Chinese New Year Ethnic Culture (what all ethnic groups do during Chinese New Year, such as: && ethnic groups kill chickens, && ethnic groups kill pigs, etc.)

The Han Chinese New Year customs: generally to eat rice cakes, dumplings, patties, dumplings, eggs, meatballs, whole fish, wine, orange, apples, peanuts, melon seeds, sweets, tea and cuisine; and accompanied by dusting, washing bedding, preparing New Year's Eve, posting Spring Festival couplets, stickers, sticker, sticking paper cuttings, pasting the word "blessed", point candles, light the fire, firecrackers, the year-end vigil, the new-year's money, New Year's Eve, relatives, on the graves of the ancestors, the Flower Market, The activities of the festival, such as the New Year's Eve dinner, are very special. Such as the New Year's Eve dinner, especially elaborate: First, the whole family must get together, for some reason did not return to the person must leave a seat and a set of tableware, reflecting the reunion; Second, the meal is sumptuous, the importance of "mouth color", the rice cake called "step by step", dumplings called "Wan Wan Shun". The rice cake is called "Bu Bu Gao", the dumplings are called "Wan Wan Shun", the wine is called "Chang Liu Shui", the eggs are called "Da Yuan Bao", and the goldfish is called "Nian Nian Yu"; The fish is not allowed to be eaten, it is called "watch the balance", and must be reserved for the first day of the year. Northern regions without fish, mostly carved a wooden fish instead; Third, the seating order, mostly grandparents on top. Grandchildren in the center, the father's generation under, regardless of gender, old and young, all have to drink. The door is closed during the meal, and the bustle stops at the end of the fun.

The Chinese New Year in Tianjin and the habit of hanging Chinese knot, before the New Year's Eve, Tianjin people have to the Tianjin Ancient Culture Street Qiaoxiangge please Chinese knot custom, to take the meaning of Qiaoxiang Nafu.

New Year's Eve feast dishes have their own characteristics. In the old days, Beijing, Tianjin, the average family to do rice dry rice, stewed pork, beef and mutton, stewed chicken, and then do a few fried dishes. Shaanxi banquets are generally four big dishes, eight big bowls, four big dishes for fried dishes and cold dishes, eight big bowls to braised vegetables, roasted vegetables. Southern Anhui only meat dishes are braised meat, tiger meat, meatballs, meat, steamed meat, stewed meat and pork liver, pork heart, pork belly products, in addition to a variety of fried meat, fried meat, and so on. The eastern part of Hubei Province for the "three steam", "three cakes," three pills. "Three steam" for steamed whole fish, steamed whole duck, steamed whole chicken; "three cakes" is fish cake, meat cake, sheep cake;

"Three pills" is fish balls, meat balls, lotus root balls. In Harbin, people usually fry 8, 10 or 12 or 16 dishes, the main ingredients of which are chicken, duck, fish and vegetables. Gannan New Year's Eve dinner is generally 12 dishes. Some places in Zhejiang generally for the "Ten Bowls", to discuss the "ten full ten blessings" of the color, to chicken, duck, fish and various vegetables. Nanchang area in Jiangxi Province, generally more than ten dishes, pay attention to four cold, four hot, eight dishes, two soup.

Everywhere on New Year's Eve, there are one or more essential dishes, and these dishes often have some kind of auspicious meaning. For example, the Suzhou area, the table must have bok choy (then Anle dish), soybean sprouts (Ruyi dish), celery (diligence). Xiangzhongnan region must be a kilogram of carp, called "reunion fish", there must be a 3 kilograms of pork elbow, called "reunion elbow". Wanzhong, southern Anhui table with two fish, a complete carp, only to see but not allowed to eat, both to honor the ancestors and said that the annual surplus, the other is a silver carp, you can eat, symbolizing even the grandson, prosperous people. The first bowl of Qimen family feast is "in and", made of tofu, mushrooms, asparagus, shrimp, fresh meat, etc., meaning "peace and prosperity.

The Hefei table has a bowl of "chicken scratch beans", which means "catch money and get rich". Butler to eat a chicken leg, called "grab money claw", means that next year, fortune into the treasure. Anqing's family to eat a bowl of noodles before dinner, called "money string". Nanchang area must eat rice cakes, braised fish, fried rice noodles, eight treasures of rice, boiled paste soup, the meaning of which in turn is the annual rise, the annual fish, food harvest, rice into strings, eight treasures into the wealth, year after year.

