What are the traditional folk customs of the Spring Festival?

One, the Spring Festival dust sweeping

According to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals", as early as in the era of Yao and Shun, there has been the custom of Spring Festival dust sweeping in China. Because of the "dust" and "Chen" consonant, so the dust sweeping in the New Year is given a new meaning, there is "in addition to Chen Bu Xin" meaning, hope that all the poor luck, bad luck, all swept out of the door.

Second, posting couplets, lucky charms, door god

The day before the Spring Festival afternoon, children will step on the stool, with glue and brush, to the door to paste couplets, and then let the adults below to see if the paste is correct. In some cases, the couplets are attached to the horizontal head of the lintel of the door, and the couplets are attached to the left and right sides of the door. Some people also put lucky charms on the doors, walls and lintels of their houses to express their hopes for a happy life. There are also people who will put the painting of the god of the door on the door, praying for a year of peace and prosperity, adding festive atmosphere.

Three, ancestor worship, worship God

The Spring Festival worship God, is a custom throughout the east and west, north and south of China. All over the country to worship God customs are very different, but the purpose is basically the same, are in order to pray for the coming year, the wind and rain, grain harvest, good luck and so on.

Ancestor worship is generally after the sacrifice of the gods, customs vary from place to place, in our hometown is every day at noon before the meal, each family sent a representative, take the food, offerings to the shrine to pay tribute to the ancestors, has been continued until the first day of the month of the fifteenth, the shrine will not be closed.

Four, eat dumplings, eat dumplings, eat rice cakes

Most of the northern region, the Spring Festival have the custom of eating dumplings in the morning, but also often in the dumplings inside a coin, who ate the coin, we say he is the family year the most fortunate people. In Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, the morning of the custom of eating dumplings, Kaifeng, Henan Province, the Spring Festival this day both eat dumplings and eat dumplings. During the Spring Festival there is also the custom of eating rice cakes, rice cake flavor varies from place to place.

Fifth, the New Year's Eve, to give money

New Year's Eve, is also one of the most important activities of the Spring Festival, neighbors and friends get together, or the family together, some playing cards, some watching the Spring Festival gala, we stay awake all day long, and wait for the dawn, to meet the arrival of the New Year.

Pressing the New Year's money is a favorite custom among children and younger generations. On New Year's Eve, after the New Year's Eve dinner, the elders would present coins to each of their juniors, and braided copper coins were threaded into strings with red wires and hung on the children's chests, which were said to be able to suppress evil spirits and drive away ghosts. This custom has been popular since the Han Dynasty, of course, now there is no copper money, usually take a red packet of cash.

Six, firecrackers

The advent of the New Year, families open the door to the first thing, is to set off firecrackers, crackling firecrackers to the old and welcome the new, in order to show that auspicious. Of course, now many places have banned firecrackers, or should comply with national regulations, to the safety of the main.

Seven, pay tribute to the New Year

Paying tribute to the New Year is one of the most important activities and customs of the Spring Festival. On the morning of the first day of the New Year, adults and children are wearing new clothes, wearing a new hat, visit friends and relatives, greet each other, wishing a prosperous New Year. Worship is generally from their own homes to start, the younger generation to the elders after the New Year, people in the out of meeting, and then smilingly congratulate each other on the New Year.

Eight, temple fair

During the Spring Festival, there are usually temple fairs in rural areas. Early temple fair, just a grand ritual activities, but with the development of the economy and people's needs, the temple fair to maintain the ritual activities at the same time, and gradually increased the market trading activities, as well as some colorful entertainment.

Nine, dragon dance, lion dance

Dragon is a legendary lucky animal, said to be able to call the wind and rain in the sky, but also for the earth to pray for the elimination of disasters. As early as during the Han Dynasty, there were dragon dances for rain. In addition to the dragon dance, there is also the lion dance, which is also a more common custom during the Spring Festival, and in the north of us, it is also called playing lion, which was often seen when I was a child, but is less common now.

Ten, stilt walkers

Stilt walkers, also a recreational activity during the Spring Festival, has a long history, in the "Liezi. Said the rune chapter" is recorded: "Song has Lanzi person ...... to double the length of the limbs times its body, belonging to its shin, and drive and gallop." Stilt-walking is also known as "tie high feet", "stepping on stilts", performers in two feet tied to two or three feet high wooden stilts stick, performing a variety of wacky and funny movements, when I was a child, the basic village village have this activity, and then less and less.