What are the customs before Chinese New Year?

Twenty-three/twenty-four of twelfth lunar month

sweep the dust

The main theme before the busy year is to take off the old cloth, and sweeping dust is one of the new customs of taking off the old cloth on New Year's Day. The folk proverb says, "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house". 23/24 ended, and officially began to prepare for the New Year. Sweeping dust means year-end cleaning, which is called "house sweeping" in the north and "house sweeping" in the south. Cleaning the dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of cleaning and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

Sacrifice to the kitchen god

On the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the kitchen stove should be cleaned after dark, and the old kitchen stove should be removed and burned. In addition to posting new pictures in the morning and evening, there are also wine, meat, candy, sugar cane and rice fruit. To put incense, light candles and light paper cannons.

maltose

Jiangsu local conditions and customs: Fan Chengda, a poet of Suzhou Xiangxian Song Dynasty, has a poem "Sacrificing a Kitchen", which vividly describes the custom of sending a kitchen to Suzhou in Song Dynasty. His poem said: "In ancient times, on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the chef confided to the sky, and there were fewer horses and chariots and more cups and plates at home. The pig's head is cooked, the fish is fresh, and the bait with bean paste and Gan Song powder is round. When a man asks his daughter to avoid it, he drinks and burns money. You can't smell the fight between your servant and your son, and you won't feel angry if your cat and dog touch your dirty husband. I sent you to Tianmen to get drunk, and the spoon was long and short. I didn't go back to Yuntou and begged for points in the city. " According to the memory of the old Suzhou people, in addition to the "sugar ingots", there are other offerings, such as paper horses, door curtains and ingots. ?

Twenty-five twelfth lunar month

Make tofu

The folk proverb says, "On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, grinding bean curd." In some places, there is also the custom of eating tofu residue before New Year's Eve. According to folklore, when the Kitchen God dies, the Jade Emperor will go to the lower bound to see if all the families are like the Kitchen God's performance, so all the families will eat tofu dregs to show their poverty and avoid the punishment of the Jade Emperor. Legend goes back to legend. In fact, eating tofu residue was actually inefficient in ancient times, and there was not so much delicious food (but sometimes people bought a big basket of tofu to satisfy their hunger and so on). ).

Jieyu yellow

Some folks believe that after the kitchen god went to heaven, the Jade Emperor personally descended to earth on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month to investigate the good and evil in the world, and set the year for good and bad. Therefore, every household sacrifices it to pray for blessing, which is called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and words, strive for good performance, win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring good luck for the coming year.

Zhao Tiancan

Zhao Tiancan, also known as "burning silkworm" and "burning field wealth", is a popular folk custom in Jiangnan area to pray for the New Year. On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, a long pole tied with a torch will stand in the field, indicating the new year with the flame, and the thriving flame indicates the bumper harvest in the coming year. This activity is held in some places on New Year's Eve. ?

Rush out of chaos

It was not until New Year's Eve that Kitchen God was sent to welcome him back. During this period, there is no God's jurisdiction on the earth, and at all times, many people get married, which is called "expelling chaos". Luannian is a special period designed by people to adjust their social life. At the end of the year, people have leisure and savings. For those who have little energy to do great things, this is a good opportunity for recreation. Therefore, people invented this special time folk custom according to the needs of real life.

Twelfth lunar month

As the saying goes, "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the pig is killed and the meat is cut" or "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the head is cut", which means that this day is mainly for preparing meat for the Chinese New Year. The reason why "cutting the annual meat" is written into the annual festival ballad is because the agricultural society and economy are underdeveloped, and people often eat meat at the annual festival, so it is called "annual meat". ?

December 27

Tiefu

In traditional folk customs, we should concentrate on bathing and washing clothes these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival next year. There is a saying in Beijing that "twenty-seven washes sick, twenty-eight washes sloppy". Taking a bath on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is "washing Fulu".

the 28th of the twelfth lunar month

Stick paper-cuts on the windows.

There is a saying in the middle of the year: "On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, cakes and steamed buns should be decorated with flowers" or "On the 28th, make noodles". The so-called decals are new year pictures, Spring Festival couplets, window grilles and all kinds of things posted during the Spring Festival.

