What do Fujian people do during the Spring Festival?

Fujian people's Spring Festival customs

The Spring Festival was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, which meant the beginning of a new year. Also known as the "New Year Festival", commonly known as.

"Fujian people's Spring Festival customs" and "Looking at the world"

The article about "Seeing the World" begins with the text of Fujian People's Spring Festival Customs >:> The Spring Festival was called "New Year's Day" in ancient times, which means the beginning of a new year. Also known as "New Year Festival", commonly known as "Year".

The Spring Festival is the most grand traditional festival for people of all ethnic groups in Fujian Province. In terms of time, the core of the Spring Festival is the first day of the first month. Folk activities mainly include holding ceremonies, offering sacrifices, paying New Year greetings and having fun.

1. Ryan

It refers to choosing a good day between midnight on New Year's Eve and Stone Spears, opening doors, burning incense, lighting candles and setting off firecrackers, which not only indicates the beginning of a new year, but also prays for good luck and harmony. The time of "Ryan" is calculated by heavenly stems and earthly branches in those days, and most people act according to the records in the almanac. At the time of "Ryan", before dawn, every household was brightly lit, cigarettes filled the air, firecrackers broke out one after another, and at that time it was very lively.

"Ryan" is called "Spring" in Longhai; In Gutian, it is called "opening the year"; In Shaxian county, it is called "next year"; Nanping, Shaowu, Shunchang, Guangze, Liancheng, Changting and Liu Qing are called "good start" or "good start". The ceremony of "opening the right" is similar in the whole province. In Xiamen, on New Year's Day, "burn incense paper, set off firecrackers, and open the door and close the door". In Jiangle countryside, if many families live in the same house, then the person who opens the door must be respected and full of children and grandchildren. I hope he can bring good luck and happiness to everyone in the new year. In some rural areas in Ninghua, firecrackers should be set off before opening the door, and all the rooms in the house should be visited before opening the door. In Wuping, the whole family should be present when the door is opened. If there are outsiders, they are not allowed to attend. After opening the door, kowtow in the direction of the god of wealth as shown in the "Spring Cattle Map". In Shaowu, if someone is injured and bleeds by "straight" firecrackers, it is called "blood color", which is said to be an excellent omen and can make a fortune this year.

At present, the practice of choosing "opening hours" has basically disappeared. Generally, firecrackers and fireworks are set off at 0: 00 on New Year's Eve and at the turn of the new year to welcome the arrival of the new year. In recent years, TV sets have become popular, and most families in urban and rural areas in the province are sitting around the TV to watch CCTV's "Spring Festival Gala" program. At zero o'clock, the New Year bell rings on TV, and people set off firecrackers and fireworks, which is by no means comparable to the past. This new custom is so popular in cities and towns that the public security department has informed the public to limit the places where fireworks are set off and advised residents to pay attention to fire safety. Fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited in big cities in this province, and they are replaced by tapes with firecrackers.

Worship the gods

Sacrificing to the gods is an indispensable and important ceremony in the old society after the Enlightenment. Offering sacrifices to gods mainly includes offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, family gods and ancestors. Before the sacrifice, the sacrifices were arranged in advance on a long list in the hall. The offerings vary from place to place, generally including wine, fruit (mostly oranges or oranges), rice cakes, pure tea, rice for sacrifice and "annual rice" with red paper flowers and flowers. Some places are vegan, "offering vegetarian fruit, tea, wine and rice to heaven". Yongchun also has jiaozi soup, Zhangzhou also has brown sugar boiled noodles, and Tongan also has day lilies and dried longan. Many families in Quanzhou moved the "Tianshou" on the ninth day of the first month to "Ryan" after the sacrifice, and the offerings were even more exquisite, with three sacrifices, five fruits and six fasting. When offering sacrifices to the gods, the elders in the family will preside over them. The whole family will wear new styles of clothes. First of all, they will worship the gods of heaven and earth, burn incense and candles, burn gold paper, and pray for family harmony, good luck and longevity in the new year. That is the so-called "Praying for the New Year with God". Second, worship ancestors according to their age. In Luoyuan, "On the first day of the New Year's Day, when the incense table is set, you bow down and call it' Yin Qi'." In some places, sacrificial activities are held at other times. In Xiamen, ancestor worship is at noon on the first day. In some places, sacrificial activities are held at other times. In Xiamen, ancestor worship is at noon on the first day. In Liancheng, ancestor worship is called "worshipping the map". On the first morning of the lunar calendar, the patriarch led his descendants to the ancestral hall. In Daejeon, there is a folk custom of drinking ginger tea (that is, putting ginger and rice flowers in sugar boiled water) on the first day of the first lunar month. At this time, a cup of ginger tea should be offered in front of the ancestral hall and sacrificed in the ancestral hall after breakfast.

