Traditional Stories of Spring Festival

The story of the Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is the New Year of the lunar calendar, which is an ancient folk traditional festival in China. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, the Spring Festival became a social custom in the Han Dynasty. Folk call the Spring Festival as "New Year". I remember the elementary school New Year's Eve, a few of our children also acted out a skit on the "origin of the year" it ......

"Year" legend

According to legend, in ancient China, there was a kind of "New Year's Day" called the "New Year's Day". In ancient China, there was a monster called "Nian", which had horns and was very fierce. "The Nian lived at the bottom of the sea for many years, and only climbed ashore on New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm human lives. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, the people of villages and hamlets have to help the old and young to escape to the mountains, in order to avoid the harm of the "year" beast.

This New Year's Eve, Peach Blossom Village people are ready to help the old and the young to take refuge in the mountains, this time from outside the village came to a begging old man, only to see his hand on crutches, arm with a bag bag, silver beard, if the eyes of the stars. The village people which still have the heart to care about the old man? Only an old woman at the east end of the village gave the old man some food, and advised him to go up the mountain to avoid the "New Year" beast. The old man laughed loudly and said, "If you let me stay at your house for one night, I will be able to drive the beast away.

The old woman looked at him with astonishment, and saw that he was hale, hearty and extraordinary. The old woman continued to persuade, begging old man smiled and did not say anything. The old woman had no choice but to leave her home behind and take refuge in the mountains.

In the middle of the night, the "New Year" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from that of previous years: the old lady's house at the east end of the village had a big red paper on the door, and the candles in the house were burning brightly. "The beast shivered and gave a strange cry. "The Nian looked angrily at the old lady's house for a moment, and then pounced on her with a wild cry.

It turns out that Nian is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At that moment, the door of my mother-in-law's house was wide open, and I saw an old man wearing a red robe laughing in the courtyard. The "Nian" was shocked and fled in a panic.

The next day was the first day of the first month of the lunar year, and the people who had returned from their refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. It was only then that the old woman realized what was happening, and rushed to the townspeople to tell them about the old man's promise to beg. Ecstatic villagers to celebrate the arrival of good luck, have changed into new clothes wearing new hats, to friends and relatives to say hello. The story spread quickly in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "New Year" beast.

From then on, every year on New Year's Eve, every family puts up red couplets and sets off firecrackers; every household keeps candles burning and watches the night. Early in the morning on the first day, but also to go to friends and relatives to say goodbye. This custom is spread more and more widely, and gradually became the most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve

China's last day of the lunar calendar is called New Year's Day, the evening is called New Year's Eve. The word "除" in the Chinese character "除" means "to go", which is derived from "易", which means "to change": The original meaning of the character "夕" is "sunset", which is derived from "night". Therefore, "New Year's Eve" contains the meaning that the old year will be removed by this evening, and the new year will be replaced in the morning.

"New Year's Eve" originated in the pre-Qin period, "by and by". On the day before the New Year, the ancients beat the drum to drive away the "plague ghosts", which is the origin of the New Year's Eve festival.

After eating the New Year's dinner, the whole family got together, stayed up all night to send the old year, welcome the new year, this is the "year-end", the year-end, the housewives have to fry some peanuts, rice flowers or other fried food. The oil frying and fire frying, to show that "the family fortune is prosperous".

Why do you post the word "Fu" upside down

The Chinese New Year festival, posting the word "Fu" is to drive away the poor God. However, people always like to post the word "Fu" upside down on the walls of their front door or living room, why is this? Legend has it that on the eve of the Spring Festival one year, the Qing Dynasty Prince Gong's housekeeper to please the master's heart, wrote a few big bucket "Fu" word, and instructed the family will be posted in the Royal Household door and the Treasury and other places. I did not expect a housekeeper can not read, but will be "Fu" word upside down on the door. Prince Gong Fujin see very angry, just want to attack, but the big housekeeper is a bright idea, immediately kneel down and state: "Prince Gong life high fortune, the new year will come, the big fortune really to (down), this is an auspicious omen also?" Fujin heard, could not help but turn anger into joy, so rewarded the housekeeper and the housekeeper each fifty taels of silver. Later, this upside-down "Fu" word from the government house into the stranger's home, passed down to this day.

The origin of rice cakes

China's folk Spring Festival has the custom of eating rice cakes. This custom has a history of more than two thousand years.

Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Fu-chai of Wu defeated the Yue soldiers and attacked the Yue capital of Huiji by riding on the victory. Thinking that he had solved his worries, he became complacent and let his guard down. However, Wu Zixu, the prime minister of Wu, saw clearly the determination of the Yue King Goujian to take revenge and was worried about it. Later, the king of Wu ordered Wu Zixu to build a new city in order to dominate the Central Plains. When the city was completed, the king of Wu held a banquet to celebrate, but Wu Zixu was sullen and asked his followers: after my death, if the country is broken and the people are starving, they can get food by digging three feet under the city gate. Later, Wu Zixu was killed by King Fu-chai of Wu, and the state of Wu was destroyed by the King of Yue. When the city was deprived of food, a few Wu veterans remembered Wu Zixu's instructions and hurriedly dug up the ground at the city gate, only to find that the city wall bricks were not made of clay, but were made of glutinous rice ground into powder, and so they were dismantled by all means and distributed to the starving people. Later, the local people to commemorate the love of the people Wu Zixu, every Spring Festival will be made of glutinous rice flour and water into a small rectangle, steamed and eaten on the pot, called rice cakes.

Being Chinese, we certainly need to know something about our biggest festival. China's folk custom of the Spring Festival, from the lunar month? December, the beginning of the eighth day, to the end of the first month of the fifteenth day. Lunar eight to eat "Lunar eight porridge", Lunar twenty-three to New Year's Eve, households in addition to dust, procurement of new year's goods, paste spring couplets, "Fu" characters, New Year's paintings, window, New Year's Eve night vigil. On the first day of the first month, the sound of firecrackers will be heard, saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new. During the Spring Festival, people visit friends and relatives to pay their respects to each other. The Chinese character "福" is pasted upside down to show "福到" and "迎春接福". In the early morning of the Spring Festival, the north of China to eat dumplings, to show longevity; the south to eat dumplings, to show the reunion, good luck, beauty? What an interesting festival ah