What are the Chinese New Year customs of China people?

Sacrifice to the kitchen god

In ancient times, people thought that the kitchen god would say a few good words in front of the jade emperor, which would bring happiness to the family and bless the family safety in the coming year. Therefore, on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household should offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God [1] and ask him to say something nice and auspicious on the last day. This ceremony of sending the kitchen god is called "sending the kitchen stove" or "resigning the kitchen stove". On New Year's Eve, we will bring Kitchen God back. Because, on the 23rd night of the twelfth lunar month, portraits or photos of Kitchen God and ancestors should be hung on the wall, drinks and tributes should be prepared, and people's worship should be accepted until the New Year's Eve. But when offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, you should melt the Guandong sugar and put it on the mouth of the kitchen god, so that the kitchen god will not speak ill.

amusing piece of news

According to folklore, Kitchen God tells the world about good and evil. Once the defendant commits evil, his life will be reduced by 300 days for felony and 100 days for misdemeanor. This statement is widely circulated.

When sending stoves, people put candy, water, boiled beans and grass on the console table in front of the statue of the kitchen king, of which the last three are mounts for the kitchen king to ascend to heaven. In order to make the kitchen god "speak well in heaven and return to the palace for good luck", people use various methods to deal with him. Some worship it with chewing gum candy, so as to stick the kitchen god's teeth so that it can't talk nonsense; Some paint the kitchen door on the wine trough and call it "drunk commander", so drunk that the kitchen god dare not talk nonsense. Kitchen God is treated specially by people. It is hard to speak ill of him if he is "soft grinding and hard foaming". This is actually a kind of moral self-discipline among the people.

maltose

Kitchen sugar (kwantung sugar) is a kind of maltose, also called sesame sugar, which is very sticky. The candy that is drawn into a long strip is called "Guandong Sugar", and the candy that is drawn into a flat circle is called "honeydew melon". When it is put outside in winter, because of the cold weather, the honeydew melon is solidified firmly, and there are some tiny bubbles in it. It tastes crisp, sweet and fragrant, and has a special flavor. The real kwantung sugar is extremely hard and not fragile. Be sure to split it with a kitchen knife when eating. Although it is heavy, the material is exquisite. The taste is slightly sour, there is no honeycomb in the middle, each piece weighs one or two, two or four, and the price is relatively expensive. Sugar, sesame sugar and non-sesame sugar. Sugar is made into melon shape or north melon shape. The center is empty and the skin thickness is less than five points. Although the size is different, the transaction is still calculated by weight. The big honeydew melon weighs one or two Jin, but few people buy it as a cover. [2]

Twenty-four twelfth lunar month

sweep the dust

The folk proverb says, "On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house". After holding the sacrificial stove, they officially began to prepare for the New Year. Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Cleaning the dust before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. On the day of dusting, the whole family began to clean the house and yard together, scrub the pots and pans, dismantle and wash the bedding, and greet the New Year cleanly. In fact, people use the homonym of "dust" and "Chen" to express their willingness to get rid of the old and welcome the new.

historical materials

According to ancient records, there was a habit of year-end cleaning in ancient times. According to Lu Chunqiu, China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "unlucky" and "unlucky". Volume 12 of Jia Qinglu records: "La will be disabled, so it is advisable to choose a constitutional book to sweep away the day and go to the court to collect dirt. Or 23 rd, 24 th and 27 th, commonly known as' dust'. " On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the house was thoroughly cleaned inside and outside. It can be seen that this custom has placed people's desire to break the old and establish the new, as well as their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. It is also the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation to pay attention to hygiene and prevent diseases in winter accumulated in the long history.

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

Both the old custom and the new custom believe that the kitchen god goes to heaven, and the Jade Emperor personally went down to the lower bound on December 25th of the lunar calendar to investigate the good and evil on earth and decide the fortune for the coming year. Therefore, every family worships it and prays for its blessing, which is called "receiving the Jade Emperor" [1]. 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.

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.

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. December of the lunar calendar

On the 25th day, 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. [4]

twelfth month of the lunar year

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".

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, there is another folk saying called "cutting the annual meat on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month". That is to say, from this day on, we will start buying new year's goods. In rural areas around the country, this day is a big market day, and people in the surrounding villages go to the market to buy new year's goods. Smoke, wine, fish, meat and firecrackers are as indispensable as gifts for visiting relatives and friends, and the taste of the year is gradually increasing. The 26th of the twelfth lunar month refers to the common name of the 26th of the twelfth lunar month in our country. In a blink of an eye, it's already the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. According to the old theory, "Stewed pork on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month" is believed to be a festival for all children, and finally they can eat "Year Meat". So, let's talk about the folk custom of stewing pork on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. In the past, people's lives were poor, and there were many people in their families. They often ate meals without meals, and the conditions were slightly better, but they could only eat steamed corn and wild vegetables. The Chinese New Year is finally coming, and the laborers at home have started to kill pigs. People who don't raise pigs go to the market to cut a piece of meat and go home. Therefore, the stew on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month is also called "the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, killing pigs and cutting meat for the coming year".

