What are the traditional rituals around the Spring Festival

The eighth day of the twelfth month of the lunar calendar, known in folklore as Lapa, is the first festival before the Spring Festival, after which the "New Year's flavors" are getting stronger and stronger.

On the day of Laha, it is customary to eat Laha congee, which is also known as seven treasures and five flavors congee.

After the congee is boiled, it should be offered to the gods and ancestors. After that, it should be presented to friends and relatives and must be sent out before noon. Finally, it is eaten by the whole family. Leftover Laha congee, save a few days after eating there are still left, but a good omen, take the meaning of its yearly surplus. If you give the porridge to the poor people to eat, it is more for their own virtue. Laha congee in folklore and witchcraft. If there are flowers and fruit trees planted in the yard, you should also smear some Laha congee on the branches and trunks, believing that there will be more fruits in the coming year.

The second half of the year is devoted to New Year's shopping and posting spring couplets to welcome the new year

This authentically Chinese festival has a certain carnival-like quality, with strong irrational sensations of taste, sight and sound. The festive atmosphere is gradually taking hold in cities and towns, where people are busy remembering customs that have been passed down from generation to generation: "Don't be a baby, don't be a child, it's the New Year after the eighth day of the 12th lunar month. The congee is eaten for a few days, and the congee is eaten on the twenty-third day of the Lunar New Year. Twenty-three, sugar melons sticky; 24, sweeping day; 25, fried tofu; 26, stewed mutton; 27, kill the rooster; 28, the surface hair; 29, steamed buns; 30 night simmering overnight; the first day of the New Year to go to pay tribute to you, your new jubilee, you more gifts; a handful of noodles do not interfere with you to your parents at home to say a happy ...... "

Lunar New Year's Day 23/24

Sacrificing Stove

The ballad "Twenty-three, Sugar Melon Sticky" refers to the annual Lunar New Year's Day 23rd or 24th of the sacrifice of the stove, there is the so-called "official three people four boat family five", that is, the official in the Lunar New Year's Day 23rd. The general people in the twenty-fourth day, the water home for the twenty-fifth day of the festival.

Sacrifice of the stove, is a folk in our country has a great influence, widely spread custom. In the old days, almost every house had a "Zao Wang" god in the stove room. People call this god "Sifu Bodhisattva" or "Zaojun Sifu", and legend has it that he is the Jade Emperor's "Nine Heavenly East Kitchen Sifu Zaowangfujun", responsible for the management of the family's stove fire, and is worshipped as a He is responsible for the management of each family's stove fire, and is worshipped as the protector god of a family. Most of the Zaowang niches are located in the north or east of the stove room, with the idol of Zaowang in the center. For those who don't have a Zaowang niche, there are also those who put the idol directly on the wall. Some of the idols depicted only one person, Zao Wang, while others had two persons, a man and a woman, and the goddess was called "Zao Wang's grandmother". This is probably an imitation of the image of an earthly couple. Most of the statues of Lord Zao also have the year's calendar printed on them, with words such as "Master of the East Kitchen", "Supervisor of the Earth", and "Head of the Household" to indicate the status of the God of Vesta. On both sides of the posters are couplets that read "Good things are said in heaven, and peace is guaranteed in the world below" to bless the whole family.

Since the previous year's New Year's Eve has remained at home to protect and monitor the family; to the Lunar New Year's Eve on the twenty-third day of the Zaosheng will be ascending to the sky, to the Jade Emperor in heaven to report on the family's good or bad behavior, to send the Zaosheng ceremony known as the "send Zao" or "resignation Zao The ceremony of sending the Zaoshen is called "sending Zao" or "resigning Zao". Based on the report of the Zaos, the Jade Emperor will hand over to the Zaos the fate of the family in the new year. Therefore, for a family, the Zaowang master's report really has significant stakes.

The Zaobao ceremony is usually held at nightfall. The family first goes to the stove room, sets up a table, pays homage to the Zaowang master in the shrine on the stove wall, and offers sugar melons made of caramel and flour. Then, they make paper horses and feed grass to the animals. Offering caramelized sugar to Zaowang is to sweeten his old man's mouth. In some places, sugar is smeared around the mouth of Zaowang, saying, "Say more good things, don't say bad things." This is to stuff the mouth of Master Zao with sugar, so that he will not say anything bad. In the Tang Dynasty, there is a record of "applying wine lees on the stove to make Zaosi drunk" in the "Records of the Years and Seasons in the Emperor's Chariot". After smearing the mouth of Zaowang with sugar, people would take down the statue of the god and ascend to heaven together with paper and smoke. In some places, sesame stalks and pine branches are piled up in the yard at night, and the image of Zaojun, which has been offered for a year, is invited out of the shrine and burned, together with paper horses and grass, on fire. The courtyard was brightly lit by the fire, when the family bowed around the fire, praying while burning: this year is again the twenty-third, to send Zaojun to the West. There is a strong horse, there is grass, a smooth and safe journey. The sugar melons are sweet and sweet, so please say good words to the Jade Emperor.