Among them, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets originated from the ancient "Fu Tao". The ancients used peach wood as a wood to ward off evil spirits. The Book of Arts said, "Peach is the essence of five trees, so it also suppresses evil spirits." In the Five Dynasties, Meng Changya, the monarch of the post-Shu Dynasty, was good at literature. Every year, he made people write inscriptions for Fu Tao, which became the origin of Spring Festival couplets in later generations. The inscription on the Fu Tao "New Year's Qing Yu, Spring Festival Changchun" became the first "Spring Festival couplets" in China's recorded history. Later, with the appearance of papermaking, the custom of pasting Spring Festival couplets with red paper instead of mahogany appeared.

Spring Festival custom:

New Year's Eve

Except New Year, it is on the last day of the year, usually on the 29th or 30th of the lunar calendar. The last day of the year is called the beginning of the year, and that night is called New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve means "New Year's Eve", which is also called New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve and so on. , which is the last night of the twelfth lunar month (December) every year. New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the year is over". People should bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Since ancient times, there have been customs such as posting New Year greetings, offering sacrifices to ancestors, having a reunion dinner, and observing the old age, which have been passed down to this day and last forever.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

Sacrificing ancestors on New Year's Eve is one of the important customs of China New Year. The Chinese nation has a tradition of pursuing the future with caution, and never forgets to worship the ancestors and repay them. On New Year's Eve, people will put on dishes, pour wine and hold a grand sacrifice ceremony to express their memory of their ancestors and pray for their blessing.

Tienianhong

Sticking New Year Red is a general term for sticking Spring Festival couplets, door gods, New Year pictures and window grilles. Because these are all red festive elements pasted during the New Year, they are collectively called "Sticking New Year Red".

lucky money

One of the customs of the Spring Festival is distributed by the elders to the younger generation. After dinner in 2008, the elders should distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can kill evil spirits, and the younger generation can spend the first year safely when they get lucky money. In some families, parents will put lucky money under their pillows after their children fall asleep at night, which shows the care of the elders and the respect of the younger generation for the elders. It is a folk activity that integrates family ethics. Lucky money has the meaning of exorcising evil spirits and keeping peace in folk culture.

stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve

People in China have the habit of celebrating New Year's Eve, so they should have a reunion dinner and wash the cooking utensils to prevent vegetarianism on the first day of the first month or all day. In the evening, every room should be brightly lit all night, which is called "lighting the Lunar New Year fire". The folk custom of keeping New Year's Eve is that the lights are always on on New Year's Eve. Observing New Year's Eve is called "lighting up the New Year", that is, it is full of lights and candles on New Year's Eve. It is said that after this pass, the family's wealth will be more abundant in the coming year.

Keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve is one of the most important activities, and the custom of keeping the Lunar New Year's Eve has a long history. The earliest record can be found in the Local Records of the Western Jin Dynasty: on New Year's Eve, all parties give gifts to each other, which is called "the year of giving back"; Wine and food are invited, which is called "not old"; Young and old get together to drink and wish a complete song called "age division"; Everyone stays up all night, waiting for dawn. This is the so-called "shou sui".

Customs of the Spring Festival:

1, the first day of the first month

From the first day of the first month, it entered the theme of welcoming the New Year, offering sacrifices to the gods and praying for a bumper harvest. At the turn of the New Year's Day, various activities to celebrate the New Year, such as firecrackers exploding, fireworks flying all over the sky, saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new year, reached a climax. On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and wish good luck in the new year.

Worship the elderly

It is the oldest traditional custom of the Chinese nation to worship the gods of heaven and earth (ancestors) at the beginning of the year. Its main purpose is to thank the gods and ancestors for their kindness, pray for a good year and express people's wishes for a better life in the new year. Its belief is rooted in the tradition of "respecting heaven and ancestors" and passed down from generation to generation, so people always hold sacrificial ceremonies, begin with gratitude and pray for ancestors' blessing. ?

Open the door and set off firecrackers.

When the door is opened in the morning of the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door to set off firecrackers". After the firecrackers, the ground is broken red, which is the so-called "full house". At this time, the streets are full of anger and joy. The saying of "setting off firecrackers" has existed since ancient times. When the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

festival

Worship God and set off firecrackers in the morning. On this day, we visit each other, regardless of rank. It is called "Happy New Year". On New Year's Day, you must be a vegetarian and cook a pot of "Luohanzhai" with vermicelli, yuba, Nostoc flagelliforme and mushrooms. I ate all the vegetarian dishes I should eat this year in the morning, so I can eat big fish and meat in the future. ?