After the sacrifice to God, the offerings will be withdrawn for one more day, and some will be kept until the fifth day. Among them, fruits such as red oranges should be placed in the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month. Incense for three days in Fuan, the main case of the hall.

Fishermen in Longhai and Longjiang buy large bundles of sugar cane with roots and leaves during the Spring Festival, and tie them to the mast of the ship with red silk cloth to pray for a sweet New Year. Sugarcane can't be picked until the third day, otherwise it is said that it will go bad.

At present, the ritual of offering sacrifices to gods is not popular, but some people still offer fruits and light incense sticks, which not only means offering sacrifices first, but also adds to the festive atmosphere.

Step 3 pay New Year's greetings

Paying New Year greetings, also known as "worship", "congratulations" and "celebrating the Spring Festival", is one of the important activities of the Spring Festival. New Year greetings can be divided into three types:

The first is in your own home. After ancestor worship, the younger generation pays New Year greetings to their elders in turn. In Old Records, "respect for the young and the old" ④ and "respect for the old and the humble" ⑤ belong to this category. In the old society, people had to bow, and then they gradually changed to bow. Although there are still people who bow down, most of them just say things like "Happy New Year" and "Long life". After the elders accept the new year greetings from the younger generation, they should be rewarded with red envelopes (that is, lucky money, some of which are given on New Year's Eve. ) or orange and so on. Now, the time for New Year greetings has also changed. Because children in many towns are separated from their parents, they usually bring their children back to pay New Year greetings to their parents on the first morning.

The second is to pay a New Year call in the ancestral hall by clan, which is similar to the present "group worship". According to the Records of Lianjiang County (volume 19) and Rites and Customs (Republic of China), people "follow the ancestral hall and pay homage to their homes in sequence after offering sacrifices to their ancestors, and each person receives one or two pieces of oriental arborvitae with oranges, which means" Pepsi is auspicious ". Anyone who sacrifices ancestors in the ancestral temple has the custom of clan greeting the New Year. This New Year greeting is out of fashion now.

The third is the New Year greetings among friends, relatives and neighbors. (Guangxu) The Folk Records of Zhangzhou Prefecture (Volume 38) records: "After the Yuan Dynasty, there were no new clothes to celebrate the New Year. The owner offered a new price, and pedestrians looked at each other on the road and stopped in five days. " The old records of Longhai and Nanjing also have the same records. This is a New Year greeting to relatives. On New Year's greetings, guests bow to their hosts and wish them all the best, a safe family and a happy New Year. The hosts also bow to congratulate them. The popular greeting in Fuzhou is "send together, send together". Some places pay attention to the time of New Year greetings. Liancheng has a saying, "ancestor, Jiro. On the third and fourth day of the fourth year, there is wine and no meat. " It is said that on the first day and the second day of the lunar new year, fathers and uncles are worshipped. If I pay a New Year call to my father-in-law and uncle on the third and fourth days, it will be a snub and I can only be a "wild husband". If you go to the fifth and sixth day, it will be too late. I'm sorry for the poor hospitality. When children are taken to pay New Year greetings to relatives, they often get a "lucky money" and at least two oranges. So there is a saying in Fuzhou: "Happy New Year, you can have money without oranges." In Zhao 'an, relatives and friends celebrate the New Year with each other. When you enter the door, you should say "new couple" loudly, and the other party should answer "everyone, everyone" to show that everyone is happy. In the new year, you should bring two oranges, some sweets and so on. The other party will accept the gift and return the orange, indicating that both parties are very lucky. In Sanming area, it is impolite to pay New Year greetings to relatives' elders and teachers first. But the first place you go to is not only Wang (homophonic "death") and Wu (homophonic "nothing"), but also people named Sang (homophonic "mourning") and Jia (homophonic "fake").