The Zao Festival on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year is closely related to the New Year. This is because, a week later, on the night of Lunar New Year's Eve, Master Zaowang comes to earth with the other gods with the good fortune and misfortune that the family is supposed to receive. Lord Zao is believed to lead the way for the gods in heaven. The other gods ascend to heaven again after the New Year, but only Zao Wangwang stays in people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony of welcoming the gods is called "receiving the gods", and for Lord Zao it is called "receiving the stove". The ceremony is usually much simpler on New Year's Eve, when all that is needed is to put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche, and that's the end of it.

Because of the different customs around the world, there are also folk "jumping Zao Wang" and "playing Zao Wang" activities. "Jumping Zao Wang" is a folk by the ancient "exorcism" development of a form of activities, mainly beggars activities, by the waxing of the first to the twenty-fourth is "jumping Zao Wang" days. Into the waxing moon, the beggars in groups of three or five, dressed as stove male and female stove to take bamboo sticks in the door, begging for money, known as "jumping zaobao king", also contains the meaning of driving away evil spirits. This activity is mainly in the southeast of China.

Sweeping the dust

After the Zao Festival, preparations for the New Year officially begin. Every year from the twenty-third day of the lunar month to New Year's Eve, China's folk called this period of time "to welcome the spring day", also known as "dust sweeping day". Sweeping is the end of the year cleaning, the north called "sweeping room", the south called "dusting". Sweeping dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of our people. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean up the environment, cleaning all kinds of appliances, unwashing bedding curtains, sweeping the courtyard, dusting dust cobwebs, dredge the nullahs and ditches. The whole country is filled with the atmosphere of joyful sanitation and cleanliness to welcome the New Year.

"Lunar month 24, dust sweeping house" custom, a long time ago. According to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals" records, our country in the era of Yao and Shun on the Spring Festival dust sweeping custom. According to folklore: because the "dust" and "Chen" consonant, dust sweeping in the New Year has "in addition to the meaning of Chen Bu Xin", the intention is to put all the "poor luck! ", "bad luck" are swept out. This custom is the desire of the people to break the old, and the new and the old to welcome the new prayers.

"Three corpses of God" Taoism said in the human body for Chong "God". According to the "three corpses in the scripture" said: "the upper corpse Peng 倨, in the human head; in the corpse Peng quality, in the human abdomen; the lower corpse Peng Jiao, in the human foot." It is also said that on the day of Gengshen, they would go up to heaven to tell the Emperor of Heaven about the sins of man; but as long as people stayed up all night on that day, they could avoid it, and it was called "guarding Gengshen".

Eating Zao sugar

Zao sugar is a kind of malt sugar, sticky, it is drawn into a long sugar stick called "Guandong sugar", pulled into a flat round type is called "sugar melon". Put it outside the house in winter, because of the cold weather, sugar melon solidified solid and some tiny bubbles inside, eat it crunchy, sweet and crispy, unique flavor. The real Guandong sugar hard, drop can not be broken, eat must be split with a kitchen knife, the material is very heavy and very fine. Slightly sour taste, no honeycomb in the middle, each piece weighs one or two, two or four, the price is also more expensive. Sugar melons divided into sesame and no sesame two kinds, made of sugar melon shape or melon shape, the center is empty, the skin is not as thick as five points, although the size of the different, but the transaction is still calculated by the amount, the big sugar melons weighing one or two pounds, but used as a front to buy very few people.

Lunar New Year's Eve

Jade Emperor

The old custom is that after the God of the Stove went up to heaven, the Jade Emperor himself came down to the world on December 25 of the lunar calendar to investigate the good and bad on earth, and to determine the coming year's misfortunes and blessings, so all the family sacrifices to pray for blessings, known as the "Jade Emperor". On this day, people should be careful in their living and speaking, and strive for good performance in order to win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring blessings to the coming year.