Pay new year's call

An important activity of the Spring Festival is to go to friends, relatives and neighbors' homes to congratulate the Spring Festival, which used to be called New Year greetings. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings, some of which are led by the same patriarch from door to door. Some colleagues invited several people to pay New Year greetings; Others get together to congratulate each other. This is called "group worship". With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings is constantly adding new contents and forms. In addition to following the previous New Year greetings, there have also been ceremonial telegrams and telephone calls.

Jucai

It is said that the first day of the first month is the birthday of a broom, so you can't use a broom on this day, otherwise it will ruin your fortune, attract a "broom star" and cause bad luck. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep it from the outside to the inside. Don't throw water on the garbage on this day, for fear of breaking the money. Today, this custom still remains in many places. Don't put a broom or take out the garbage on New Year's Eve. Prepare a big barrel of waste water to avoid splashing outside that day.

2, the second day of the first month

Opening the new year (Eid al-Fitr)

Spring Festival custom activities (18)

According to tradition, it is a brand-new beginning to say goodbye to the old year on New Year's Eve, welcome the new year on New Year's Day, break fast on the first day of New Year's Day, and lift the taboo of fasting on the second day of New Year's Day. The custom of opening the new year is to eat "opening the new year" rice. This meal is usually made of seaweed, lettuce, fish and so on. , intended to make money, lilu. Modern people also put New Year's Eve in restaurants. Some suburban villages still retain the custom of "releasing", buying live carp, covering the eyes of the fish with red paper, and putting them into the river pond after offering sacrifices to the gods.

International Children's Day

The second day of the first month is the traditional Children's Day, and children should pay New Year greetings to their parents-in-law. Chaoshan people call my uncle's return to his parents' home for dinner the next day "to have a midnight snack", which means to have lunch. Uncle and daughter must return to their home before dinner (some areas may stay for dinner because of the trip).

3, the third day of the first month

Burning door god paper

In the old society, on the third day, pine and cypress branches were burned together with the janitor's note hanging on the festival to show that the New Year had passed and it was time to start business. As the saying goes, "if you burn the janitor's paper, one will seek physiology."

Guzi birthday

People think that the third day of the first month is Xiaomi's birthday. On this day, people hope to sacrifice and pray for the new year. They don't eat rice.

Xiaonianchao

That is, tianqing festival. The court festival in the Song Dynasty, the first year of Song Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu, was spread all over the world because of the gobbledygook, so Zhenzong issued an imperial edict, which designated the third day of the first month as Tianqing Festival, and officials and others had five days off. Later, it was called Xiaonian Dynasty, which did not sweep the floor, beg for fire or draw water, just like the old dynasty.

4, the fourth day of the first month

Yangri

It is said in the gauntlet that the fourth day of the first month is the day when Nu Wa herded sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that sheep will be raised well and sheep farmers will have a good harvest this year. In the old imperial calendar, it was often said that "three sheep (yang) open Thailand" is a symbol of good luck and a day to welcome the kitchen god back to the people. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the whole family had dinner together, which is a unique local custom, reflecting the traditional psychology of the ancient working people who generally hoped to bid farewell to the old poverty and hardships and welcome a better life in the new year. ?

5, the fifth day of the first month

Southerners greet the god of wealth on the fifth day of the first month. According to folklore, the God of Wealth is the Five Gods. The so-called five roads refer to the east, west, north and south, which means that you can get money when you go out of five doors.

Spring festival food

During the Spring Festival, people open doors and windows at 0: 00 on the fifth day of the first month (after 24: 00 on the fourth day of the first month), light incense and set off fireworks to welcome the God of Wealth. After receiving the god of wealth, everyone still has to eat road wine, often until dawn. Everyone is full of hope of getting rich. I hope the god of wealth can bring home gold and silver treasures in the new year and make a fortune.

short for Shenyang/a surname

Reuters is the God of Wealth that Wu believes in. It is customary to take this day as his birthday and greet him in the sun, which is quite spectacular.