Students pay a New Year call to their teachers' home. When they see the teachers bow with their hands and say "Happy New Year" and "Congratulations", they immediately quit. Generally do not accept hospitality. If you go to a friend's house to pay a New Year call, you can make yourself at home. The host waited for the guests with cigarettes, tea, candy and oranges. Even ordinary acquaintances, when they meet on the road, will hand in auspicious words such as "Congratulations on getting rich".

Most New Year greetings are from the first day to the fifth day, but there are exceptions. After the New Year's Eve dinner in Mazu Island, relatives and friends began to pay New Year greetings to each other. In Zhangping, Ninghua, Youxi, Shaowu, Chong 'an and other places, I don't go out to pay New Year's greetings on the first day. The custom in Ninghua, Youxi and other places is that you can go to public places to play on New Year's Day, but you don't go door to door. Nowadays, many of these customs have disappeared.

In Ninghua, Shaowu and other places, the second day began to visit relatives and friends. However, in some places in Xiapu, this day is forbidden to celebrate the New Year. If an old man with the same surname celebrates his birthday, he should send birthday noodles. In the past, birthday worship was held on the evening of the tenth day of the first month, which was called "warm birthday", but now it is not like this.

In Fuan, the second day is a memorial day. You can do things like washing clothes and chopping wood, but you can't be a guest or receive guests. In Fuqing, the second day is the day to mourn the dead. Where there is a new funeral, a memorial seat should be set up for the deceased for relatives and friends to mourn. In Putian, Xianyou and some places in the north of Hui 'an, the second day is the day to worship the dead. It is said that in the forty-two years of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1563), the Japanese army invaded and wantonly burned and looted. After Qi Jiguang, the national hero, defeated the enemy, people who took refuge in the mountains returned to their homes one after another on the second day of February, but when they saw the enemy's iron hoofs and bones, they were devastated. Relatives, friends and neighbors don't know whose family is in trouble or died, so they visit each other and help collect their relatives. According to the legend of later generations, the second day of February is called "corpse detection day". Later, the anniversary was changed to the second day of the first month between "New Year's Eve" and "New Year's Day" (the fourth day of the first month, see "New Year's Eve" later). Since then, on the second day of the first month of each year, people don't visit each other to avoid the taboo of "exploring the dead", but in the end, it is inconvenient, so it is established that anyone who visits the door on the morning of the first day is not guilty of visiting the door the next day. To this end, many people pay New Year greetings on the first day in exchange for freedom of movement on the second day.

In the old days, Fuzhou water residents (commonly known as "daytime residents") had a special Chinese New Year custom: within a few days after the second day of the first month, water residents (men, women and children, mostly women under middle age) dressed up in groups of three and five, carrying baskets, went to every street in the city to sing a little song to celebrate the New Year. The people who were congratulated got rice cakes, rice cakes and other foods. No matter whether the water residents are rich or poor, at least one person in each family should attend the Chinese New Year. It is said that this is similar to eating a hundred meals, which can keep the family safe for a year. The songs sung are harmonious and pleasing to the ear, mostly related to local customs and auspicious new year, so they are very popular.

Hakka custom in western Fujian, on the first day of the first month,/kloc-children under the age of 0/6 wear cloth bags and queue up to "make cakes", which also means Chinese New Year. In every house, the host will give everyone a candy and a cake. If you are still young, your brother and sister will help you with it.

At present, the custom of New Year greetings is still popular, and new contents such as "group worship" and telephone New Year greetings have been added. "Group worship" means collective New Year greetings. Many units arrange parties around the New Year to pay New Year greetings to each other, which not only enhances friendship, but also saves the trouble of visiting each other. In addition, there are military and civilian "group worship" and military and political "group worship". In rural areas, cadres and students who return home often have "group worship". Calling New Year's greetings is a new thing in recent years, mainly in towns. As soon as the New Year bell rings, people will pick up the phone to congratulate their relatives and friends, which is both timely and convenient. With the increase of private telephone calls, the new custom of paying New Year calls by telephone has gradually become popular.

have fun

There are many entertainment activities in the Spring Festival. Large-scale entertainment activities mainly include lion dance, dragon dance, walking on stilts and dragon lantern dance. Followed by watching drama and solve riddles on the lanterns. In addition, there are four-color cards, mahjong, Pai Jiu and gambling for fun.