Catching up with the chaotic year

Sending the God of the Stove to the sky until New Year's Eve before welcoming back, during which time there is no god on earth to govern, no taboos, and more marriages among the people, known as "catching up with the chaotic year". Chaotic year is the people designed for themselves to regulate the social

life

specific time. At the end of the year, people had leisure and savings, which was a good time for those who usually had little energy to organize big events. Therefore, people invented this special time folklore according to the needs of real life. It can be seen that in traditional society, the order of people's life is dependent on folklore to regulate.

Shining the field silkworms

Also known as "burning the field silkworms", "Shining the field silkworms", "burning the field of money", is popular in the south of the Yangtze River belt of folk praying for the New Year customs. Lunar New Year 25 this day will be tied to the torch pole in the field, with the flame to divine the New Year, the flame is strong omen of a good harvest in the coming year. In some places, the event is held on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year.

Thousand Lanterns Festival

It is a religious festival of the Mongolian and Daur ethnic groups. In Mongolian, it is called "Ming Gan Zhuo La", which means "Thousand Lights Festival". Lunar month 25 this day, do "Ming Gan Zhuo la" to the temple to light, that the more points the more auspicious. This holiday custom, the most prevalent in the Xinjiang Virat Mongolian. Local people in this day to eat roast beef and mutton, held traditional sports and recreational activities.

Lunar New Year's Eve

Bathing

Traditional folklore in these two days to focus on bathing, laundry, remove the bad luck of the year, ready to meet the next year's new year, the capital has a "twenty-seven wash guilt disease, twenty-eight wash sloppy" proverb. Lunar New Year's Eve bath for "wash the blessing of Lu".

Lunar New Year's Eve

Small New Year's Eve

The day before New Year's Eve is called "Small New Year's Eve", and the family sets up a banquet, and people visit each other called "Farewell". The day before New Year's Eve is called Tianxiang, in which incense is burned outdoors, usually for three days.

Lunar New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve refers to the evening of the last day of the Lunar New Year in the lunar calendar every year, which is the first and last day of the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year). The word "除" in "New Year's Eve" means "to go; to change; to alternate", and the meaning of "New Year's Eve" is "the end of the month and the end of the year". ", people have to get rid of the old part of the new, there is the old year to this in addition, the next year another new year's meaning, is the lunar calendar throughout the year the last night. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered around the removal of the old part of the new, eliminate disasters and pray for blessings as the center.

Zhou, Qin period of the end of each year, the palace to hold a "large exorcism" ceremony, beat the drums to expel the plague of ghosts, known as "by the removal of", and then called the day before the New Year's Eve for the small in addition to the small New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve for the big in addition to the big New Year's Eve.

Posting the door god

China has a custom of posting the door god on New Year's Eve all over the country. Initially, the door god is carved mahogany as a human figure, hanging next to the person, and later is painted into the door god portrait posted on the door. Legend has it that the two brothers, Shentian and Yubi, specialize in controlling ghosts, and with them guarding the gateway, evil spirits of all sizes would not dare to enter the door for harm. After the Tang Dynasty, there are painted fierce general Qin Qiong, Yuchi Jingde two people like the door god, there are painted Guan Yu, Zhang Fei like the door god. Door gods like the left and right households each one, often a pair of descendants of the door god painted as a civil and a military. Door God is divided into three categories: the first category is the "gate door God", more than pasted on the car door or the whole door, about four or five feet high, about two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", more small streets on the door, about two feet high, about one foot wide. These two kinds of door god is a black face and a white face of the two gods. White left and black right, white good and easy, black caracal, each hand holding a battle-axe. The third type is "house door door god", compared with the street door door god is slightly smaller limited, also is black and white two god, but also black and white two god is sitting like. House door is most often posted "unicorn send son" image, two powder and grease comb Prince crown dolls, each riding the unicorn. This kind of door god, should have been posted in the newly married house door, in order to take good luck, and later also as a common street door of the New Year embellishments.