1, eat dumplings

Square area of the Spring Festival like to eat dumplings, the meaning of reunion, expressed auspiciousness and the old and welcome the new. In order to increase the festive atmosphere and fun, people over the ages have put a lot of effort into the filling of the dumplings. People put money in the dumplings and whoever eats them will be rich in the coming year; honey is put in the dumplings and whoever eats them will live a sweet life in the coming year, and so on.　

2, door god

All over China, there is a custom of sticking door god on the New Year's Eve. 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. Legend has it that the two brothers, Shentan and Yubi, specialize in controlling ghosts, and with them guarding the door, evil spirits of all sizes dare not enter the door to do harm.

However, the door god recorded in the real history books, instead of Shentian and Yulang, is an ancient warrior called Chengqing. In Ban Gu's "Book of Han - Biography of the King of Guangchuan", it is recorded that on the door of the palace of the King of Guangchuan (Go Dai), there was a painting of the ancient warrior Cheng Qing, with a short coat, big pants and a long sword. In the Tang Dynasty, the position of the door god was replaced by Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde.

The Journey to the West is even more detailed: "The Dragon King of the Jinghe River made a bet with a fortune-teller, and as a result, he violated the rules of the factory and should be beheaded. The Jade Emperor appointed Wei Zheng to be the supervisor of the beheading. In order to survive, the King of the Jing River Dragon pleaded with Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty for leniency. Emperor Taizong agreed to do so, and at the time of the beheading, Wei Zheng was summoned to play a game of chess with him. He didn't expect Wei Zheng to take a nap while he was playing, and then his spirit ascended to heaven and beheaded the dragon king. The Dragon King complained that Emperor Taizong's words were not honored, and he was outside the palace day and night, calling out for his life. Emperor Taizong told his ministers that Qin Shubao, a general, would like to wait with Yuchi Jingde outside the gate in military uniform. Emperor Taizong agreed. That night, nothing happened. Because he could not bear to see the hard work of the two generals, Taizong ordered the skillful artist to draw the real faces of the two generals and paste them on the door."

There are also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. Door god statue of the left and right households, one each, the descendants often a pair of door god painted as a text and a military. Door God is divided into three categories: the first category is the "gate door God", more than pasted on the door or the whole door, about four or five feet high, about two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", more small streets on the door, about two feet high, about one foot wide. These two kinds of door god is a black face and a white face of the two gods. White left and black right, white good and easy, black caracal, each hand holding a battle-axe. The third type is "house door door god", compared with the street door door god is slightly smaller limited, also is black and white two god, but also black and white two god is sitting like. House door is most often posted "unicorn send son" image, two powder and grease comb Prince crown dolls, each riding the unicorn. This kind of door god, should have been posted in the newly married house door, in order to take good luck, and later also as a common street door of the New Year embellishments.　　

3, Chunlian

Chinese New Year's couplets, is derived from the peach symbols." Peach symbols", the Zhou Dynasty hanging on both sides of the door of the rectangular peach wood board. According to the "Houhan Book - rituals," said the peach runes six inches long, three inches wide, peach board on the book "God Tantra", "Yu Shi" two gods." On the first day of the first month, the peach symbols were made and put on the household, the name of the immortal wood, which was feared by all the ghosts." Therefore, the Qing Dynasty, "Yanjing chronicle" said: "Spring Festival couplets, that is, peach symbols also."

During the Five Dynasties, in the court of Western Sichuan, some people wrote couplets on peach charms. According to the "song history - shu shijia" said: after shu lord meng chang made bachelor chapter xun title peach board, "to its non-worker, since the pen title cloud: 'new year nayuqing, jiajie number evergreen'", this is China's first spring couplets. This was the first spring scroll in China. Until the Song Dynasty, spring scrolls were still called "peach symbols". In Wang Anshi's poem, there is a line that reads, "Thousands of doors and tens of thousands of houses are open for the day, and new peaches are always exchanged for old ones". In the Song Dynasty, the peach symbols were changed from peach boards to paper, called "spring stickers".

