What are the Customs of Spring Festival in Rongcheng

The Spring Festival used to be called "Nian". Its appearance, and the emergence of the calendar is closely linked. According to the calendar. Twelve months for a year. When the twelve months are over, the first day of the new year is called "New Year". Therefore, the Spring Festival is also called the New Year. In order to avoid confusion with the calendar "year", the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar renamed "Spring Festival". However, in Rongcheng, both the staff of the organization and the common people still regard the Spring Festival as the real meaning of the year, and still used to call the Spring Festival as the New Year. The Cun Festival of Rongcheng is the first of the three major festivals, which is very grand and elaborate, and lasts for a long time. The whole festival can be divided into three stages, namely, the pre-festival preparation, the official festival, and the continuation of the festival.

The New Year

After the New Year on the 23rd day of the Lunar New Year, the preparations for the festival began, and from this day onwards, it meant the stage of the New Year. The main activity of the New Year is to quit the stove, also known as sacrificial stove. Sacrificing the stove was originally one of the five ancient sacrifices, when in the summer. According to legend, in the Han Dynasty, Yin Zifang met the God of Stove on Lunar New Year's Day and sacrificed a yellow goat to the God of Stove. Because of this, he became very rich. Thus, the sacrificial stove mouth changed in the month of wax, the Tang and Song Dynasty in the 24th day of the month of wax. To the Ming Dynasty, the sacrificial stove day changed to "military three people four" or "government three people four". That is to say, the army and the government twenty-three days to sacrifice the stove, the civilian people twenty-four to sacrifice the stove. At that time, the Rongcheng boundary garrison a lot, in addition to the two guards two, the county land is mostly the guards of the cantonment, perhaps by the influence of the garrison, Rongcheng festival stove day is set in the waxing moon twenty-two.

Zaowang, also known as Zaojun, Zaotu Laozi, is said to be the Jade Emperor sent to the earth to monitor the good and evil God, in essence, is the Jade Emperor sent to each household spies, sit detective, from the beginning to the end of the year. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, always guard in each household, monitoring the family's words and deeds, to the twenty-third day of the waxing moon will be ascending to the Jade Emperor to report to the Jade Emperor, report the family's good and evil. The Jade Emperor, on the other hand, is biased, according to the Zao Wang's secret report, the family in the new year should be performed in the good and bad luck to the Zao Wang to bring back. Therefore, people not only fear Zaowang as "the head of the family", "East Kitchen Secretary", but also a little bit look down on him, and even tease him, which is very obvious in the ceremony of Zaosi.

Before the sacrificial stove, to invite a new "Zao Ma", Rongcheng commonly known as "Zao Ma head", in fact, is a kind of woodcut printing calendar. "Zaoma" in addition to the image of the god Zao Wang, but also printed a year's calendar. The contents of the calendar are added and deleted as the calendar is improved.

Before the sacrificial stove, the first with white mud to the pots and stoves painted again, meaning that the "Zaowang Laozi" wash face, repair the face, lest he buried in the buried. After dinner, in front of the stove set up offerings - rice, dumplings, food and wine, but the malt made of sugar melons and glutinous cakes made of broomcorn millet flour is indispensable, and some families also put a bowl of lees mixed with groundnut. Eat the sugar melon sweet mouth, see the Jade Emperor net pick good words to say. As for the sticky cake and wine lees is for those who do not pay bribes to the king of the stove to prepare, the mouth to stick, want to say bad things can not open their mouths. The Zaotu who ate the wine dregs were so drunk that they fell over and fell asleep, so how could they think of snitching? Offerings set up, the family knelt in front of the stove, burning incense and bowing, and will be the old "stove horse" removed, with "Gedeng stick stick" (i.e., sorghum stalks) the stove horse clamped, incinerated in the incense, the stove king is also riding the horse to heaven. At this time, the man of the house while burning and praying: "the upper heaven to say the ancient Qing, the lower world to ensure peace."