Posted Chunlian

Chinese New Year couplets, also known as "door to", "spring post", is a kind of couplets, because in the Spring Festival when posted, so the name. One of the origins of the Spring Festival couplets is the peach charm. Initially, people used peach wood to carve human figures to hang next to the door to avoid evil spirits, and later painted the image of the god of the door on the peach wood, and then simplified to inscribe the name of the god of the door on the peach wood board. Another source of Spring Festival couplets is spring stickers. Ancient people in the Spring Festival more stickers "Yichun" two words, and then gradually developed into spring couplets. The real popularity of spring couplets began in the Ming Dynasty, with the advocacy of Zhu Yuanzhang. According to the Qing dynasty Chen Shanggu's "hairpin cloud building miscellany" records, one year Zhu Yuanzhang preparation for the New Year, ordered every door to paste a spring couplets, to show the celebration. Originally, the spring couplets were inscribed on mahogany boards, but later they were written on paper instead. The color of mahogany is red, and red has the meaning of good luck and avoiding evil, so most of the Spring Festival couplets are written on red paper. But the temple with yellow paper, keep the system (service filial piety is not full) with white, green, yellow color, the first year with white paper, the second year green paper, yellow paper in the third year, the fourth year of mourning full before resuming with red paper. Because the Manchu still white, the Qing court spring couplets with white paper, blue wrapped in the outside, red strips set in the inside.

Pasted the word of blessing, pasted the window, pasted the New Year's paintings, pasted hanging thousand

These have a blessing, decorate the residence of the folklore function. New Year's paintings are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting the people's customs and beliefs, and holding people's hopes for the future. New Year paintings, like spring scrolls, originated from "door gods". While the Spring Festival couplets were developed from the names of Goddess of Mercy and Yubi to words, the New Year paintings are still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of the New Year's paintings has not only limited to the God of the Door and so on, and gradually invited the God of Fortune to the home, and then in some New Year's paintings in the workshop produced the "Three Stars of Fortune, Lust and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Provide Blessings," "Five Grains of Fortune," "Six Animals Prosperity," "Welcome to the Spring Receive Blessings" and other colorful New Year's paintings, in order to satisfy people's wish for the celebration and praying for the New Year. Because of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang advocated the Spring Festival posting spring couplets, New Year's paintings are also affected by its influence and then prevailed, the country appeared in the New Year's paintings of the three important places of origin: Peach Blossom Dock in Suzhou, Tianjin Yang Liuqing and Shandong Weifang; the formation of China's New Year's paintings of the three major genres. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo in Shanghai combined the calendar and New Year's paintings. This is a new form of New Year's paintings. This combination of two and one of the New Year's paintings, later developed into a hanging calendar. Hanging a thousand, that is, with the auspicious words engraved on red paper, long feet in length, glued to the door, and the peach symbols reflect. There are eight immortals on the figure, for the Buddha before hanging. Hanging thousands of civilian households with it, the big families with it less. Its yellow paper is three inches long, red paper is more than an inch long, is a "small hanging thousand", used for the market. The earliest Hanging Chien when it is to make money (copper) string hanging, and the same as the New Year's money, the role of pressure to win.

Placing the Table of Heaven and Earth

This is a temporary table of offerings, a table set aside for New Year's Eve. Generally speaking, the families without big Buddha halls pay special attention to the Heaven and Earth Table because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha and pay a big reward to the gods and the Buddhas at the end of the year, and this table is mainly used for receiving the gods. The contents of the heaven and earth table is different from the permanent Buddha Hall, in addition to **** there are hanging money, incense and candles, five offerings, large offerings, the worship of the idol is also mostly temporary, such as: "100 percent", which is a woodblock version of the image of the gods; "heaven and earth and the three worlds of the eighteen Buddhas and gods," is a large yellow burlap woodblock watercolor printing of the whole God code; three stars of the blessing of three-star portraits, and so on. Some of the above statues of God after receiving the incineration, such as "percent". Some of them have to be burned until the fifth day of the week, or even until the Lantern Festival. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform, such as the hall place wide, can be placed in the house, such as the house has no land, will be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is the time for the gods in the sky to come down to the world, so the folk have this custom of receiving the gods.

Vigilance

China's folk in the New Year's Eve has the habit of vigilance, commonly known as "boiled year". The New Year's Eve vigil begins with the New Year's Eve dinner, which is eaten slowly, from the time of the lantern to the table, and some people have to eat late into the night. According to the record of "Jing Chu Yearly Records", there was a custom of having New Year's Eve dinner at least in the North and South Dynasties. The custom of observing the New Year's Eve is not only a way of saying goodbye to the years that have passed, but also a way of expressing hope for the coming New Year.