Ming Dynasty, only the peach charm will be renamed "spring couplets". Ming Dynasty Chen Yunzhan "hairpin cloud building miscellany" in: "spring couplets set up, since the beginning of the Ming Taizu. Imperial capital of Jinling, New Year's Eve before the sudden decree: public officials and the general public shall be added to the door of the Spring Festival couplets a emperor micro line when appearing." Zhu Yuanzhang not only personally out of the city in micro clothes, viewing the laughter and music, he also personally inscribed spring couplets. He passed by a family, see the door has not been posted on the Spring Festival couplets, they went to ask, know that this is a family of castration of pigs, has not yet hired someone to write. Zhu Yuanzhang specially for the pig castration people wrote "hands split the road of life and death, a knife cut off the root of right and wrong" of the Spring Festival couplets. Couplet is apt and humorous. After the Ming Taizu this advocate, since then the Spring Festival couplets have become customary, has been handed down to the present day.

Posting lucky words, window decorations, New Year's paintings, and hanging scrolls

These all have the folkloric function of praying for good luck and decorating one's home. New Year's paintings are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting the customs and beliefs of the people and holding their hopes for the future. New Year paintings, like spring scrolls, originated from "door gods". While the Spring Festival couplets were developed from the names of Goddess of Mercy and Yubi to words, the New Year paintings are still developed along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of the New Year's paintings has not only limited to the God of the Door and so on, and gradually invited the God of Fortune to the home, and then in some New Year's paintings in the workshop produced the "Three Stars of Fortune, Lust and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Provide Blessings," "Five Grains of Fortune," "Six Animals Prosperity," "Welcome to the Spring Receive Blessings" and other colorful New Year's paintings, in order to satisfy people's wish for the celebration and praying for the New Year. Because Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty, advocated posting Spring Festival couplets in Spring Festival, New Year paintings were also influenced by it and then flourished, the country appeared three important places of origin of New Year paintings: Peach Blossom Dock in Suzhou, Yang Liuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; forming three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo in Shanghai combined the lunar calendar and New Year's paintings. This was a new form of New Year's paintings. This combination of two and one of the New Year's paintings, later developed into a hanging calendar. Hanging a thousand, that is, with auspicious words engraved on red paper, long feet in length, glued to the door, and the peach symbols mirror each other. There are eight immortals on it, for the Buddha before hanging. Hanging thousands of civilian households with it, the big families with it less. The yellow paper is three inches long, red paper is more than an inch long, is a "small hanging thousand", used for the market. The earliest Hanging Chien is to make money (copper) string hanging, and the same as the New Year's money, the role of pressure to win.

Posting the word "Fu"

At the same time as the Spring Festival couplets, some people have to post the word "Fu" on the doors, walls and lintels of their houses. The Chinese New Year sticker "Fu" is a long-standing folk custom in China. The character "福" refers to good fortune and good luck, and it expresses people's desire for a happy life and their wish for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wishes, some people simply stick the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "happiness has arrived" and "good fortune has arrived". Folk there will be "Fu" word fine as a variety of patterns, patterns have longevity, longevity peach, carp jump Dragon Gate, five grains, dragon and phoenix, and so on.

Place the heaven and earth table

This is a temporary table, is the New Year's Eve special table. In general, no big Buddha house especially emphasizes the heaven and earth table, because the usual offerings to the Buddha is less, to the end of the year when the end of the year to the gods and buddhas a big reward, in addition, this table is mainly for the reception of the use of the gods. The contents of the heaven and earth table are different from those of the permanent Buddha Hall, in addition to **** there are hanging money, incense and candles, five offerings, large offerings, the idols that are sacrificed to are also mostly temporary, such as "100 percent", which is a woodblock version of the picture book of the gods; "heaven and earth and the three worlds of the eighteen Buddhas and the gods", which is a large yellow paper with burlap, and a large paper with a large yellow paper. Is a large yellow burlap woodcut watercolor printing of the whole God code; three-star portraits of fortune and longevity. Some of the above statues of God after receiving the incineration, such as "percent". Some of them have to be burned until the fifth day of the week, or even until the Lantern Festival. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform, such as the hall place wide, can be placed in the house, such as the house has no land, will be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is the time for the gods in heaven to come down to the world, so the folk have this custom of receiving the gods.

Watching the Spring Festival Gala

While this is not a custom, the popularity of television has made the Spring Festival Gala an indispensable cultural feast for Chinese people since the 1980s! Every year, more than 1 billion people watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV or via the Internet!

Watch the New Year

Chinese people have a custom of keeping watch on New Year's Eve, commonly known as the "New Year's Eve". The New Year's Eve celebration begins with the New Year's Eve dinner, which is eaten slowly, from the time the lanterns are lit to the time the dinner is served, and some people eat the dinner until late at 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 is a way of saying goodbye to the years that have gone by, as well as a way of expressing hope for the coming New Year.