The old Zaowang ascended to the sky, the new Zaowang will take over the nest, rose to "the head of the family", posted in the old Zaotu location Bu. Rongcheng zaowang's position, generally affixed to the front of the wall above the east potstand, also affixed to the east of the room west of the wall, a few people's "zaoma" on both sides of the sticker vice couplets: "on the sky to say good things, back to the palace drop auspicious", the horizontal inscription: " Lord of the House". More people take a pragmatic attitude towards the king of the stove, except for the New Year, weekdays and do not respect, "Zao Ma head" actually only play the role of the calendar.

After the resignation of the stove, the gods in the sky, no taboos, long suppressed by a variety of rituals, taboos of the people, suddenly liberated, they are "unscrupulous" to prepare for New Year's. The people of the city, the people of the city, the people of the city, the people of the city, the people of the city, the people of the city. The people who have been in the country for a long time and have been suppressed by various rituals and taboos are suddenly liberated, and they are preparing for the New Year with "recklessness.

Cleaning

That is, a thorough cleaning. As the saying goes, "Quit the stove, quit the stove, the New Year's Eve comes." After the New Year, the first important agenda is to clean the ash. Time, you can from the waxing moon twenty-four to twenty-six days in three days, choose a wind and sunny warm days. Because of the time of year, due to various taboos and habits of the constraints, very few thorough cleaning, so sweeping the ash on this day, the whole family together, all can move things, or due to taboos and did not move things, including tables, chairs and benches, boxes and cabinets, clothing, all move, some moved to the yard, some moved in the middle of the house. The whole family swept, wiped, cleaned the house up and down, inside and out, and made the windows clean. Tables, chairs, benches or pots, pans and ladles, if there is accumulated dirt, to be washed with alkaline water, so that the utensils are brand new. Lastly, the dust was collected in a dustpan and poured into the gutter at the end of the village or at the roadside, so that the water could be washed away. The significance of dust cleaning is not only cleanliness, but also a sign that the bad luck, distress and poverty of the year will be swept away and poured away like dust to welcome the new year. The custom of cleaning dust has been around for a long time in Rongcheng Mountain and has been y rooted in people's hearts. While many of the customs in the festivals of the year have been gradually faded away, the custom of cleaning dust has been passed down from generation to generation. Even into the 1990s, people are also happy, not only in rural areas, even the authorities, factories and mines, the Spring Festival, but also the office, workshop clean, doors and windows rubbed light can be seen.

Killing the New Year's pig

Generally in the waxing moon 267, but also in advance to the 25th. In the past, farmers lived a hard life and rarely ate meat several times a year. Weekdays feed the pig to save manure, the end of the pig is fat, plus the New Year, the pig will be killed to compensate for the labor paid for a year. Killing the New Year pig, full of pre-holiday joy. When a family kills a pig, the whole village comes to watch. Especially children are more excited: because it is a New Year's pig, most of the pig's owners will save the pig's blood for consumption, which Rongcheng called "catching pig's blood". Because it is reserved for their own consumption, to catch the pig's blood also has certain instructions; first of all, put a little cool water, salt, white flour in the basin, the butcher's knife out of the blood to let the blood flow for a while and then connected. So that under the pig's blood clean, fast coagulation, boiling water after boiling blood in a honeycomb, bite, delicious. In the territory of killing pigs, whether or not the annual pig, are skinned. People in a joyful atmosphere, watching the killing of Ba (butcher) drums, ripping, peeling; and kill the spirit of the Ba people are extraordinarily show off, while laughing and joking while operating. Dry to the excitement, casually cut off the pig's tail, pig urine bubble, thrown to the children onlookers, so that they burned to eat. The owner of the pig is not only not angry, and even free firewood. Although killing the New Year's pig is for their own consumption, but the average family only half a fan of pork, the other half of the fan is slightly lower than the market price, distributed to relatives who can not afford to kill the New Year's pig neighbors. The half of the pork that you keep, cut off what you need for the New Year's festival, and wrap the remaining part with pig skin for the time being. A little salt is sprinkled inside the skin to prevent it from spoiling. After this treatment, stored in the house, the Chinese New Year when you need to cut down a piece, do not need to use it to be after the festival salt for weekday consumption, this custom has been maintained until the cooperative agriculture: after the cooperative agriculture, the implementation of the planned supply of pork, weekdays supplied by the state-run food stations, the Chinese New Year by the production team slaughtered collectively bred fat pigs, accounted for members of the community over the holidays. After the reform and opening up, farmers' income and living standards continue to improve, pork is also open to supply, kill the New Year's pig is uneconomical, so the phenomenon of private households to kill the New Year's pig is basically extinct, replaced by the pursuit of beef and mutton and seafood.

