Chinese New Year Customs and Traditions

Chinese folk "open door firecrackers". That is, at the dawn of the new year, the first thing that families do when they open the door is to set off firecrackers, to beep and blare the sound of firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers for the Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers". Nowadays, we generally believe that setting off firecrackers can create a festive atmosphere, is a kind of entertainment for the festival, which can bring joy and good fortune to people. With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers more and more widely used, varieties and colors are also increasingly numerous. Hunan Liuyang, Guangdong Foshan and Dongyao, Jiangxi Yichun and Pingxiang and Zhejiang Wenzhou and other places is China's famous "hometown of firecrackers", the production of firecrackers are not only sold throughout the country, but also exported to other countries and regions of the world. People in addition to the old and new in the Spring Festival firecrackers, every major festivals and celebrations, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and marriage, building, opening and so on, also want to set off firecrackers to show their congratulations.

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★☆

New Year's Eve money

The Spring Festival to pay homage to the New Year, the elders will be prepared in advance of the New Year's Eve money to be distributed to the younger generation, it is said that the New Year's Eve money can be pressed to stop the evil spirits, because the "age of" and "spirit" harmonized, the younger generation to get the New Year's Eve money, and the younger generation to get the "evil spirits". Harmonization, the younger generation to get the new year's money can be peacefully through the year. There are two kinds of New Year's money, one is to colorful rope threaded braided into the shape of a dragon, placed at the foot of the bed, this record is found in the "Yanjing Yearly Record"; the other is the most common, that is, wrapped in red paper by the parents of the money given to the children. New Year's money can be rewarded in public after the younger generation pays homage to the New Year's Eve, can also be in the New Year's Eve when the child is asleep, by the parents of the child's pillow under the covertly. Nowadays, the custom of giving New Year's money to the younger generation by the elders is still prevalent, and the amount of New Year's money varies, which is mostly used by the children to buy books and school supplies, and the new fashion has given a new content to the New Year's money.

SAY: There is nothing happier than receiving new year's money at the Chinese New Year! Folklore, children can use the new year's money to resist the "New Year's Beast" harm oh. Heh~Heh~ ^_^*

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★★

Chinese New Year Dragon Dance

Juggling dragon lanterns, also known as the "Dragon Dance", "Dragon Dance", is China's unique folk entertainment activities. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, China's urban and rural areas have the custom of playing dragon lanterns. After thousands of years of inheritance, development, playing dragon lantern has become a form of lively, beautiful performance, with romantic folk dance. Dragon lanterns originated from people's superstitious belief in dragons, which has a history of more than two thousand years. In ancient times, people prayed for the blessing of the dragon with the dragon dance in order to get good weather and a good harvest. The custom of the dragon dance has been carried forward and flourished by overseas Chinese. Whenever Chinese people have traditional festivals and major celebrations, they will dance lions and play dragon lanterns, presenting a strong oriental atmosphere.

SAY : It's a pity that few places still have such a good custom as the dragon dance now~~

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★

Posting the word "Fu"

Every time during the Chinese New Year, every family has to post "Fu" characters of various sizes on the doors, walls and lintels of their houses. The Chinese character "福". Spring Festival sticker "Fu" character, is China's folk custom for a long time. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wishes, folk simply put the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "happiness has been down" and "good fortune has arrived". "Fu" word upside down in folklore there is a legend. Zhuzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty, used the character "福" as a secret mark to prepare for murder. Kindly Queen Ma in order to eliminate this disaster, the size of the city's families must be in the morning before the door in their own home posted a "Fu" character. Naturally, no one dared to disobey Empress Ma's order, so every house put up the word "Fu" on its door. One of the families could not read or write, so they put the word "Fu" upside down. The next day, the emperor sent people on the street to check, and found that all the families have posted the word "Fu", and there is a family to put the word "Fu" upside down. The emperor was furious at the report and immediately ordered the imperial guards to decapitate that family. Queen Ma saw that things are not good, busy to Zhu Yuan Zhang said: "that family knows that you visit today, deliberately put the word of fortune upside down, this is not the meaning of "fortune"? When the emperor heard that it made sense, he ordered the release of the family, and a big disaster was finally eliminated. Since then, people have been posting the Chinese character "福字" upside down for good luck and in honor of Empress Ma.

SAY: It's no wonder why the word "Fu" is posted upside down. +_+

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★

Eat rice cakes

The Spring Festival, many regions of China have to pay attention to eat rice cakes. Also known as "nian nian gao", nian gao harmonizes with "nian nian gao" and implies that people's work and life will improve year by year. There are many kinds of rice cakes, representative of the north of the white cake, the yellow rice cake of the farmers in the northern part of the countryside, the water mill rice cake in the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River, the red turtle cake in Taiwan, and so on. Rice cake has the difference between the north and south flavor. Northern rice cakes have steamed, fried two kinds, are sweet; Southern rice cakes in addition to steaming, fried, there are slices of fried and boiled in the soup method, the taste of sweet and salty. It is said that the earliest rice cake is for the night of sacrifice to the gods, the year dynasty for ancestors used, and later became the Spring Festival food. Rice cake is not only a kind of festival food, but also brings new hope to people every year. As a poem from the late Qing Dynasty says, "The hearts of people are much better than the high, harmonizing the sound of making food, the righteousness of the year is better than the year, to pray for the year to think."

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★☆

Bite spring

Eating spring cake on the day of spring is called "biting spring". Folk in the spring on this day to eat some spring fresh vegetables, both for the prevention of disease, but also to meet the meaning of the new year. Tang "four times treasure mirror" recorded: "spring, food reed, spring cake, lettuce, the number of 'vegetable plate'." Visible Tang Dynasty people have begun to try spring plate, eat spring cake. The so-called spring pancake, also known as lotus leaf pancake, is actually a kind of hot noodle pancake - with two small pieces of water, the center of the oil, rolled into a pancake, after cooking can be uncovered into two. Spring pancakes are used to roll up vegetables to eat, and the vegetables include cooked and fried vegetables. In the old days, when eating spring pancakes, it was important to go to the box store to call "Su Pan" (also known as box vegetables). Box store is the meat store, the store sends people to send food to the home. The box is divided into compartments to put smoked tripe, pine nuts tripe, stove meat, meat, clear sauce, smoked elbow, sauce elbow, sauce mouth strips, smoked chicken, sauce duck, etc., to eat when you need to change the knife and cut into thin shreds, with a few other kinds of home-style stir-fried vegetables (usually shredded meat fried leeks and sprouts, shredded meat fried spinach, mung bean sprouts cooked in vinegar, veggie fried vermicelli, eggs, etc., if you have a freshly marketed "pheasant neck leeks," fried Shredded lean pork, and then with a spread of eggs, is more fresh and flavorful, rolled together into the spring pancakes to eat.

Festive atmosphere index: ★★★★