Firecrackers on the first day of the New Year

Chinese folk "open door firecrackers". That is, at the dawn of the new year, the first thing that every family opens the door is to set off firecrackers, to beep and blare firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers are a Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers".

When the midnight cross positive son, the New Year's bell ringing, the whole of China over the land, firecrackers resonate in the sky. In this "year of the yuan, the month of the yuan, the time of the yuan" of the "three yuan" moment, some places are still in the courtyard of the base of the "prosperous fire", to show that the prosperous gas through the sky, prosperous and prosperous. In the burning fire around the fire, the children set off firecrackers, joyfully jumping around, at this time, the house is bright lights, in front of the court is brilliant sparks, outside the house is the sound of the sky, the New Year's Eve atmosphere pushed to the climax of the bustling. Poets and ink masters throughout the ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with the most beautiful poems. Wang Anshi's poem "New Year's Day":

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of a new year, and the spring breeze sends warmth into the tassel.

Thousands of doors and tens of thousands of pupils of the sun. The new peach is always replaced by the old one.

Describes the grand festive scene of the Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a sign of resignation and welcome the new, the flow of the festive mood. Business people, firecrackers have another meaning: they are in the New Year's Eve firecrackers is for the new year big big profit. However, according to the old custom, to honor the God of Fortune to compete first, firecrackers to the back. Legend has it that for those who want to make a fortune, the firecrackers have to be set off at the end of the night to be considered sincere.

Eating New Year's Eve dinner

Children playing with firecrackers, but also the housewives in the kitchen the busiest time, New Year's dishes are done a few days before, and New Year's Eve dinner is always in the kitchen on the day of the New Year's Eve to do out. In the north, the dumplings on the first day of the New Year are also wrapped up on the evening of the thirtieth. At this time the cutting boards of the families are thumping and busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of the chopping board from every household, the sound of firecrackers from the streets and alleys, the sound of the abacus and the sound of the accounts from small stores, mixed with the sound of jokes and laughter everywhere, one after another, the ocean full of ears, interweaving into the New Year's Eve joyful music.

Eating New Year's Eve dinner is the most lively and enjoyable time for families in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve. Abundant New Year's dishes on the table, the whole family reunion, sitting around the table, *** eat reunion dinner, the heart of the fullness is really hard to describe. People are enjoying the table full of delicacies, but also to enjoy the happy atmosphere, the table has a big dish, cold pots, stir-fry, snacks, generally less two things, one is hot pot, one is fish. One is fish. Hot pot boiling, steaming, warm and provocative, indicating that the red hot; "fish" and "Yu" consonance, is a symbol of "auspicious celebration of surplus", but also a metaphor for "year after year". It is also a metaphor for "having more than enough for every year". There are also turnips, commonly known as "choy tau" (菜头), which is a wish for good luck, and fried foods such as lobster and popping fish, which is a wish for good luck in the family, such as "blazing fire cooking oil". Finally, more than one for a sweet food, blessing the sweet days ahead, this day, even if you will not drink alcohol, but also more or less drink a little.

New Year's Eve dinner hall of fame, different places in the north and south, there are dumplings, wontons, long noodles, snacks, etc., and each have their own instructions. Northern people are accustomed to eating dumplings on New Year's Eve, is to take the old and the new, "the new year," the meaning of the child. And because the white dumplings are shaped like silver dollars, a pot of dumplings on the table to symbolize the "New Year's fortune, Yuanbao rolled in" meaning. When some dumplings are wrapped, several coins sterilized in boiling water are wrapped into them, saying that whoever eats them first will earn more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Zhang Zhongjing, the sage of medicine, saw that the ears of the poor were frostbitten in the winter months, so he made a kind of "Cold-removing Ear Soup" for the poor to cure frostbite. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold and warm herbs, wrapped in dough into an ear like "Jiao Er", boiled in a pot, distributed to the poor to eat, people ate, feel warm, two ear heat. Afterwards, people followed suit and the tradition has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons in the New Year is to take the meaning of the beginning. Legend has it that the world was chaotic before the creation of the world, Pangu opened up the sky and the earth, so that there is a universe of four sides, long noodles, also known as longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is to wish for a long life of 100 years.

