crisp. The production method is similar to playing fried rice, sesame seeds and peanut kernels as raw materials, the sugar will be fried into a paste and then stirred with fried sesame seeds and peanut kernels, and poured into the tin pot to spread and compact, cut into small cubes. Sesame seed crisp and peanut crisp are also indispensable food for Chinese New Year.

The above kinds of New Year's materials are necessary for every family, all processed and made by themselves. In addition, mandarin oranges, melon seeds, cookies and candies are also indispensable, and most of these New Year's materials have to be purchased in the market in small quantities, mainly for entertaining guests.

The above materials are usually prepared before the "New Year's Day" (December 25 of the lunar calendar).

The 25th day of the 12th month of the lunar calendar serves as the defining date for entering the New Year, meaning that after the 25th day of the 12th month, the New Year's Eve period begins. People who go out to work or do business have to come back. The days between December 25 and 30 of the lunar calendar are the most intense, with men, women and children all busy and nervous, mainly carrying out the following late preparations for the New Year:

Sweeping the house. "Into the New Year's boundary" after the sweep of the house is extraordinary, is really three-dimensional cleaning, the whole family hands. After a thorough cleaning, indoor and outdoor, windows clean, people's mood is incredibly comfortable, everywhere showing a new scene of old and new.

Grinding tofu, drying Xieng Khouang, killing pigs, chickens, ducks and so on. Around December 27th or 28th of the lunar calendar, families start grinding tofu. Most of the farmers have a small Xieng Khouang in front of their homes, to the lunar calendar December 27 or 28 days before and after all the Xieng Khouang water to catch fish, on the one hand, to use Xieng Khouang fish to make dishes, on the other hand, to facilitate the Spring Festival after digging Xieng Khouang to do fertilizer fertilizer. At the same time, began to kill pigs one after another. General family New Year's Eve are to use thirty or forty pounds of pork, some families New Year's Eve a household to kill a large pig, the main purpose is: one, gifts to relatives, friends, each family relatives to gift two to three pounds of pork, especially in-laws gift of meat is more, the number of newly married in-laws gift pork is more substantial, otherwise it would be laughed at as a "lone cold ghosts".

The family's gift of pork is even more substantial.

Family of young and old busy until December 30, New Year's goods, New Year's material all ready, the family is happy, especially children are happy, eat well, wear good, and do not get adults scolded scolding. Out of business, working people at the latest in the New Year's Eve to rush home to eat "reunion dinner". This day is also the most busy, I do not know the pain to do each person to do things, but everyone is happy face full of spring. December 30th of the lunar calendar, also known as New Year's Eve, this day must do things:

Washing pomelo leaf bath. Pomelo leaves picked back in the morning, after noon, every family will be pomelo leaves into the pot of water boiling, each person has to wash pomelo leaves hot water bath, the intention is to dirt, "poor gas", "bad gas" washed away, clean into the new year. Washed pomelo leaf bath will be replaced with new clothes, new hats, new socks, new shoes, from head to toe a new look, change the dirty clothes the same day to wash clean. Therefore, taking a pomelo leaf bath contains the meaning of getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. This custom has been diluted year by year.

Sending Zaojun. Beforehand from the town to buy back the Zaojun God statue, write a good Zaoshu (written on the family name and age), ready Yuanbao, incense and candles, three animals, wine, fruit and other offerings, in the stove side of the set of a "Baxian table", will be the offerings on the table. The whole family gathers in front of the statue of the God of the Stove to salute and send the God of the Stove back to Heaven to report on his duties, praying that the God of the Stove will give blessings and eliminate disasters in front of the Jade Emperor, and that the coming year will be prosperous and peaceful for the whole family. Generally speaking, people only pray to Zaojun for a few words of "blessing and disaster relief, blessing the family with peace" and other auspicious words. Cultured, knowledgeable people also solemnly set up the sacrifice, read the text, the text is as follows: "But the king, still the master of the family, the king is the first of the five sacrifices, the cooking tomb kitchen, there is no blasphemy; family prosperity, all rely on the support of the force, both thankful in the weekdays, pay tribute to this night, I hope that the god king, overlooking the micro-worry, to protect the elders and young people to peace, blessed to add and blessed. I am grateful." This custom, in addition to a few elderly people, more than not.