Grinding tofu

Generally on the twenty-seventh day of the Lunar New Year, after cleaning the ashes. In the past, farmers were very frugal when preparing for the New Year's Eve, trying not to spend as much money as possible, in order to save up for the next year's production funds. The most important foodstuff for the holiday season was tofu, and making tofu became a major part of the pre-holiday preparations. Making tofu is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and the process is complicated, so neighbors will conspire and help each other, laughing and joking while they work, which adds to the festive atmosphere before the festival. To make tofu, first of all, use a dry mill to grind the beans into two to four petals, commonly known as "pulling the bean ballast". "Bean ballast" after pulling a good, add water to soak, until all the beans soak through, let go, in order to go on the mill to grind. Tofu mill is called water mill or wet mill, not permanent, are near the New Year's Day near a few neighbors to discuss, with the old mill bracket up. The grinder is not equipped with a grinding disk, but is directly supported by the grinder. Grinder put a big pot or old pot, grinding bean ballast, while pushing the mill - the side of the spoon with beans with water into the grinding eye, grinding bean meal, directly into the big pot or pot. If the pot is full, another person will scoop into the bucket and pour into the pot at home. Soybean meal is all ground up, then diluted with hot water, and then scooped into the bag of noodles and repeatedly kneaded, Rongcheng vernacular called "Na tofu". In this way, the soybean meal becomes soybean milk and tofu residue. "Na soybean milk" is carried out in the pot on the bed of tofu, soybean milk directly into the pot, when all the soybean meal "Na" finished, the soybean milk boil, scooped into a very clean tank, ready to use "Zhan! Zhan". Rongcheng by the sea, point tofu with brine, commonly known as "Zhanzi". The next "Zhanzi" point tofu. Very technical, first of all, to master the temperature of the pulp, followed by mastering the number of "Zhanzi". Brine added early, add more, tofu old, coarse and astringent. Taste is not good, yellowish color, out of the tofu is also less; brine added late, add less, tofu tender, fragile, cut not block, the same taste is not good. Therefore, "Cham" tofu generally ask experienced older people to operate. After the "Cham", the operator closely watched the changes in the cylinder, the family also held their breath, as if the breath will be affected by the tofu. Only when the tofu in the tank turns into tofu brain will everyone smile. Even the children, who were hiding on the bed, staring down at the ground with their little eyes, were grinning from ear to ear. The parents were not shy to fulfill the children's expectations, and each of them was given a bowl of tofu brain. As the children gobbled up their food, the adults scooped the tofu into baskets lined with white wrappers, covered them with lids and pressed them against rocks, and the family fell asleep to the sound of dripping water.