Firecrackers

When the midnight hour, the New Year's bell rang, the whole of China over the land, the sound of firecrackers resounded in the sky. In this "year of the yuan, the month of the yuan, the time of the yuan" of the "three yuan" moment, some places are still in the courtyard of the base of the "prosperous fire", to show that the prosperous gas through the sky, prosperous and prosperous. In the blazing fire around the fire, the children set off firecrackers, joyfully jumping around, then, inside the house is bright lights, in front of the court is brilliant sparks, outside the house is the sound of the sky, the New Year's Eve atmosphere pushed to the climax of the bustling. Poets and writers throughout the ages have always celebrated the coming of the New Year with the most beautiful poems.

Eating New Year's Eve dinner

Eating New Year's Eve dinner is the most lively and enjoyable time for families on the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. Abundant New Year's dishes on the table, the whole family reunion, sitting around the table, *** eating a reunion dinner, the heart of the fullness is really hard to describe. People are enjoying the table full of delicacies, but also to enjoy the happy atmosphere, the table has a big dish, cold pots, hot fried, snacks, generally less two things, one is hot pot. One is fish. Hot pot boiling, steaming, warm and provocative, indicating a red-hot; "fish" and "Yu" resonance, is a symbol of "auspicious celebration of surplus", but also a metaphor for "year after year". It is also a metaphor for "having more than enough for every year". There are also turnips, commonly known as "choy tau" (菜头), which is a wish for good luck, and fried foods such as lobster and popping fish, which is a wish for good luck in the family, such as "blazing fire cooking oil". Finally, more than one sweet food, wishing sweet days ahead, this day, even if you will not drink, but also more or less drink a little.

New Year's Eve dinner hall of fame, different places in the north and south, there are dumplings, wontons, long noodles, snacks, etc., and each have their own instructions. Northern people are accustomed to eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, is to take the old and the new, "the new year," the meaning of the child. And because the white dumplings are shaped like silver dollars, a pot of dumplings on the table to symbolize the "New Year's fortune, Yuanbao rolled in" meaning. When some dumplings are wrapped, several coins sterilized in boiling water are wrapped into them, saying that whoever eats them first will earn more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, the sage of medicine, saw that the ears of the poor were frostbitten in the winter months, so he made a kind of "Cold-removing Ear Soup" for the poor to cure frostbite. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold and warm herbs, wrapped in dough into an ear like "Jiao Er", boiled in a pot, distributed to the poor to eat, people ate, feel warm, two ear heat. Afterwards, people followed suit and the tradition has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons in the New Year is to take the meaning of the beginning. Legend has it that the world was chaotic before the creation of the world, Pangu opened up the sky and the earth, so that there is a universe of four sides, long noodles, also known as longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a long life of 100 years.

To the New Year's money

The New Year's money is sent by the elders to the younger generation, some families are after New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sitting at the table is not allowed to go, and so everyone finished eating, by the elders sent to the younger generation, and encourage children and grandchildren in the new year to learn to grow up and do well. Some people are parents in the night when their children are asleep, put them under the pillow, more people are small children gathered in the main hall, shouting grandparents, mom and dad Happy New Year, kneeling in line; and then reach out for red envelopes. Even to the bedroom of the grandparents, all ran to the edge of the bed, yelling: "New Year's money, New Year's money!" The old man is still not lively enough, pretending to be petty, from bargaining to the siege of groping, and finally the old ancestor's red envelopes to dig out, we looted, only to whistling and scattered. The old man in this scenario but happy, think this is a good omen of the New Year everything goes well. Giving New Year's money on New Year's Day reflects the love and care of elders for their elders, and the respect of elders for their elders, and is a folkloric activity that integrates ethical relationships in the family.

Catching the gods

Catching the gods is a way of separating the old from the new, but the time of catching the gods is not very uniform. In some cases, the ceremony starts as soon as it is time, in some cases, it starts at midnight, when the "Zi Zheng" time comes, and in some cases, it starts after the "Zi Zheng" time. After the sacrifice of the stove, the gods are back to the Palace of Heaven, ignoring the ordinary affairs of the earth, to New Year's Eve, that is, after midnight, that is, when the new year comes, and then descended to the earth to govern. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the gods reside in different heavenly directions, the natural direction of the world to come is different, as to receive what God, God from where to come, to check in advance the "Constitution", and then lead the whole family to raise incense in the courtyard according to the direction of receiving the gods. After kowtowing in accordance with the direction of the ceremony, standing at attention to wait for the end of the incense, and then kowtow, and finally the incense root, statues, such as ingots, put into the already prepared in the courtyard of the money in the basin burned. Burning with the burning of pine branches, sesame stalks and so on. Firecrackers are fired when receiving the god, and the atmosphere is very strong.

