About Anji Chinese New Year customs and traditions

Killing the New Year's pig, making rice cakes and tofu

Most rural people in Anji have the custom of killing a pig for New Year's Eve, which, together with making rice cakes and tofu, is one of the most important things for the New Year's Eve in the farming community. Nowadays, killing pigs for New Year's Eve is not as important as it used to be, but the custom of killing pigs for New Year's Eve still exists.

At the end of each year, rural households will be busy, the family prepared soybeans, glutinous rice, soaked in water to prepare for the New Year grinding old tofu, playing rice cakes with. The family of those pigs also grew fat and strong, the New Year all rely on it. There is a custom in the countryside to kill a pig on New Year's Day, who kills a pig on the left and right to come to the scene, after the New Year pig is killed, the pig's head, feet, and chopped down the fresh meat, air-dried for a few days, in addition to entertaining the neighbors to eat, the rest of the cured into bacon. At that time, whose family's bacon cured more, more sunshine that whose family's life is good. The amount of bacon was also a symbol of the wealth of rural life in Anji at that time. The most important thing is that the host family invites their neighbors, relatives and friends to have the New Year Pig Rice. The main ingredients of the meal are pork, pig's blood, tofu, roasted vermicelli, asparagus, and farmyard chicken, etc. There are at least ten bowls of dishes at each table. Liquor, of course, is the local favorite yellow wine and home-brewed Anji rice wine, red wine and so on. Neighbors let go of their stomachs to eat and drink. In the past, local rural relatives and friends busy with their own farm work all year round, rare to have together, the annual pig dinner has become a family and friends, neighbors drinking, chatting about family life. Now savvy Anji Nongjiale bosses to kill pigs for New Year's Eve of this custom to the market, as long as the payment of appropriate money to be able to come to Anji travel self-driving guests are also involved.

Wooden fish on the table only to see do not eat

According to some local old people said, because life is more difficult in the past, even the fish can not afford to buy. But the New Year's fish and meat, "year after year" is a symbol of prosperity in the coming year. So we can only use the wooden fish to replace, on the fish there is a rule: generally on the fish, the fish head rushing guests, showing respect for guests. Some old people said that although there were a lot of wild fish at that time, it was still very difficult to catch fish in winter. Therefore, it can only be replaced by wooden fish.