Steaming offerings

On the 28th day of the Lunar New Year, every family steams offerings, which is commonly known as steam offerings in Rongcheng. There are many types of offerings, including the home for the child, heaven and earth for the child and so on, and the size varies. The largest, when the home for the biscuits, the bottom diameter of at least one foot, six to seven inches high, the top three open, inserted jujube, each less than five pounds or so, commonly known as jujube biscuits. A small number of people can not afford to buy dates, you can steam bald meat and potatoes, steamed on the top of a red spot, commonly known as point meat and potatoes point, to show bright, but the size of the same as the date meat and potatoes, the number of are ten. Such a big meat and potatoes, the light with the head Luo surface steam, even the rich family can not afford to steam. In the past, the farmer's annual fee, mainly by selling wheat and peanuts, so steamed large meat and potatoes had to cut corners. When the flour, the first two Luo noodles at the same time. Do meat and potatoes, the first to send a good two Luo noodles into a ball, wrapped in a layer of surface outside the head Luo, the top thicker, thinner at the bottom, because when the offerings are placed, are the bottom down, the fourth, although facing up, but was covered by the bottom of the fifth, no one can see, but the meat and potatoes steamed too well, the top of the smile to reveal the black surface, people are also not surprised, so, who does not laugh at anyone. Heaven and earth for children small, bigger than a fist, commonly known as small date biscuits, because of the small size, all with the head Luo surface. Rice cakes steamed into a plate, commonly known as plate cake, there are inserted dates, there are not inserted dates, in the cake surface point red meat and potatoes point, bright, beautiful. When the offerings, cut into the same size as the square two, stacked on top of each other, the home of the Church for a large head, steam when adding drawers, burning fire time with incense. The end of an incense burner. Biscuits steamed.

Steaming for the busiest, labor-intensive, especially kneading more tired. Neighborhood housewives are happy to help each other, who face first open, first help who. Even the children and the elderly also lined up to play - insert jujube; for children steamed, neighbors look at each other for children smile good, if it is a new daughter-in-law to do for children, smile and good, people coincidentally praised her hand, the new daughter-in-law will be beautiful to close small mouths.

Steamed for the child, first placed on the plate, dustpan, to be cooled, and then picked up to the wicker colander, covered with a good red baggage, to wait for the New Year's sacrifice to the gods. If not cool enough... Biscuits will stick between the skin, not beautiful.

Organize New Year's dishes

Lunar month 29th foot festival before the last day of preparation. Previously, offerings and people festival food staples have been prepared, all that remains is to do New Year's dishes. There are two kinds of vegetables: human food and divine offerings. Vegetables for human consumption include cabbage, radish, spinach, green onion and cilantro. Cabbage is stripped of its old leaves, turnips are cut into radish shreds, and spinach and cilantro have their yellow leaves removed. In addition to the vegetables offered to the gods mentioned above, people on the coasts also have red-dyed longbeard greens. Lunar New Year's Eve 29th day, in addition to human food and God for the dishes made of semi-finished products, mainly deep-fried food. Rongcheng people on New Year's Day or in the event of a happy event, it is very important to eat "fish", that is, the boss of the dried fish or dried shark softened with water, chopped into small pieces, plus eggs and flour into a paste, mix well. People frying pan, and then braised with cabbage, the actual is burning slippery fish. Since the fish, simply want to fry things all fried, such as fried small balls - pork balls, radish balls, tofu balls, and so on, and even go to relatives, pressure packages with the noodles fish, twist buckle is also fried, this day, the children do not want to go out to the street to play, but look around the pot. Mothers who love their children always give them the old or unattractive fried ones. By the time dinner is served, the little ones are already full of gas.

Year 30

Lunar New Year's Eve 30, including the small end of the 29th, Rongcheng customarily known as the New Year's Eve. This day is the busiest, the main activities are:

Posting pairs Rongcheng commonly known as posting Spring Festival couplets for the posting of pairs, but from a strict sense, posting pairs and posting Spring Festival couplets slightly different. Paste the pair is in the early morning, do mother's new clothes and hats ready, placed on the children's pillows, the children wake up, dressed, take the glue pots with the father with the open door, the first firecrackers, blast away the bad luck and poverty, and then paste the pair. The content of the "pair" has a strong sense of the times. In the Qing Dynasty, it was often used as "the beginning of a new year, the return of spring to all elephants", "the spring is always in the sunny gate, the rich and noble family celebrates" and so on, and even when Yuan Shikai was in power, he also "turned over the national emblem in five colors, and the people's banners were set in eight directions". Even when Yuan Shikai was in power, he also wrote, "The national emblem is in five colors and the people's banners are in eight directions. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the content of the "pairs", mostly to praise the party's kindness, such as "the spring breeze green miles, the party's grace in nine states", "the scenery this side of the unique, the mountains and rivers are so beautiful". The reason for the early posting of "pairs" is directly related to the "year". Legend has it that "Nian" is a ferocious monster that eats people and kills them every New Year's Eve. One day, it has just arrived in a village, ready to kill, suddenly heard "aba" a crunch, "year" thought it was bombing it, pulling their legs and ran. In fact, it was the village people race cattle prod. "Year" gasping for breath. Ran to another village gate, suddenly a flash of red light in front of me, to it hit, scared it to hold its head and run, this time it is a daughter of the sun red jacket, happened to swing in the "year" in front of the eyes of the people from now on know that the "year" afraid of ringing for fear of red, invented the firecrackers and Spring Festival couplets, "year" no longer. "Year" no longer dare to enter the village to hurt people. But Rongcheng paste "pairs", and debt collection has a direct relationship. In the past, the poor family in the event of a wedding or disaster, often to the rich family debt. At the end of the year, the debtor to clean up the debt, they sent to the borrower's home to collect the debt, step into the door of the waxing moon, the debt collection forced tighter, unable to repay the debtor will hide, as long as the hide to the New Year's Eve, the door on the pair of a sticker, the debtor saw a pair of turn his head away, the borrower can be safe and sound for the New Year. It is this reason, Rongcheng pair are early in the morning to paste. The Republic of China during the chapter village an old man even more extreme, he could not afford to pay the debt, "over the small year" on the day of posting a pair of: "swords, swords and halberds to the debt, needle sharp iron can not be returned", the banner: "the next year on the plan". Then they locked the door and went to hide from the debt. And then lock the door to avoid debt to go, not until the New Year does not go home, the creditors can not be helped.

Spring Festival is different, you can wait to eat breakfast and then paste, New Year's Day breakfast, Yatou south to eat hot noodle buns, dishes are very delicate, folds fine, very beautiful, no less than the city's steamed dumplings of three fresh, to take its meaning of peace and prosperity. Cliff head north drink noodles, called money string, heralding the coming year money rolling in, must be prepared in advance to wear the money string.

After breakfast, parents are busy honoring God's affairs, the children are at home posting Spring Festival couplets, such as the wall stickers "head up to see the happy", the chest and cabinet stickers "fortune into the treasure", the rice hoard stickers "grains of abundance! ", corral stickers "six animals prosper", "mules and horses," and so on. The word "Fu" is not only pasted on the door, and can be posted everywhere, and will intentionally post the word "Fu" upside down, which is called "Fu to the". As for the little girls are pasted window, what Sheng bug (small dragon), and two immortals, and the year, happy, happy, as far as possible, the pattern is constantly renovated. If the adult deceased in the family less than the third anniversary, do not stick red paper pairs, such as sticking the application of plain paper. The custom of posting Spring Festival couplets not only continues today, the content has increased. From the time of the Anti-Japanese War, the people of Rongcheng out of respect for the soldiers who protect the country and the families of the martyrs who died for the country, every New Year's Eve are knocking on the gongs and drums to the martyrs of the families of the Spring Festival couplets, hanging red lanterns, hanging the honor plate, to show respect and condolences.