Step on Soun

After receiving the god, the sesame straw from the street door to the door of the house, people walk on it, crackling, known as "step on the age", also known as "step on Soun". Because the "broken" and "Soun" homophonic, take the meaning of the beginning of the new year to drive away evil spirits.

Ancestor worship

In ancient times, this ritual was very popular. Because of the different rituals and customs of different places, the form of ancestor worship also varies, some to the field to visit the ancestral tomb, some to the ancestral temple to worship ancestors, but most of the ancestors at home will be placed in order in the main hall, display offerings, and then the worshippers according to the order of the eldest and youngest on the incense and kneeling. Han Chinese ancestor worship, most of the fish and meat bowl dishes, served in a high bowl, quite a bell ringing the meaning of food. Southern people living in Beijing, especially grand ancestor worship, most of the eight bowls of food, set up a hot pot, according to the spirit of the set cups and chopsticks, in New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, will be the hot pot fan open, at any time to change the food. Banner ancestor worship, Manchu-Mongolian different, Mongolian Banner for butter fried yellow rice noodles, withdrawal of offerings fried in sesame oil, dipped in sugar, another flavor. Manchurian flag people worship ancestors, for walnut cake, hibiscus cake, apples, vegetarian wax sandalwood incense, quiet and unusual. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day for vegetarian boiled meat and potatoes, on New Year's Eve for the Lantern Festival, every morning and evening incense kowtow, offering new tea. Ancestor worship form, although different, most of them are hanging shadow on New Year's Eve, on the night of the withdrawal of the offerings, friends and relatives of the closest, the New Year's Day must also bow to the ancestral hall, not only prudent to catch up with the intention of not dying, because of its people to honor the virtues of their ancestors, but also through this to save.

Send the God of Wealth

Olden days, from the Spring Festival midnight to open the door of wealth, there is the God of Wealth, holding a piece of paper printed by the God of Wealth outside the door yelling: "Send the God of Wealth to come!" At this time the master of the house, in order to show welcome to the God of Wealth, will take the reward money to the people, send the God of Wealth in the mouth, of course, always have to say some auspicious words. For example: "Gold, silver and treasure roll in"! "The left side of the golden lion, the right side of the golden phoenix" la! And so on and so forth. There is another is dressed up like the God of Wealth, dressed in red robes, wearing a hat, hanging on the mouth with a fake beard, carrying a yellow bag to collect money, followed by a few gongs and drums, to distribute the God of Wealth from door to door like in order to ask for reward money. Whenever you arrive at the door of a person's house, you will sing: "The left side is full of gold and silver coffers, and the right side is full of treasures." A large number of auspicious words, endless, until the host joyfully received the red paper God of Wealth statue, give them some money, play the God of Wealth of these people, even after thanking, and then vigorously beat for a while, in the thumping drums and gongs, turn to other homes.

Drinking Tusu Wine

Tusu wine is a kind of medicinal wine. In ancient custom, the whole family drank Tusu Wine on New Year's Day to get rid of immodesty. The method of making tusu wine is: with rhubarb a money, orange stalks, Sichuan pepper each one and a half cent, gui heart one money eight points, cornelian cherry one money two points, one or two wind, with a reddish-red bag hanging in the well, to the yuan day c time to pick up, to the wine decoction four or five boiled. In ancient times, the method of drinking tusu wine was very unique. Generally speaking, people always drink wine from the oldest person; however, drinking Tusu wine is just the opposite, from the youngest person. Presumably, the youngest grew up day by day and drank it first as a sign of congratulations, while the oldest had one year less and drank it later as a sign of retention. Song Dynasty writer Su Zhe's poem "New Year's Day" says: "Drinking tusu at the end of the year, I don't realize that I'm over seventy years old." This is the custom. This kind of unique drinking order, in ancient times, every time to produce all kinds of feelings, so it leaves a deep impression on people.

