What is the meaning of the Spring Festival period

Spring Festival generally refers to the first day of the first month (that is, February 19 this year), is the first day of the year in the lunar calendar, also known as the lunar year, commonly known as "New Year".

In folklore, the Spring Festival is traditionally celebrated from the Lunar New Year's festival or the Lunar New Year's festival on the 23rd or 24th of Lunar New Year to the 19th of the first month of the lunar year, culminating in New Year's Eve and the first day of the first month of the first year of the lunar year.

The Spring Festival is the most characteristic traditional festival in China, and Chinese people have been celebrating the Spring Festival for more than 4,000 years. There are various theories about the origin of the Spring Festival, but one of the most commonly accepted is that the Spring Festival emerged from the period of Yu and Shun. During the Spring Festival, the Han Chinese and some ethnic minorities in China hold various events to celebrate.

What are the customs of the Spring Festival?

1. Posting Spring Festival Couplets

One of the origins of Spring Festival Couplets is the peach charm. Initially, people used peach wood to carve human figures to hang next to the door to ward off evil spirits, and later painted the image of the god of the door on peach wood, and then simplified to inscribe the name of the god of the door on the mahogany board.

2, stick the door god

All over China on New Year's Eve there is a custom of sticking the door god. Initially, the door god is carved mahogany as a human figure, hanging next to the person, and later is painted into the door god portrait posted on the door.

3, stick the New Year's paintings

Stick the lucky characters, stick the windowpane, stick the New Year's paintings, stick the hanging thousand. These have the folklore function of praying for luck and decorating the residence. New Year's paintings are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects the customs and beliefs of the people and holds people's hope for the future.

4, year-end

year-end, China's folk in the New Year's Eve, the custom of year-end, commonly known as the "boiled year". The New Year's Eve vigil begins with the New Year's Eve dinner, which is eaten slowly, from the time of the lamp, some people have to eat late into the night. According to the record of "Jing Chu Yearly Records", there was a custom of having New Year's Eve dinner at least in the North and South Dynasties. The custom of keeping the New Year's Eve, both for the passing of the years with the feeling of farewell, but also for the coming of the New Year to send a good hope of the meaning.

5, burning firecrackers

Firecrackers, Chinese folk "open door firecrackers" said. That is, the arrival of the new year, the first thing that families open the door is to set off firecrackers, to beep, bla bla bla firecrackers in addition to the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers is a Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers". Its origin is very early, so far has a history of more than two thousand years. Firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, is a festive entertainment, can bring people joy and good fortune.

6, pay tribute to the New Year

During the Spring Festival visit to pay tribute to the New Year is one of the traditional customs of the New Year's Day, is the people of the old to welcome the New Year, and each other to express their good wishes in a way. On the second and third of the year, we began to go to relatives to see friends, pay tribute to each other, congratulations and blessings, and say some words of congratulations on the new year, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations, good new year, and so on. The significance of the New Year's visit is to visit between friends and relatives to contact feelings, congratulate each other on the New Year, to express the feelings of friends and relatives and the good wishes for the new year's life.

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's greetings is constantly adding new content and form. The modern New Year's card has been practiced in ancient China, as early as the Song Dynasty, the royal aristocrats and scholars of the family and relatives of the family has been used to pay tribute to the New Year's piece of New Year's card, called the "name of the thorns" or "name stickers".

What not to do during the Spring Festival?

Taboo on the first day of the Spring Festival: Chicken Day - in the old days on New Year's Day, posting paintings to ward off evil spirits and pray for good luck.

Taboo on the second day of Chinese New Year: Dog Day - going out to pay homage to the New Year or ancestors.

The third day of the Spring Festival taboo: Sheep Day - "red mouth", easy to have a quarrel, should not pay homage to the New Year.

The fourth day of the Chinese New Year: Pig Day - sacrificing to the God of Wealth.

Taboo on the fifth day of the Spring Festival: "broken five", can break many taboos; five-way God of Wealth birthday, to receive the God of Wealth.

Taboo on the sixth day of Chinese New Year: Horse Day - the day of "sending the god", the store began to resume business.

Taboo on the seventh day of the Spring Festival: People's Day - people's birthday, dinner and drinks, fireworks, also the "birthday of fire".

Taboo on the eighth day of the Spring Festival: Gu Day - the stars are coming down to the world, to sacrifice the stars, the temple set up an altar on this day to sacrifice the stars, to receive alms.

Taboo on the ninth day of the Chinese New Year: the birthday of the celestial master - the birth of the Jade Emperor, a grand festival was held.

Taboo on the 10th day of the Spring Festival: Birthday of the Stone - all stone utensils such as mills, pestles and grinders are not to be used.