December 27th.

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

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.

the 29th of the twelfth lunar month

offer sacrifices to ancestors

In the twelfth lunar month, it was said, "Please go to the grave and ask your ancestors for a big donation." Ancestor worship has a long history in China. Seeing death as death is not only an important symbol of filial piety, but also a virtue of respecting the elderly. The Spring Festival is a big festival, and the ceremony of paying homage to one's ancestors is particularly grand. In most areas, ancestors were invited on the morning of the 29th. According to Mao Cui's "Four-person Moon Order" in Han Dynasty, "On the first day of the first month, you should bow down to your wife and ancestors. On the day of worship, I drank wine, and my family, big or small, was humble, second only to my ancestors. My son-in-law's great-grandson presented Chili wine to my parents, saying that it was to celebrate their long life and happiness. " This shows that as early as the Han Dynasty, ancestor worship in China was already a very important activity in the Spring Festival.

Little new year's eve

The day before New Year's Eve, known as "Little New Year's Eve", people hold a feast at home. When they visit each other, they are also called "Don't be old". Burning incense outdoors is called "Tianxiang", and it usually takes three days to burn it.

30 December

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve refers to the night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, which is connected with the first day of the first month. The word "except" in "New Year's Eve" is "go; Evening means "alternate". New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People should bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. Therefore, the activities during the period are centered on resigning the old and welcoming the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

At the end of every year in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "dancing Zhong Kui" and "exorcising evil spirits" was held in the palace, and drumming was called "exorcism", and then it was called "exorcism" on the day before New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve.

doorman

At first, the janitor carved mahogany into a human shape and hung it next to people. Later, it was painted as a janitor and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Lei Yu specialize in ghosts. They guard the portal, so evil spirits dare not enter the portal to do bad things. After the Tang Dynasty, two brave soldiers, Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, were painted as gatekeepers, while Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were painted as gatekeepers. Every household has a keeper. Later generations often paint a pair of door gods as a skill and a martial art, pinning the good wishes of the working people of the Han nationality to ward off evil spirits and eliminate disasters and welcome good luck.

paste up Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, also known as "door couplets", "couplets" and "peach symbols", are a kind of couplets, named after being posted during the Spring Festival. It depicts the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom began in the Song Dynasty and was popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju's monograph Poetry of Spring Festival couplets discusses the origin of couplets and the characteristics of various works. There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door heart, frame pair, cross string, spring strip and bucket square according to the place of use. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "door frame pair" is attached to the left and right door frames; "Cross-dressing" is attached to the crossbar of the lintel; "Spring strips" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; "Doufang", also known as "door leaf", is a square diamond, often attached to furniture and screen walls.

New Year picture

Hanging New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. Thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and festive atmosphere to thousands of families. These all have folk functions of praying and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's customs and beliefs and places their hopes for the future.

Like Spring Festival couplets, it originated from the "door god". With the rise of block printing, the content of New Year pictures is not limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. Some New Year pictures workshops have produced classic color New Year pictures, such as Fu Lushou's Samsung, God bless the people, abundant crops, prosperous livestock and welcoming the New Year, to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. There are three important producing areas of Chinese New Year pictures: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; Three schools of New Year pictures have been formed, each with its own characteristics.

The earliest existing collection of New Year pictures in China is the woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. The most popular folk painting is the Year of Marrying the Rat. It depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human custom. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng of Shanghai combined the monthly calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This new year's picture, which was combined into one, later developed into a calendar and has been popular all over the country.

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

China people had the habit of New Year's Eve, commonly known as "endure the New Year". Watching the new year begins with eating New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting with lighting lanterns, and some families have to eat it until late at night.

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".

Since the Han Dynasty, the time for the alternation of the old and new years is generally at midnight.

Specific customs after the year

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The first day of the lunar new year

get up early

Some people think that the ridge will collapse if you don't get up early. So get up early.

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.

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. Han (ha)

The wind of New Year greetings has existed in the Han Dynasty. It was very popular after the Tang and Song Dynasties, and some people who are inconvenient to go in person can use famous cards to congratulate them. It was called "thorn" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the business card was also called "famous thorn". After the Ming Dynasty, many people put up a red paper bag at the door to collect famous posts, which was called "Menben".

According to their social relations, the forms of folk New Year greetings can be roughly divided into four categories:

One is to visit relatives. The first day I come to your house, I must bring gifts to my father-in-law's house the next day. After entering the door, bow to the Buddha statue, ancestor statue and memorial tablet, and then bow to the elders in turn. You can stay for dinner and chat.