Next year rice

In the north, some people also have to provide a pot of rice, burned before the year, to be provided for the New Year, called the "next year rice", is the leftover rice, a year to the end of the year to eat, this year, but also ate the meaning of the previous year's food. This pot of next year's rice is generally cooked with a mixture of rice and millet, Beijing slang called "two rice", in order to have a yellow and white, which is called "gold and silver, gold and silver pots full of" the "gold and silver rice This is called "gold and silver rice". Many places in the New Year's Eve preparation of pastries and fruits, are trying to get a lucky mouth: eat jujube (early spring), eat persimmon cakes (everything is as good as it can be) eat almonds (happy people), eat long life fruit (longevity), eat rice cakes (a year higher than a year). On the night of New Year's Eve, the family, while eating and having fun, talk and laugh. The first day of the first month is the first day of the first month. The original meaning of "Yuan" is "head", which is later extended to "beginning", because it is the first day of the year, the first day of spring and the first day of the first month, so it is called "Sanyuan". "Sanyuan"; because this day is still the age of the dynasty, the month of the dynasty, the day of the dynasty, so also known as "three dynasties"; and because it is the first day of the first solstice, so it is also known as the "first solstice".

China is an ancient multi-ethnic country. Different historical periods of different ethnic groups have been based on their own cultural traditions and customs to determine their own New Year's Day, that is, changed to "Shosuo", change the first day of the first month of the time. Zhuanxu Emperor and the Xia Dynasty to the first month of Bengchun for the yuan, that is, the use of the summer calendar Jianyin, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar for the New Year's Day; the Shang Dynasty to use the Yin Calendar, the Yin Calendar Jianshou, the first day of December of the lunar calendar for the New Year's Day; the Zhou Dynasty to use the Zhou Calendar, the Zhou Calendar into the son of the first day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar as the New Year's Day; the Qin Dynasty to use the Qin Calendar, the Qin Calendar Jianhai, the first day of the lunar calendar for the New Year's Day; the pre-Xihan period still uses the Qin Calendar, the first year of the first year of the Han Dynasty Emperor Wu Emperor (104 AD) to Sima Qian In the early Western Han Dynasty, the Qin Calendar was still in use, and in the first year of the first month of the lunar calendar (104 AD), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty switched to the Taichu Calendar created by Sima Qian and Luo Xia-tei, and then reused the Xia Calendar, which was built in Yin, with the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar as New Year's Day. Afterwards, except for Wang Mang and Wei Mingdi who once changed to the Yin calendar of Jianshou, and the Zhou calendar of Jianzi in Tang Wu Hou and Su Zong, all dynasties used the summer calendar until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Xinhai Revolution overthrew the imperial system, Sun Yat-sen from Shanghai to Nanjing the day before the inauguration of the Nanjing Senate decided to change to the solar calendar, and the Republic of China chronology. However, the lunar calendar has been used for a long time, and is conducive to the arrangement of agricultural affairs, therefore, the people still prefer the lunar calendar.

Opening the door cannonball

The morning of the Spring Festival, open the door, the first firecrackers, called "opening the door cannonball". After the sound of firecrackers, broken red all over the ground, brilliant as a cloud of brocade, known as "full red". At this time, the street is full of gas, joyful.

Welcome to the New Year

An important activity in the Spring Festival, is to new friends and neighbors to congratulate the New Year, the old name of the New Year. Han Chinese New Year's Eve style, the Han Dynasty has. After the Tang and Song dynasties are very popular, some do not have to go in person, can be used in the name of the invitation to cast congratulations. The Eastern Han Dynasty called "prick", so the business card is also known as the "name prick". After the Ming Dynasty, many people stick a red paper bag at the door, specializing in name badges, called "door book".

Folk visit the form of New Year's Eve, according to each other's social relations, can be divided into four categories:

One is to go to relatives. The first day must go to the father-in-law, shall bring gifts. After entering the door first to the Buddha statue, ancestral images, pagodas each line three kowtow salute, and then to the elders in turn kneeling. You can stay to eat and play.

The second is a courtesy visit. Such as to colleagues, friends to pay homage to the New Year, a door into the house, only three kowtow to the statue of Buddha, such as with the host of the Department of the same generation is only required to arch a bow, such as older than themselves, should still take the initiative to kneel, the host should walk off the seat to do to support the shape of the even said free to show humility. This situation is generally not appropriate to sit for a long time, two polite words to say goodbye. After the master was worshiped, should choose a day to return to worship.

Third is a thank-you visit. Where a year to people owe love (such as lawyers, doctors, etc.) to buy some gifts to send, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the New Year, to express gratitude pillow.

The fourth is a series of visits. For the left and right neighbors of the neighborhood, not much interaction in the past, but meet can say, to the Jubilee, just to the yard, meet with each other a fist, said: "Jubilee Fazhi", "a smooth hundred Shun", in the house to sit for a while only, not very much etiquette.