Set up the table after breakfast, the host will set up the table, the table is generally set up in the guest house home, if there is no guest house home, it is placed in the main hall. The table is scrubbed clean and wrapped in an embroidered tablecloth. After the table is set up, the genealogy is taken down from the niche and hung on the north wall of the table facing south, with couplets on both sides. Because it is a family tree, not a shrine, the couplets usually do not trace the origin of the family, but carry the meaning of the family's motto, such as "loyalty and generosity are passed down from family to family, poetry and books are passed down from generation to generation," "reading books to get the true flavor, drinking and raving," and "reading books to get the true flavor, drinking and raving,". Genealogy hangs well, the god from the cabinet niche will be removed, in the genealogy of the family tree under the order of succession, but do not take off the god of the main set (in the past called the Kai casket). At the same time, will worship God's special vessels, such as wine cups, tea cups, bowls, plates, plates, incense burners, wax table, etc., washed and wiped dry, according to the order of the arrangement. After they are set up, those who should pour wine should pour wine, and those who should pour tea should pour tea. The incense burner is filled with sand so that incense can be inserted. On the wax skewers of the wax table, red candles with gold coloring are inserted. When the hostess has finished the offerings and dishes, the man arranges them in order. Extending from the main god: the first row of wine cups, tea cups, chopsticks; the second row of rice, dumplings, alternating; the third row of dishes, four dishes, four bowls, four dishes are fish (must be scaly fish), chicken, pig or pig's head (in the past, there are many people will be used to use the pig's belly with a thin rope tied into a piggy, lasted on the radish wire, coated with sugar coloring, similar to the roasted suckling pig), tofu pot collapse. Four bowls - generally fried small balls, fish, buckle elbow, vermicelli, do offerings, housewives engaged in formalism, especially the big bowl, which is full of cooked radish, only on the top of a thin layer of well-done dishes, another will be a whole cilantro, red longbeard to garnish, it looks very nice. The fourth row is the dish, including four fruit dishes: apple, jujube, white fruit, walnut or persimmon cake. In the past, Rongcheng did not produce fruits and bought limited quantities, usually two apples, six golden jujubes, white fruits and walnuts. Four dim sum dishes: peach crisp, jiangmi strips, prawn flower, and sesame flower buttons. Children, the fifth line in the middle of the incense burner, incense burner on both sides of the wax table, wax table on both sides of the date biscuits, each stack of five. The following three were zigzag, positively placed; the fourth inverted buckle on the character, the fifth on the bottom of the fourth. This arrangement, more solid and smooth, even if the vibration, but not rolled down. Probably the gods do not eat earthly food, most of the offerings in the rice Lai half-cooked. The chicken at most in the boiling water after a roll on the plate on the table, the master's wife can bite, seems to be flat no one cares.

Midnight meal In the past, agricultural production to the day of the month will be the field of light, into the period of agricultural idleness, Rongcheng people also from this day onwards to eat two meals, dinner is called "two night meal", time between 3:30 to 4:00 pm. New Year's Eve dinner is called "New Year's Eve Dinner". Rongcheng New Year's Eve dinner is very elaborate, and the food and wine are plentiful. The difference is that the quality of the affluent family better, poorer quality, but must be full of plates full of bowls, the number of even for good luck, and each has its own name: four dishes called "four seasons of wealth", six dishes called "six six big luck", eight dishes called "four flat eight stable". The names of the dishes are: four dishes are called "Four Seasons of Prosperity", six dishes are called "Six Six Great Prosperity", and eight dishes are called "Four Peaceful Eight Stable". New Year's Eve dinner has a rule, - law does not entertain guests, do not invite guests, eating between neighbors also do not string doors, only - family sitting on the hot bed, eat reunion dinner, drink reunion wine. The staple food is dry rice, not cooked before, scooped out part of the paper to be used, and then boiled for self-consumption. All New Year's meals, including morning buns, evening dry rice, and dumplings on the first day of the year, must be made in such a way that the whole family is well-fed and there are still leftovers. The leftovers must be stored in a grain hoard and covered with a red wrapper to symbolize the "yearly surplus".