The second is to pay a courtesy visit to relatives and friends on the third day. If you want to pay a New Year call to your colleagues and friends, you should only bow to the Buddha statue three times when you enter the room. If you are equal to your master, you just need to bow down. If you are older than yourself, you should still take the initiative to bow your head. The host should get down from his seat to help you, or even say that he is not polite to show his humility. This situation is generally not suitable for sitting for a long time, so leave after a few pleasantries. After the host worships, he should pay a return visit another day.

The third is a thank-you visit. Anyone who owes money to others (such as lawyers and doctors) should buy some gifts and give them to express their gratitude on the occasion of New Year's greetings.

The fourth is a series of visits. For some neighbors, we didn't have much contact in the past, but we all got along well when we met. On New Year's Eve, when we first arrived in the yard, we said "Congratulations on getting rich" and "Shun Shun Bai Shun" when we met. We just sat in the house for a while without much etiquette.

In ancient times, there was a difference between New Year greetings and New Year greetings: New Year greetings were to knock on elders; The New Year is a time for peers to congratulate each other. Now some organs, organizations, enterprises and schools get together to congratulate each other, which 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 old way of paying New Year greetings, people also began to pay New Year greetings by courtesy telegram and telephone.

Give lucky money

Lucky money (called "Billy" in Guangdong) is given by the elders to the younger generation. In some families, everyone is not allowed to leave the table after eating. After everyone has finished eating, the elders give it to the younger generation to encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and improve in the new year. 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.

Zhansui

In the old society, due to the sunny weather in the first few days of Xinzheng, people put this year. Its theory began in Dong Fangshuo's "Year", which means that eight days after the year, one day is chicken day, two days are dogs, three days are pigs, four days are sheep, five days are cows, six days are horses, seven days are people and eight days are valleys. If it is sunny, things that belong to it will breed, if it is cloudy, the days that belong to it will not last long. Later generations follow their habits and think that the weather is sunny from the first day to the tenth day, and there is no wind or snow for good luck. Later generations developed from the occupation era to a series of sacrifices and celebrations. There is a custom of not killing chickens on the first day, dogs on the second day and pigs on the third day ... no execution on the seventh day and no threshing on the eighth day.

Tiehua chicken

In ancient times, during the Spring Festival, chickens were painted on doors and windows to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. The book Xuan Zhong Ji written by Jin people mentioned the pheasant on Dushuo Mountain mentioned above, saying that the pheasant crowed when the sun just rose and the first ray of sunshine shone on this big tree. When it crows, chickens all over the world crow with it. Therefore, the chicken cut during the Spring Festival is actually a symbol of pheasant. However, in ancient mythology, there is also a saying that chickens are deformed birds. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, friends on the other side paid tribute to a bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomes the arrival of birds, but the messengers who pay tribute don't come every year, so people carve a wooden bird, cast it in bronze and put it on the door, or paint on the doors and windows to scare away monsters and make them afraid to come again. Because birds look like chickens, they will gradually draw a chicken or cut window flowers and stick them on doors and windows, which will become the source of paper-cutting art in later generations. China paid special attention to chickens in ancient times and called them "birds with five virtues". "Biography of Korean Poetry" says that a crown on the head is Wende; There is a distance behind the foot to play, which is martial arts; It is brave for the enemy to dare to fight before; It is benevolence to have food to welcome the same kind; Vigilance and dawn are beliefs. Therefore, people not only cut chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also set the first day of the New Year as Chicken Day.

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.

reunion dinner

The annual reunion dinner fully shows the mutual respect and care among family members in China, which makes the relationship between families closer. Family reunion often brings spiritual comfort and satisfaction to the head of the family. The old man looks after his children and grandchildren, and the family is full. How happy it was to care for and raise children in the past, and the younger generation can take this opportunity to express their gratitude to their parents for their parenting.

The second day of the first lunar month.

Sacrifice to the god of wealth (Eid al-Fitr)

In the north, the god of wealth sacrifices on the second day of the first month. On this day, both commercial shops and ordinary families will hold activities to worship the god of wealth. Families offered sacrifices to the God of Wealth who arrived on New Year's Eve. In fact, the bought rough printed matter was incinerated. I want to eat wonton at noon this day, commonly known as "Yuanbao soup". Fish and mutton were used as sacrifices. On this day, big businesses in old Beijing will hold large-scale sacrificial activities, and make sacrifices with "Five Sacrifices", that is, whole pigs, whole sheep, whole chickens, whole ducks and red live carp. I hope to make a fortune in the coming year.

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 uncle's return to his parents' home for dinner on the second day of junior high school "eating every day", which means having lunch. Uncle and daughter must return to their home before dinner (some areas may stay for dinner because of the journey).