To honor the ancestors. After breakfast on the 30th day of the waxing moon, where the year added a male child will be sent to the ancestral ancestral temple cleaning, the ancestral temple walls painted. In the afternoon, one after another people with gift boxes, three animals, firecrackers, joss sticks and other offerings to the ancestral ancestral ancestral worship incense. After the rituals are performed, firecrackers and some cannons are fired. Every New Year's Day afternoon, the ancestral ancestral ancestral temple incense fire, the sound of firecrackers and firecrackers, has continued until dusk. This custom has faded in recent years.

Pasted spring couplets, New Year's paintings. The main door, small door are pasted with large red spring couplets, lintel paste "Lishui", door panels paste door god or "Fu", "Daji" and other words. Kitchen, cattle pen, pig pen, chicken grill, toilet and other places should also be affixed with red paper written with "prosperity", "six animals" and other red paper "peach charm". Halls and bedrooms, guest rooms are plastered with new year's paintings, a joyful and happy scene.

Eating a reunion dinner. The reunion dinner on the 30th night of the New Year is the most solemn family feast. Rules are also many: First, after the separation of the son to return to his parents on New Year's Eve *** to eat "reunion dinner". Second, the row of seats. Elderly people must be on the seat, and then by generation down the row. At the same time, the upper seat to reserve a few empty seats, put a few empty bowls and chopsticks, intended to let the deceased ancestors also come back to the reunion, to show respect for ancestors. Third, all made good New Year's dishes, each of which should be served with a bowl on the table, dishes more than to enable a large round table, indicating abundance. Fourth, the precepts. Usually parents are not allowed to children drink alcohol, New Year's Eve reunion meal is open, children can also make exceptions to drink alcohol. Fifth, taboos. Men, women and children can not say unlucky words. Some people are worried that children can not comply with, beforehand in the restaurant wall with a red note written on the words "children's words, no taboos". No bowls or chopsticks are allowed to be dropped. If a bowl or chopstick is accidentally dropped, it should be cleaned up while saying "good luck". If a bowl is broken, it should be wrapped in red paper and placed in an inconspicuous place. When eating, the younger generation should give the elders a toast to the food and wine, and wish the old man good fortune and longevity. The family is polite and courteous, talking and friendly, full of unity, peace, respect for the elderly and love for the young atmosphere.

Send new year's money. New Year's money, also known as the "Lishui". The old man to the children to send the new year's money, to use the new banknotes into the red paper bag distributed one by one. The younger generation should also give "Li Shi" to their elders. "The money is at the disposal of the children, and the parents do not interfere.

Washing dishes. According to the ancestral tradition, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, do not eat meat, to eat vegetarian. So after the New Year's Eve feast all tableware should be cleaned, not half a bit of meat, otherwise it is disrespectful to the ancestors. Belong to the meat of all meat are centralized and stored in one place and sealed with a strip of paper, called "sealing the year". This is objectively good for the stomach.

Watch out for the new year. After the reunion dinner, oil lamps (kerosene lamps) are lit in all parts of the house, and the whole house is lit up all night long, which is called "pointing the fire of the new year". Families gather together to enjoy fragrant tea, fruits, melon seeds, peanuts, candies, etc., and the elders tell the younger generation the history of the family and the clan, educating the younger generation to remember the ancestral teachings, to inherit the ancestral virtues, to be industrious and thrifty, and to be united and harmonious. After telling the family history, family history, some banging gongs and drums, some fireworks, all can not go to bed early, known as the "year-end". Generally have to wait until midnight, open the door, firecrackers to welcome the new year before going to sleep, children can be an exception. Some people simply make trouble until dawn.