Anciently, there is a New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: New Year's Eve is to the elders kowtow; New Year's Day is to congratulate each other as peers. Now, some organizations, groups rest, enterprises, schools, we get together to congratulate each other, called "reunion".

New Year's greeting is a traditional Chinese folk custom, is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and express their good wishes to each other. In ancient times, the original meaning of the term "New Year's greeting" was to pay respects to the elders, including kowtowing to the elders, congratulating them on a happy New Year, and greeting them on a good life, etc. When there were relatives and friends of the same generation, they were also invited to pay respects to the elders. When there are relatives and friends of the same generation, they should also bow to congratulate.

Anciently, if or neighborhood friends and relatives too much, it is difficult to visit all over the door, the servants to bring business cards to pay tribute to the New Year, known as the "fly post", the door of each house to paste a red paper bag, written on the "receive the blessing of the two words, that is, for the bearer to put the fly post with. This custom began in the Song Dynasty upper class. The Qing Dynasty's "Yan Tai Yue Ling" described the Beijing New Year's Festival as follows: "This is the month when the pieces fly and the empty cars go away." It became fashionable. Large families ad hoc "door book" to remember the guests and fly piece of correspondence, the door book of the first page of the virtual "pro-arrivals" four people: one said the life of a hundred years old master, live in a hundred years of the Square Lane; one said the rich Yu masters, live in Yuanbao Street; one said that you have no great people, live in the university scholar's house; One said the blessing of the old master, live in the five blessings building. In order to try to auspicious to curry favor. To date, the Chinese New Year gift of New Year's tablets, New Year's cards, is the legacy of this ancient send each other fly post.

The upper class scholarly men had the custom of throwing congratulations to each other with famous posters. Song Zhou Hui in the "Qingbo Magazine" said: "Song Yuanyou years, New Year's greetings, often using servants to hold the name of the thorn on behalf of the go". At that time, the scholars traveled widely, if around the door to pay tribute to the New Year, both time-consuming, but also exhausting energy, so some of the relationship is not close to the friends do not go in person, but to send a servant to take a kind of paper with plum blossom paper cut into two inches wide, three inches long, written on the top of the name of the recipient of the congratulations, address and congratulations on the words of the card to go to on behalf of the New Year's greeting. People in the Ming Dynasty to visit instead of New Year's greeting. Ming Dynasty distinguished painter, poet Wen Zhengming in the "New Year" poem described: "do not seek to meet but through the visit, the name of the paper towards the full sheltered hut; I also cast a number of paper with the people, the world hate Jane not suspected of false". Here the "famous prick" and "famous visit" is the origin of the present New Year's card. New Year's cards are used for contacting and greeting each other, which is both convenient and practical, and even today they are still popular.

From about the time of the Qing Dynasty, New Year's Day and add the form of "reunion worship", the Qing Yi Lan master in the "side hat Yu Tan" said: "the capital in the first of the year, routine reunion worship, in order to unite the friendship of the year, in order to Township," "every year! By the year book red booking guests, food and drink banquets, for the whole day happy".

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's Eve is also constantly adding new content and form. Now people in addition to the inheritance of the past New Year's Eve, and the rise of ritual telegrams and telephone New Year's Eve and so on.

But from the first to the fifth day of the first month, most families do not receive women, called "taboo door". Only men go out to pay their respects, and women have to wait until after the sixth day of the first month before they can go out to visit. The New Year's visit extends for a long time, until around the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. When you go to someone's house in the evening, it is called the "Night Festival", and after the tenth day of the first month, it is called the "Festival of Lights", which is why there is a joke that "if you want to pay respect to the New Year, it is not too late to have a cold meal".

If, for any reason, you don't get to do the customary rituals, you can make up for it later, and it's called "paying homage to the New Year".

The year

Old folk to enter the new first few days of the weather to account for the success of the year. It began with the Han Dongfang Shuo's "year occupation", said the year after eight days, one day for the chicken day, the second day for the dog, the third day for the pig, the fourth day for the sheep, the fifth day for the cow, the sixth day for the horse, the seventh day for the Weimin, the eighth day for the valley. If the day is sunny, then the host of things prosperous, when the day is cloudy, the host of the day is not prosperous. Later generations followed their habits, that the first day to the tenth, the weather is clear, no wind and no snow as auspicious. Later generations from the occupation of the year developed into a series of rituals, celebrations. There is the first one does not kill the chicken, the second does not kill the dog, the third does not kill the pig ...... early seven do not execute the custom.