On 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.

The fourth day of the first month

Yangri

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. The sheep festival is a day for Han people to meet God. 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 lunar new year's eve, the whole family get together for a discount. The so-called discount is a hodgepodge of rice left over from cleaning up the new year's goods in a few days. Cleaning the room and stacking the garbage in one place is also called "throwing the poor" in Han folk customs. In the north, some rural customs are that Vulcan is tied on the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, and sticks are played with corn stalks or wheat stalks. After being ignited, it is sent from home to the river, which means that there is no fire at home for one year. The custom of Puxian people in Fujian Province is to celebrate the New Year again, which is the only and unique local custom in the country, reflecting the traditional psychology of working people of Han nationality who generally hope to bid farewell to the old poverty and hardships and welcome a better life in the new year.

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.

Lu Gu's Jia Qinglu in Qing Dynasty said: "The fifth day of the first month is Shen's birthday. Sacrificing the past golden gongs and firecrackers, eager to make a profit, must get up early to meet, called the end of the road. " He also said: "The road ahead today is the God who walks in the Five Sacrifices. The so-called five channels are the east, west, north and south middle ears. " Shanghai has the custom of grabbing the road head in the past years. On the fourth night of the first month, prepare sacrifices, cakes, incense sticks and other things, beat gongs and drums to burn incense and worship, and sincerely respect the god of wealth. On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, folklore is the birthday of the god of wealth. In order to compete for the market, the next is the fourth month of the lunar calendar, which is called "grabbing the road", also known as "receiving the god of wealth" and "offering sacrifices to the god of wealth".

The five sacrifices are the gods of welcoming households, kitchen, land, door and walking. The so-called "road head" is the god of five sacrifices. Anyone who receives the God of Wealth will offer sheep-headed carp. Offering sheep's head means "auspiciousness", and offering carp is the homonym of "fish" and "profit", which makes a poem auspicious. People are convinced that as long as the god of wealth can show his spirit, he can make a fortune.

Therefore, every New Year, people will open doors and windows, burn incense, set off firecrackers and set off fireworks at 0: 00 on the fifth day of the first month (after 24: 00 on the fourth day of the first month) 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.

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.

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. It reflects the traditional psychology of the Han people who generally want to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, bid farewell to the old poverty and hardships, and welcome a better life in the new year. [18] Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the traditional view is that the first day of the first month is the day of rooster, the second day is the day of dog, the third day is the day of pig, the fourth day is the day of sheep, the fifth day is the day of ox, the sixth day is the day of horse, and the seventh day is the day of man. According to China folklore, this is because when Nu Wa created everything, she created six animals first and then people, so the first day to the sixth day is the day of six animals.

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.

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.

Spring Festival food (3 pieces)

The eighth day of the first month

Gul

Legend has it that the eighth day is Xiaomi's birthday. If the weather is fine, the rice harvest will be good. If it is cloudy, it will be a hard year.

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 symbols, the first one is printed with Xingke, Suzaku and Xuanwu. And the second is "the longevity star king, the core monument of life". 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. There is a snuff twisted with yellow and white lantern paper dipped in sesame oil in front of the Oracle. Put it into a "lamp bowl" with a diameter of one inch, or light it with 49 lamps or 108 lamps. Then cook Yuanxiao and green tea. 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.

Early September

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.

The tenth day of the first month

Stones don't move.

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". Henan custom: On this day, every household pays tribute and burns incense on stones. 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. On the tenth day in Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, the cake was placed at the root of the wall and named "Congratulations to the mouse for marrying a girl". In Ningyuan, Hunan, 17 is the day when "mice marry women". It is forbidden to open cabinets for fear of disturbing mice. The night before, the children put candy, peanuts and so on. In the dark, I beat the pot cover and dustpan to make up for the mice. The next morning, they blocked the mouse hole, thinking that the mouse could be extinct 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. [20]

Eleventh day of the first month

Son-in-law day

There is a saying in folk songs that "the son-in-law is invited on the eleventh day", that is, the eleventh day of the first month is the "son-in-law's day", on which the father-in-law fetes his son-in-law. 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.

The twelfth day of the first month

Twelve loopholes

From New Year's Eve to today, people eat some greasy food every day, and their stomachs are damaged. From now on, people begin to prepare to celebrate the Lantern Festival, buy lanterns and set up light sheds.

The thirteenth day of the first month

In the old society, lanterns were put on the thirteenth day of the first month and turned off on the eighteenth, that is, jiaozi was eaten on the thirteenth day of the first month and noodles were eaten on the eighteenth day of the first month.

The fourteenth 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.

The fifteenth day of the first month

the Lantern Festival

Rutland fair

eat yuanxiao

She Yan fire