After the New Year's Eve dinner, the housewives were busy wrapping the paper dumplings, and the man of the house led the children, carrying plates of incense and paper offerings, wooden shovels, and ash baskets to the yard festival. The first thing to do is to burn incense and paper. They pour libations and bow down. After worship, the man with a wooden shovel shovel grass ash, in the yard on the circle, the circle of the cross, in the center of the cross put a handful of grain, so-called "playing grain hoard". Next to the circle with ash sprinkled into a ladder, called the grain ladder. Means that the grain circle is too full too high, only step on the ladder can get. Grain hoard pouncing well, and then burn paper firecrackers, kowtow. Sacrifice field back, and in front of their respective doors to spread a grain hoard, put on the grain, heralding the next year's bumper crop. Into the street door will have been prepared by hand peach stick across the threshold in front of the door, called "blocking the door stick", blocking the treasure, to prevent the outflow, but also to block the door of bad luck. Put down the joss paper tray, wooden shovel and ash basket. The master of the house will be a kind of paper geometric, long carved paper products, inserted in their own eaves, Rongcheng vernacular called "hanging Guan". Hanging on the "Hanging Guan", is the same as the announcement of the official start of the New Year. Because hang on "hang on", in addition to the bed meal affairs, prohibit all labor activities, and there are many taboos, such as not plowing not weaving, not pulp not wash (refers to the clothes), not sewing not mending, not Luo (sparrow) small fishing (fish), do not push (mill) small pounding (pestle and mortar), do not cradle (grass) do not pick (water). No hoeing (grass), no sweeping, no splashing (water), no digging (ash), forbidding unlucky words.

Inviting the gods, also known as inviting the spirits, is actually a form of ancestor worship. After the New Year's Eve dinner and the festival, when it gets dark, the man of the house will lead his son to the ancestral tomb to invite his ancestors home for the New Year, carrying a tray of incense and paper and offerings and a lantern. First, they set up the offerings, put on the lanterns, and go around each grave in order of seniority. Rongcheng called the grandmother for the grandmother, turn around the mouth to chant piously: "please master wife home for the New Year, please master wife home for the New Year ......" each grave are photographed, pack up the incense and paper plates and offerings, carry a lantern in front of the lead, the road still have to chant until the "Master wife" to the The "master's wife" guided to the house where the offering table is set, commonly known as the home of the god of service, before stopping chanting and reporting that the "master's wife" has arrived home. Then, the lantern on the left hand tabletop, the host first God's main set of unveiled, the ancient called Kai Casket, and then light candles on incense, burning paper kowtow. After the completion of this set of procedures, the lanterns can be extinguished and moved away. Before inviting the gods, family members and offerings must be complete, otherwise it is not a reunion, the wealth is not complete, which is also the New Year's Eve dinner must be eaten together with the family, do not entertain outsiders reason. Thereafter, the candles on the offering table are always lit, the incense burns, the paper is burned at three times a day to bow to the ancestors, and the paper ash in front of the incense table cannot be swept away. At the same time, the gods invited, the descendants must strictly abide by the rules, the seats on both sides of the offering table, no one shall sit without authorization, so as not to compete with the ancestors. No bickering and cursing, so as not to startle the ancestors, or disrespect them. No one is allowed to pour his or her leftover water on the ground to confuse the offering. One must not call out the name of a child when offering to the gods, lest the wild ghosts and spirits outside the door hear it and demand their lives, making the child a bad child to raise.

The god's main tablet is only sacrificed to too, high, great, ancestor, father of the five generations, too ancestor of the following into the family tree, hanging sacrifice. Those who died before the third anniversary cannot be worshiped as gods, so they do not enter the family hall, but set up a separate table for worship, and the offerings can be more abbreviated than in the family hall.