In Pinghe and Zhangpu, "teenagers or costumes such as lions, eight immortals, bamboo horses, etc." Dancing behind the door, beating gongs and drums, very lively. The host works hard to get the fruit. Have a lucky home, the labor is twice as thick as usual. In Zhangping, during the Spring Festival, there was a small band composed of three or five people temporarily (the main instrument was suona, accompanied by drums and cymbals), which played auspicious music from house to house, commonly known as "advocating big sons". The host will set off firecrackers to greet him and give him a red envelope. In the gentry's rich family, there will even be a lion dance team (commonly known as "lion-beating") to pay New Year's greetings, set off firecrackers and reward red envelopes. The lion dance team is still dancing in the streets or squares. In Liu Qing, there are lion dances on the streets or in big houses. Every time I go to one, it is very popular. You will give me a red envelope when you leave. In addition, folk singers are invited to play at home. In some rural areas, young farmers like to play on swings. A few years ago, they first set up a simple swing frame with bamboo poles. From the first day to the fifteenth day, they get together, either singly or in pairs, and have various swing competitions, with a large audience. In Mingxi, during the Spring Festival, there are entertainment activities such as welcoming the gods, dancing dragon lanterns and dancing lion lanterns.

In Fuzhou, children's favorite entertainment during the Spring Festival is playing "gongs and drums", and adults also play. There are many modes of "gongs and drums board", the common ones are "big board", "small board" and "andante". The "gongs and drums board" is not only entertaining itself, but also a game. Women travel together, or go shopping, or visit the West Lake and the White Pagoda, or play four-color cards and mahjong. In addition to watching plays and commenting, men's entertainment also includes drinking and chatting, playing mahjong and drawing Pai Jiu. In the past, playing poker was only an elegant thing in the upper class.

In southern Fujian, the Spring Festival entertainment is rich in content. In addition to dragon and lion dances, there are local dramas, songs and dances, such as Nanyin, Taiwanese opera, drum and umbrella dance, car encouragement, and martial arts performances, such as Song Jiang. In Zhao 'an, there are dancing birds, that is, bamboo sticks are used as the skeleton, covered with white cloth and colored paper, decorated with bird shapes, and people are put in to perform bird dances.

After 1949, the Spring Festival amusement in all parts of the province is more colorful. In addition to the traditional lion dance, dragon dance, dragon lantern, dry boat and so on, there are various cultural performances, gardens, dances and sports competitions. There are new movies in the cinema and wonderful programs on TV. In rural areas, cultural and sports departments have also organized many cultural and sports activities. Some towns and villages spontaneously organize basketball and chess competitions. Since the 1980s, there has been a new trend, that is, during the Spring Festival, rural people go to cities to play, and urban people (especially urban people) go out to climb mountains. During the Spring Festival, the mountain climbing and Lotus Mountain in Longyan, Guanqing in Liancheng, Wolong Mountain in Changting, Beimen Mountain in Yongding and Donghua Mountain are all particularly lively, and the grand occasion is better than Chongyang. This is especially true of Gushan in Fuzhou, Qingyuan Mountain in Quanzhou and Wuyishan in Chong 'an.

In recent years, the game of attacking cannon city, which is popular in rural areas of southern Fujian, has a unique taste. The so-called "cannon city" is to hang a string of firecrackers on a bamboo pole and put them in several places, ranging from eight to twelve meters from the ground. Those who attack the "city" must throw lit firecrackers at the platoon, and those who shoot the platoon will win. The prizes in Gungun City are very rich, including TV sets, tape recorders and bicycles. The level of prizes depends on the difficulty of siege (that is, the height of rows from the ground). Before attacking the city, the name of the prize was marked on the side of each city with red paper. This exciting game can often attract a large number of "siege" players and more viewers.