Opening the door. The first day of the first month of the morning (i.e., zero hour) for the time to send the old and welcome the new. Households will open the door, firecrackers, this time every corner can hear the deafening sound of firecrackers, it is really all guns, one after another, very lively (in recent years, Heyuan City and some counties in urban areas prohibit the discharge of fireworks). Generally by the elders to open the door, open the door to the people to drink loudly: "open the door to Daji, Daji Dachang". Hall, stove hall, gate, small door are lit on the big red candles, incense worship, to meet the New Year, to meet the God of Wealth.

On the first day of the New Year, young and old get up early. Legend has it that if you don't get up early on this day, it means a year of bad luck. After getting up, brush your teeth and wash your face, the woman in the kitchen to prepare breakfast, in fact, rice and vegetarian dishes every other night has been done, and then hot once is. The men bring vegetarian boxes filled with candies, rice cakes, Yuanbao, joss sticks and candles to the ancestral shrine to pay respects. The altar of the ancestral shrine is filled with various kinds of vegetarian tributes, and the young and old perform rituals, after which they go home for breakfast. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all vegetarian. Vegetarian dishes include bean curd, vermicelli, gold leaf (yellow cauliflower), fungus, tofu skin, shiitake mushrooms, celery (to symbolize industriousness), garlic (to be cost-effective), and green onions (to be smart), although there is no meat such as chicken, duck, or fish, but it's still a hearty meal.

Welcoming. After breakfast, parents and children go to the elders' homes to pay New Year's greetings, bowing to the elders, giving them "lishui" and wishing them "long life" and "Happy New Year". The elders return the favor, handing out "lai see" and candies to the children and wishing the younger generation "happiness in the family and all the best". For those who are of high rank and old, they are overwhelmed with New Year's greetings from the younger generation almost all day long. Although they are tired, they are also pleased and gratified. Peers meet each other congratulations, blessings, send each other "Lishui" and candy to each other's children. On the first day of the year to meet with each other, do not ask for disease debt, otherwise not only boring will cause disputes. The first day of the year is also the most taboo, in addition to not say unlucky words, but also can not change clothes, can not sweep the ground to pour garbage, can not go down to the river to pick water, can not let the cattle, pigs, chickens and ducks, can not scold the children, can not move the earth, can not break the family miscellaneous. There is a bad thing happened will be remembered for a whole year, so the first day of the year to be particularly careful about things.

The second day of the Lunar New Year, also known as the "reunion", generally do not go out. This is the day to start eating meat.

The third day of the Lunar New Year, also known as the "poor ghost day". Wake up early in the morning, the whole family hands cleaning, commonly known as "sweeping the poor", the cleaner the better, there is a little confetti on the ground and other things are not swept clean will be regarded as "poor". In short, to sweep all the garbage out of the door. When cleaning, you should also read "poor ghosts out, rich people in". Clean up the garbage concentrated and sent away from home to the wild riverside, roadside fire and firecrackers, that has been the "poor ghost" away. The third day of the New Year sweeping contains some superstitious colors, but also in line with the health requirements. The first day of the year, two are not allowed to sweep the ground, the garbage piled up, the third day of the year to a big cleanup should be. Because the third day of the year is "poor ghost day", the whole family do not go out, do not go to other families, such as inadvertently into the door of the other family, will be regarded as "poor ghost", inauspicious, unwelcome. So the third day of the year generally do not enter the door. If there are special circumstances that must be boarded, the master of the house will be called out of the door to talk, the guests consciously do not enter the door, the master will not invite the guests to enter the door.

On the fourth day of the first month of the year, women began to carry pork, rice cakes and other gifts back to their parents' homes, relatives, we traveled together, laughing and joking along the way, very lively. Men began to carry out recreational and sports activities, also known as "New Year's Eve", "New Year's Eve". Folk traditional folk art program mainly include: "lion dance", "dragon dance", "playing horse lanterns". After the fifth day of the new year began to work one after another. (End)