Fairing paper On New Year's Eve, fairing paper, welcoming the God of Wealth, and celebrating the New Year's Eve, all take place in the middle of the night at midnight, which is probably the origin of the New Year's Eve celebration. The paper, in front of the heaven and earth table, New Year's Eve during the day, in the courtyard of the south side of the heaven and earth table, for the convenience of walking, heaven and earth table is generally used six immortal table or dining table, offerings are not as prosperous as the main table of the God, complete, the offering plate written on the "heaven and earth and the world, the three worlds of ten ten thousand souls of the true Zaijun God's position", the time of sacrifice in the evening before dinner. During the festival, incense and wine are burned, and the gods kneel down to pray for the blessing of Heaven and Earth. At the end of the ceremony, a yellow table is burned before getting up, which is said to be "sending money and grain". This god may be the Jade Emperor, otherwise, why should ordinary people give it to the "imperial grain national tax"? This is called a sacrifice to heaven and earth.

After inviting the god to come back, the whole family sits around the hot bed and starts to observe the new year. In the past, the year, usually all night, all night. In the middle of the night at midnight, each family set up offerings on the heaven and earth table: biscuits, dumplings, rice, wine, vegetables and so on. Parents lead the family to burn incense and paper, firecrackers, first bowing to the gods of heaven and earth, then in order to bow to the gods of the door, the god of the stove, the family hall, and finally offerings to the ancestors, in the conduct of these rituals at the same time, the housewife will be a cabbage cut at the waist, reciting under her breath: "Cutting cabbage, (family) hair fast!" After cutting the cabbage, she then cuts open a square gourd and reads: "Cut the square gourd and hit the grain touching (Rongcheng dialect reads "urging") the fence!" It is called "excuse color". Paper dumplings, boiled to burn buds or grain stalks, hair when the mouth recited the words: "burned strong, crops are thriving." Riguang lived like a sesame seed blossom - higher and higher. Send paper, the language should be careful, strictly prohibit unlucky words, children and just passed the door of the daughter-in-law, parents repeatedly urged. After the issuance of paper to the family hall ancestor worship, ancestor worship up, by hand will be placed next to the offering table in advance of the liter away. You take a tray of incense and go outside the village to burn incense and bow to the God of Wealth according to the directions shown in the "Zao Ma Tou" for that year. Then touch up a stone (not necessarily a stone, where the first hand touches the hard objects, such as mud, firewood sticks, etc., touch what to take what), gently put into the liter, turn your head and go home, the road is strictly prohibited to talk. After returning home, put the liter under the offering table, the liter covered with red cloth. Some places in the home set up a special God of Wealth table, hanging God of Wealth statue, placed under the offerings, burning incense and worship. This is called "welcoming the God of Wealth". The god of wealth than the ancestors to worship a long time, from the god of wealth to welcome the god of wealth, to the sixteenth day of the first month of a big sacrifice, to be taken out of the liters from under the table. Because the "fifteenth" has passed, everything is flourishing, the God of Fortune will also take responsibility to ensure that the family's prosperity.

While the men welcome the god of wealth, the housewives make dumplings and cook them at home. In the past, the dumplings for the New Year's Eve and the first day of the lunar calendar were wrapped in the shape of a yuanyuanbao, which was called "yuanbao za" in common parlance. The dumplings are pinched together, alternating between the two corners of the dumplings. After welcoming the God of Fortune, the whole family sits together and eats the farewell dumplings, also called the farewell meal. After the cooperative agriculture, these customs gradually disappeared, and the New Year's Eve also into the form, generally the whole family sitting together, a symbolic appearance, neither paper, nor welcome the God of Fortune, they go to bed. Over the years, with the general improvement of people's living standards, coupled with the popularity of television sets, television programs, novelty, attractive, the New Year's Eve, resignation dumplings thrive again. After watching the Spring Festival Gala program, it is already late at night one or two o'clock, the elderly and children may be sleeping, young people which have the heart to sleep? Hair paper was fired instead of firecrackers, from 12 midnight, has been put into the morning of the first day of the New Year, and the firecrackers are getting bigger and bigger, louder and louder.