They say the sooner you meet the end of the road, the better. The first one you receive is the true god, which is particularly effective, so it is called "grabbing the road". In some places, the fourth day of January is really "grabbing the road" and it has become a custom. Since the road god is no longer the protector of the journey, people will no longer sacrifice it when traveling.

As for people who worship the Road God on the fifth day of January and take this day as their birthday, it is the reason why the "Five" of the Road God is related to the "Five" of the fifth day. The same is true for the North to offer sacrifices to the "five poor" on this day. In the first month, but not in other months, it is a new year's atmosphere. Auspicious, rich in financial resources, and wealth goes hand in hand.

open the market

During the old custom Spring Festival, large and small shops closed together from the beginning of the New Year, but opened on the fifth day of the first month. People are used to taking the fifth day of the first month as the holy day of the god of wealth, thinking that choosing this day to open the market will definitely make a fortune.

6, the sixth day of the first month

Send the poor

The sixth day of the first lunar month, also known as Horse Day, is a distinctive custom of the Han people to send the poor on this day. There are different ways to send the poor to all parts of China. But the moral is basically the same, they all send away the poor.

Tofi

From the beginning of the first month to the fifth day, it was impossible to clean, and the feces in the toilet piled up like mountains. So on this day, I did a big cleaning and worshipped the toilet god to clean the dirty toilet on weekdays. So it is called "fat" (but now people use new bathroom equipment, so there is no such custom). This day also means that farmers in the old society began to prepare for spring ploughing.

On the sixth day of the first month, please go out to exercise your muscles.

be solemnly opened

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, shops and restaurants officially opened their doors and set off firecrackers, no less than on New Year's Eve. On the sixth day of the first month, in the old society, it was the day when large and small businesses "opened the market", and red couplets of "opening the market and prospering everything" should be posted on the door panels. Set off firecrackers before business to show good luck.

7, the seventh day of the first month

man-day

Also known as People's Victory Day, People's Celebration Day, Population Day and People's Seven Days. Legend has it that Nu Wa created chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, horses and other animals at the beginning of creation, and then created people on the seventh day, so this day is the birthday of mankind. Some people began to observe daily customs in the Han dynasty, and they began to pay attention to it after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of "men winning". The man won as a headdress. Since the Jin Dynasty, people cut the ribbon for flowers and people, or put gold foil on people's screens and put it on their hair.

Catch raw fish

In some areas in the south, people have the custom of "fishing for raw fish" on the People's Month Festival. When fishing for raw fish, many people often gather around a big plate and pour fish, ingredients and sauces into it. Everyone stood up, waved chopsticks, grabbed the fish and kept shouting, "Fishing! Fishing! Send it! " Higher and higher, as a sign of rising step by step.

8, the eighth day of the first month

Gul

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year is the start-up day, which is the first thing for Guangdong bosses to do on their first day of work after the New Year. Profit is profit, which means that it can be profitable all year round. Legend has it that the eighth day is Xiaomi's birthday. If it's cloudy, it's sorry for this year. If it's sunny, it's a bumper rice harvest this year. In ancient times, there was a "release" activity on the eighth day of the first month, which was to take some fish and birds raised at home outside and release them into the wild. ?

Shunxing

On the eighth day of the first month, people make small lanterns and burn them for sacrifice, which is called Shunxing, also called "offering sacrifices to stars" and "receiving stars". Sacrifice uses two sacred symbols, the first one is printed with Xingke, Suzaku and Xuanwu. The second is "The Monument to the Core of Life prolongs the life of Xingjun". Two sheets were stacked one after the other, clipped on paper clips and placed in the middle of the back of the table in the yard for worship. After dusk, sacrifice the Beidou as the target. After the sacrifice, when the residual lamp will be extinguished, the sacred scriptures and incense roots will be incinerated together with sesame stems and pine and cypress branches to be sacrificed.

9, the ninth day of the first month

Sky and sunshine

The ninth day of the first month is heaven, commonly known as "born in heaven". It is said that this day is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. The main customs are offering sacrifices to the jade emperor and Taoist temple to heaven. In some places, when the weather is fine, women will prepare incense sticks and fast rice bowls and put them in the open air at the entrance of patio lane to worship heaven and pray for God's blessing.

10, 10th day of the first month.

Stones don't move.

