What are the holiday customs of the Spring Festival?

Offering sacrifices to stoves is a widely spread and influential custom among Chinese people. Legend has it that on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God will ascend to heaven and report the good and evil of this family for a year to the Jade Emperor. According to Kitchen God's report, the Jade Emperor will give the family the good and bad fortune they deserve in the new year to Kitchen God.

The ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen" or "saying goodbye to the kitchen". People presented red candles and honeydew melons, and sent Kitchen God to heaven with solemn ceremony, hoping that Kitchen God would "speak well in heaven and be lucky in the next life". Today, this custom is still followed in many rural areas.

Step 2 watch the social fire

In addition to temple fairs, folk self-entertainment and social fire are also long-standing annual entertainment activities. Social fire originated from the worship of land gods and fire gods in ancient times. Society, land god; The ancestor of fire, fire, is the legendary Vulcan. In China, which is famous for its farming culture, land is the foundation of people's foothold and lays a material foundation for human survival and development.

Fire is the source of people's cooking and heating, and it is also an indispensable condition for human survival and development. The ancients thought that fire also had "spirit" with primitive thinking and worshipped it as a sacred object with special significance, thus forming the concept of respecting fire. The worship of land and fire in ancient times produced the custom of offering sacrifices to social fires. With the development of society, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to social fires has gradually become a grand, rich and diverse folk entertainment.

3. Chinese knot

Chinese knots, also called coiled knots, are made of a red rope from beginning to end. China originated in ancient times, when there was no writing. In order to remember something, people tie different knots on a rope to show their memory. This is called "knotting notes". At that time, people used this method not only to remember important things in production and life, but also to express their love for young people.

As a decorative art, Chinese knots give people a simple and auspicious impression. It contains a strong national flavor and elegant appearance, which not only embodies the mystery of ancient times, but also embodies the spirit of China people. Therefore, it soon became the object that people hung indoors or gave to each other during the Spring Festival. Beautiful modeling and antique charm add a peaceful atmosphere to traditional festivals.

Step 4 clean the dust

"Twenty-four, cleaning day". To welcome the new, we must first get rid of the old. Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Sweeping dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional custom in our country. On the day of dusting, the whole family began to clean the house and yard together, scrub the pots and pans, dismantle and wash the bedding, and greet the New Year cleanly. In fact, people use the homonym of "dust" and "Chen" to express their willingness to get rid of the old and welcome the new.

5. Post Spring Festival couplets

Sticking Spring Festival couplets is an activity during the Spring Festival, which has been very popular since the Song Dynasty. Every family has the custom of sticking Spring Festival couplets every year.

Spring Festival couplets, commonly known as "appropriate" and "Spring Post", are a kind of couplets. Because they are posted during the Spring Festival, they are called Spring Festival couplets. One source of Spring Festival couplets is Fu Tao. At first, people carved figures out of mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the door god on the mahogany, simplified it and wrote the door god's name on the mahogany board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. The ancients posted the word "Yichun" every day when they were in beginning of spring. The real popularity of Spring Festival couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, which was related to Zhu Yuanzhang's advocacy.

According to historical records, one year before the Spring Festival, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered every household to post a pair of Spring Festival couplets to celebrate. At first, Spring Festival couplets were carved on mahogany boards, and later rewritten on paper. The color of mahogany is red, which means good luck and avoiding evil spirits, so most Spring Festival couplets are written in red paper.