Zhoukou grains kitchen Chen Spring Festival

The Spring Festival has a long history. It is said that there was a custom of "Spring Festival" as early as the Neolithic Yao and Shun Dynasties.

There is a legend about the origin of the Spring Festival: In ancient China, there was a beast named Xi, which had long tentacles on its head and was very fierce. "Xi" lived on the seabed for many years, and only climbed ashore on certain days (now called New Year's Eve), devouring livestock and hurting people's lives. So every New Year's Eve, people in the village fled to the deep mountains to avoid the harm of the "evening" beast. One year on New Year's Eve, an old beggar came from outside the village. The villagers were in a hurry and panic. Only an old woman in the village east gave the old man some food and suggested that he go up the mountain quickly to avoid wild animals at night. The old man lifted his beard and smiled: "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home for one night, I will definitely drive away the nocturnal animals." The old woman continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word.

At midnight, the "Twilight" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the old woman's house at the east end of the village had red paper on the door and bright candles in the room. At dusk, the beast trembled and let out a long whistle. Near the door, there was a sudden sound of "bang, bang, bang" in the hospital, and "Xi" trembled and dared not go any further. It turns out that "Xi" is most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, my mother-in-law's door was wide open, and I saw an old man in a red robe laughing in the hospital. "Evening" was frightened to disgrace and fled in confusion. The next day was the first day of the first month, and the people who came back from refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and quickly told the villagers the promise of begging for the elderly. The story soon spread in the surrounding villages, and people knew the way to drive away the "night" beasts. Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family has posted red couplets and set off firecrackers. Every household has a bright candlelight, so it is better to wait for the New Year. In the early morning of the first day, I want to say hello to my relatives and friends. This custom is widely circulated and has become the most solemn traditional festival among the people in China.

It is said that "Spring Festival" originated from the activities of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors in the early and late Shang Dynasty in China (La Worship). In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was an annual custom of celebrating harvest and offering sacrifices to ancestors at the turn of the new year, which can be regarded as the embryonic form of the year. However, the name of "Nian" appeared late, and the name of Nian began in the Zhou Dynasty [1]. When the ancient emperors inherited the throne, in order to show the authority of the "son of heaven", they often stood on their own calendars [2]. It was not until the Western Han Dynasty that the year 2000 was officially set, and it has continued to this day. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (140 ~ 87 BC) succeeded to the throne and decided to rebuild the calendar unification. Sima Qian suggested the establishment of taichu calendar, and the Spring Festival was held in the first month of Meng Chun. The calendar we adopt today has been revised by many dynasties since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but the first day of the first lunar month, as the most solemn festival of the Chinese nation, has been inherited as a fixed day.