Henan custom: On this day, every household pays tribute and burns incense on stones. On this day, all stone tools such as grinding and grinding can't be moved, and even sacrifices are set up to enjoy the stones, for fear of hurting crops. Also known as "stone does not move" and "ten does not move". You must eat steamed stuffed buns for lunch, thinking that you can make a fortune within one year after eating cake. In Yuncheng, Shandong and other places, there is a move to lift the stone god. In early Kuya, a crock was frozen on a smooth stone, and ten boys or girls took turns to carry it. If the stone does not fall to the ground, it indicates a bumper harvest that year. Birthday of Stone: This day is the birthday of Stone, and no stone products are allowed.

Congratulations to the mouse for marrying a daughter.

Old folk letter. The rat worship activities held in the first month are also called "rat marries female" and "rat marries female". The specific date varies from place to place, some are the seventh day of the first month, some are the twenty-fifth day of the first month, and many areas are the tenth day of the first month. The night before, the children put candy, peanuts and so on. In the dark, he knocked on the pot cover, dustpan and other big things to make up for the mice. The next morning, they blocked the mouse hole, thinking that the mouse could disappear forever. In other areas, mice go to bed early on the wedding day, and they won't disturb them. It is said that if you bother them for one day, they will bother you for one year. ?

1 1, the eleventh day of the first month

Son-in-law day

There is a saying in folk songs that "Eleven is the' son-in-law's day', and the father-in-law fetes his son-in-law on this day. According to legend, this is because the food celebrated on the ninth day can't be eaten until the tenth day, so it is used to invite the son-in-law to dinner on the eleventh day, and the family doesn't have to spend any more money.

12, the twelfth day of the first month

Twelfth Deng Peng.

On the twelfth day of the first month, a light shed was set up, and guns were fired at twelve nights. From now on, people begin to prepare to celebrate the Lantern Festival, buy lanterns and set up light sheds. There is a nursery rhyme that says, "Eleven people clamor, twelve people build a light shed, thirteen people turn on the lights, fourteen lights are on, fifteen lines and a half months, and sixteen people finish the lights."

13, 13th day of the first month

On the 13th and 14th of the first month, there are lion dances, floating colors, wandering souls and visiting temple fairs. There is also a legend that the 13th day of the first month is "the birthday of the lamp holder". On this day, people will light a lamp under the kitchen stove, which is called "lighting the stove lamp". In the old society, the lights were turned on on the thirteenth day of the first month and turned off on the eighteenth. [36]?

14, 14th day of the first month

On this day, China folk activities include drinking bright soup, trying lanterns, eating bad soup, and worshipping the goddess beside the water. On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, there is a traditional folk activity of "sending frogs" in Pengxi County, Sichuan Province. Participants can not only eat authentic farmers' dam feast, but also climb mountains with bamboo lanterns, set off fireworks and "send frogs" to welcome the good luck and best wishes of the Lunar New Year.

15, 15th day of the first month

the Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival is the main traditional festival in China, also called Yuanxiao and Yuanxiao, and Shangyuan Festival, because it is the first full moon night of the New Year. Because this festival has the custom of watching lanterns in past dynasties, it is also called Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival custom activities mainly include watching lanterns, gambling on boats, setting off fireworks and celebrating the Lantern Festival.

Rutland fair

The custom of putting lights on the Lantern Festival developed into an unprecedented lantern market in the Tang Dynasty, and after the middle Tang Dynasty, it developed into a national carnival.

eat yuanxiao

Eating Yuanxiao on the fifteenth day of the first month, as a kind of food, has a long history in China. In the Song Dynasty, a novel Lantern Festival food was popular among the people. This kind of food was originally called "Floating Zi Yuan", later called "Yuanxiao", and merchants also called it "Yuanbao". Yuanxiao, or "Tangyuan", contains sugar, roses, sesame seeds, red bean paste, cinnamon bark, walnut kernel, nuts, jujube paste and so on. And wrapped in glutinous rice flour into a circle, you can be vegetarian and have different flavors. It can be boiled, fried and steamed, which means happy reunion. Jiaozi, Shaanxi is not wrapped, but "rolled" in glutinous rice flour, or boiled or fried, warm and round.

She Yan fire

In some places in the north, on the fifteenth day of the first month, several villages get together to perform social fires. Social fires include walking on stilts, Zhong Kui jumping and floats.