What is the origin of the New Year's bath?

Bathing on New Year's Eve is a long-standing tradition among the Chinese. Mr. Liang Shiqiu in the "Elegant Life" is so said: Chinese people have always taken the bath as a major event to do. Since ancient times, there have been showers and dynasties, fasting showers to worship God. Bathing to purify the body, transcendence is a desire of the people.

Therefore, the traditional folklore of New Year's Eve to take a bath to remove bad luck, ready to meet the next year's New Year. Ancient capital of the popular "27 wash guilt, 28 wash sloppy" proverb, and some of the waxing moon 26 bath known as "wash the blessing of Lu".

Ancient bathing, subject to the conditions, mostly boiling water bath. Therefore, New Year's Eve this day, generally during the day are children to wash, adults busy after the New Year's dinner at night to wash, wash and then put on clean clothes, meaning that the bad luck of the past year will be washed away to a new look to meet the arrival of the New Year. In the south, the Hakka people are also popular with pomelo leaves boiling water bath custom, meaning that the past bad luck are washed away, in the New Year to be able to do good luck.

Expanded information:

Customs of the New Year:

1. On the 25th day of the Lunar New Year, we push the mill to make bean curd. Legend has it that the Jade Emperor will visit the world and eat the dregs of the tofu to show his purity.

2, the 26th day of the Lunar New Year, killing pigs to cut the New Year's meat, people used to only be able to eat meat to their heart's content in the annual New Year's festival.

3. On the 27th day of the Lunar New Year, the slaughter of new year's chickens and the catching up of the big market are in the process of purchasing all the necessary items for the Spring Festival.

4, Lunar New Year's Eve, steamed steamed buns and flowers. Ancient people used peach wood as a wood to ward off evil spirits, later replaced by red paper.

5, Lunar New Year's Eve, on the grave to invite ancestors on the big offerings. The worship of ancestors has a long history in China.

6, the 24th day of the Lunar New Year, dusting and sweeping the house, this day is the customary day of sweeping.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese New Year Customs