What are the customs of Spring Festival in Old Beijing?

The old Beijing Spring Festival customs are described in detail.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Lapa congee "send a message" This eat, eat is "Lapa congee".

Every year on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the old Beijing family will simmer a pot of "Lahai congee", the raw materials are mainly beans, rice, jujubes, raisins, cinnamon and other kinds of dried fruits and grains, which implies that the "grains and fruits".

Simmering sticky, fragrant "Laba congee", in the old days is used to worship the deity "Zao Wang". In the old days, food was the order of the day, and the status of Zao Wang Wang could not be better.

Nowadays, the old Beijingers would make a pot of Laha congee for their own family, and neighbors would give each other a taste, and then the family would get together and enjoy it, which was a great success.

Drinking this "Laha congee" to the year "send a message", the old Beijing this into the New Year's agenda. They would buy food, buy new clothes, prepare new year's goods, and organize the house to welcome the arrival of the New Year's Eve.

Careful colleagues also pointed out that this "send a letter" there is another layer of meaning: since the day of Lahai Festival, "the beginning of the release of accounts to collect the debt, the debt must be paid. In this way, both to those who put the debt of a reason to collect the debt, but also to those who owe a wake-up call, don't rely on the dead not to pay, it is hard not to boil this account into the next year's dinner? Sooner or later, it is best to come out to return, the best year before a pay off, but also a relaxed New Year.

The day of Lunar New Year, the old Beijing people will not forget to soak some garlic in vinegar, in order to prepare for the first day of the New Year to eat dumplings with food, this garlic is commonly known as "Lunar New Year garlic".

The custom of simmering "Laha congee" and pickling "Laha garlic" is still very popular in Beijing nowadays.

I'm an outsider, and I was lucky enough to taste the old Beijing congee on this year's Lahai. The thick sweet porridge, wrapped in the first flavor of the old Beijing New Year.

Lunar New Year's Eve, "Sugar Melon Child Sticky"

Lunar New Year's Eve, is the old Beijing people New Year's Eve curtain really open, commonly known as the "small year", the day chase ah chase, serious "big year" is not far away. "

This is the first time I've ever seen a person who has been in a position to do that.

This "small year", in the old Beijing folklore, there is a "twenty-three sugar melon child sticky" said. The so-called "sugar melon child", is made of maltose candy.

On the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, the old Beijing family to sacrifice the stove, Zaowangdi to coax happy, in front of the Jade Emperor, "mouth a sweet", will give this family to bring the blessing of the whole year, peace and prosperity; another said that the sugar melon is used to stick to the mouth of Zaowangdi to sugar seal, see the Jade Emperor simply did not say a word, to prevent him! The first is that the Jade Emperor will not say a word, to prevent him from losing his words.

"Twenty-three sugar melon children sticky; twenty-four sweeping day; twenty-five paste window; twenty-six stewed meat; twenty-seven kill rooster; twenty-eight to the surface of the hair; twenty-nine steamed buns; thirty night to stay up a night; the first day of the New Year a twist."

"Sweeping day" is cleaning, but not as simple as sweeping the floor and wiping the windows in our student days. Old Beijing in addition to thoroughly clean the house and outside the house can not sweep those dead ends of the dust net, and change the New Year's paintings, painting and framing walls and other work to be done.

"Paste the windows" scene, now in downtown Beijing is afraid that it is difficult to reappear, so colleagues in the planning department suggested to change to "wipe the glass". The old Beijing courtyard house are wooden windows, before New Year's Eve to paste on the white clean new window paper, windows, but also pasted on the "Fu" character, window, paper cuttings, hanging on the "auspicious knot" and other symbols of peace and prosperity of handicrafts pendants.

Thinking back to the red-colored scene of the year, it is not difficult to imagine the bustle of the New Year. The most important part of this day is to put the red paper and black characters (gold characters) on the doors of their homes. Once the Spring Festival couplets come out, the atmosphere of the year is suddenly strong.

"Stewed meat", "kill the rooster", "flour", "steamed buns", a day a , is the fragrant link in the countdown to the New Year of this project. The smell of meat was an unspeakable temptation in the years when the diet was light. This pursuit of warming the body and mind is a living memory of my childhood, and I don't know if I can still appreciate it today when I advocate vegetarianism or all diet-oriented young people.

According to the rules of old Beijing, these sumptuous New Year's Eve meals must be made in advance. Because the old Beijing has a taboo, in the years of the old and new, is not to move the knife, otherwise unlucky, will attract disaster.

In addition to the knife, even the clippers needle and thread do not move, lest the mouth, lest long needle eye. So many taboos, not early in the year before the food prepared properly. Until the "broken five" (after the fifth day of the first month of the year), you can not move the knife chopping meat and vegetables.

Lunar New Year's Eve is the culmination of the New Year's Eve, and all the buildup and preparation seems to be for this day of "revelry". But in the subtle and calm old Beijing here, this "carnival" because of the Beijing flavor of the home simple, and ready to add real.

On this day, the old Beijing must eat the leftover dregs of the medicine thrown out the door, and the family is using the prescription burned, it is said, so you can "throw a hundred diseases".

In addition, the family should be prepared for the feast, wearing new clothes, neighbors and friends visit each other to pay tribute to the New Year, the younger generation bowed to the elders, commonly known as "resignation". In particular, the newly married couple must be in the mother-in-law's home, "the old age", otherwise it is disrespectful and unfilial.

The first day of the New Year, a twist

The vigil until dawn, but can not go to bed. The first day of the year is the first day of the year, and the second day of the year is the first day of the year, and the third day of the year is the first day of the year, and the third day of the year is the first day of the year.

On the first day of the New Year, children's favorite, this bowing kowtow, can be exchanged for a new year's money red envelope. New Year's Day from the beginning of this day, the children open the New Year's red envelope, also open the red hot year.