"Attacking the cannon city" is usually carried out during the Spring Festival, and some days are chosen during the slack season. A village with a "cannon city" must first raise funds to buy prizes and decorate the site, and then determine the time of "siege" and issue a notice. On the day of "attacking the cannon city", people from nearby villages came to the "battlefield" early. Most of the people who were besieged were young people. They brought boxes of firecrackers instead of five or ten. Upon arrival, choose the "city" to attack and occupy favorable terrain. The crowd of onlookers was a sea of people. When the host announced the beginning of "siege", the guns of various positions on the battlefield suddenly sounded and smoke filled the air. Coupled with the shouts of the audience, the whole battlefield was boiling and very lively. The "Battle of the Cannon City" is very fierce and lasts from morning till night. Some couldn't capture the "cannon city" that day and continued the next day. The siege fighters spent boxes of "shells" until they captured all the "cannon cities".

"Attack the Gun City" has different achievements. Experienced people are assisted by two people, one is to send "shells" and the other is to "attack the city". Sometimes, the "city" is captured before a box of firecrackers is finished. They returned home in triumph with prizes in high spirits. Inexperienced people spent several boxes of firecrackers, but left no "city". Even so, I am smiling and have no regrets.

5. Eating habits

The old customs in Fujian are very particular about the diet on the first day of the first month. It is more common to eat "New Year's rice" (New Year's rice), noodles, rice cakes and vegetarian food. Generally speaking, if you don't cook a new meal on the first morning of the first year, it is good luck to eat the "next year's meal". Eating noodles means longevity; New year's cake means high every year; Vegetarianism is related to worshipping God and Buddha to show piety and pray for peace and happiness for a year. There is a proverb in Jiangle: "One meal is fast, and there is no disaster in four seasons; If you fast for a day, disaster will not come. "

Dietary customs vary from place to place. In Fuzhou, breakfast must be noodles and noodles, accompanied by two "Taiping eggs", symbolizing a long and safe life for one year. In Xianyou, noodles and spinach are breakfast, which is called "Nianmian". In Quanzhou, Hui 'an, Fuding and other places, noodles are also included in breakfast food. In Zhangzhou and Longhai, we eat sweet noodles and red eggs to pray for peace and longevity. Vegetarianism is common everywhere. In Shunchang, we eat "every other year's meal" with vegetarian dishes for breakfast, mainly including carrots (full house), tofu (full), mustard greens (longevity) and dried noodles (meaning white hair and beard). The first day of breakfast in Nanping is composed of men who make snacks (longevity noodles) and eat vegetarian food in the morning and afternoon. In Chong 'an (now Wuyishan City), there are two vegetarian meals in the morning and afternoon, and a banquet in the evening is like New Year's Eve. Many people in Jianyang, Shaowu, Jiangle, Jianning, Daejeon, Yong 'an, Yongding, Shanghang, Liancheng, Zhangping, Wuping, Zhao 'an, Dehua, Nanjing and Fuan are vegetarian. Youxi folk, breakfast is mostly vegetarian, wired noodles, and a whole cooked longevity dish. Some people put a pair of tableware on the first three meals in order to add more dishes; If the son is weak, give him an extra chicken and say that he can marry a good wife. Shaxian folk breakfast, whether vegetarian or not, should eat garlic (everything goes well), spinach (red head) and tofu (satisfied). In Zhangpu, most people eat leeks, spinach, celery and fried tofu with peanut oil for breakfast. Leek and spinach are not cut, so they are called "long-year dishes", which means fasting and longevity. Peace has a similar custom. There must be celery, garlic, onion and leek in Changting's vegetarian dishes, which is homophonic "diligence, calculation, cleverness and cleverness" for good luck. Some places pay attention to eating sweet food in the morning of the first day. Besides eating rice cakes, they also drink sweet tea. In Youxi, drinking ginger sugar tea before breakfast is called "sweet". In Xiapu, "no matter rich or poor, everyone eats a bowl of soup, which is commonly known as' walking time'. "Gai" and "Shi" are homonyms, meaning good luck.

At present, most of the customs of eating on the first day are still popular, but vegetarian food is rare. With the continuous improvement of living standards, the food on people's table is richer and more exquisite.