Join the gods

Join the gods for the old and the new year, but the time of joining the gods is not quite uniform. In some cases, the ceremony begins as soon as the hour arrives; in others, it begins at midnight, the time of "Zi Zheng"; and in some cases, it begins after "Zi Zheng". After the sacrifice of the stove, the gods are back to the Palace of Heaven, ignoring the ordinary affairs of the earth, to New Year's Eve, that is, after midnight, that is, when the new year comes, and then descended to the earth to govern. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the gods reside in different heavenly directions, the natural direction of the world to come is different, as to receive what God, God from where to come, to check in advance the "Constitution", and then lead the whole family to raise incense in the courtyard according to the direction of receiving the gods. After kowtowing in accordance with the direction of the ceremony, standing at attention to wait for the end of the incense, and then kowtow, and finally the incense root, statues, such as ingots, put into the already prepared in the courtyard of the money and grain pots burned. Burning with the burning of pine branches, sesame stalks and so on. Firecrackers are fired when receiving the god, and the atmosphere is very strong.

Step on Soun

After receiving the god, the sesame straw from the street door to the door of the house, people walk on it, crackling, known as "step on the age", also known as "step on Soun". Because the "broken" and "Soun" homophonic, take the meaning of the beginning of the new year to drive away evil spirits.

Ancestor worship

In ancient times, this ritual was very popular. Because of the different rituals and customs of different places, the form of ancestor worship also varies, some to the field to visit the ancestral tomb, some to the ancestral temple to worship ancestors, but most of the ancestors at home will be placed in order in the main hall, display offerings, and then the worshippers according to the order of the eldest and youngest on the incense and kneeling. Han Chinese ancestor worship, most of the fish and meat bowl dishes, served in a high bowl, quite a bell ringing the meaning of food. Southern people living in Beijing, especially grand ancestor worship, most of the eight bowls of food, set up a hot pot, according to the spirit of the set cups and chopsticks, in New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, will be the hot pot fan open, at any time to change the food. Banner ancestor worship, Manchu-Mongolian different, Mongolian Banner for butter fried yellow rice noodles, withdrawal of offerings fried in sesame oil, dipped in sugar, another flavor. Manchurian flag people worship ancestors, for walnut cake, hibiscus cake, apples, vegetarian wax sandalwood incense, quiet and unusual. New Year's Eve and New Year's Day for vegetarian boiled meat and potatoes, on New Year's Eve for the Lantern Festival, every morning and evening incense kowtow, offering new tea. Ancestor worship form, although different, most of them are hanging shadow on New Year's Eve, on the night of the withdrawal of offerings, family and friends of the closest, the New Year's Day must also bow to the ancestral hall, not only prudent to catch up with the intention of not dying, because of its people to honor the virtues of their ancestors, but also through this to save.

Send the God of Wealth

Olden days, from the Spring Festival midnight to open the door of wealth, there is the God of Wealth, holding a piece of paper printed by the God of Wealth outside the door yelling: "Send the God of Wealth to come!" At this time the master of the house, in order to show welcome to the God of Wealth, will take the reward money to the people, send the God of Wealth in the mouth, of course, always have to say some auspicious words. For example: "Gold, silver and treasure roll in"! "The left side of the golden lion, the right side of the golden phoenix" la! And so on and so forth. There is another is dressed up like the God of Wealth, dressed in red robes, wearing a hat, hanging on the mouth with a false beard, carrying a yellow bag to collect money, followed by a few gongs and drums, to distribute the God of Wealth from door to door like in order to ask for reward money. Each to the door of the people, singing "the left side is full of gold and silver bank, the right side of the treasure full of house pile" and so on a lot of auspicious words, until the owner of the joy to receive the red paper God of Fortune image, give them some money, pretend to be the God of Fortune of the people, thank you, after a period of energetic beating, in the thumping clanging gongs and drums, turn to another home.

Drinking Tusu Wine

Tusu wine is a kind of medicinal wine. In ancient custom, the whole family drank Tusu Wine on New Year's Day to get rid of immodesty. The method of making tusu wine is: with rhubarb a money, orange stalks, Sichuan pepper each one and a half cent, gui heart one money eight points, cornelian cherry one money two points, one or two wind, with a reddish-red bag hanging in the well, to the yuan day c time to pick up, to the wine decoction four or five boiled. In ancient times, the method of drinking tusu wine was very unique. Generally speaking, people always drink wine from the oldest person; however, drinking Tusu wine is just the opposite, from the youngest person. Presumably, the young ones grew up day by day and drank it first as a sign of congratulations, while the old ones drank it later as a sign of retention after one year. Song Dynasty writer Su Zhe's poem "New Year's Day," which reads, "Drinking tusu at the end of the year, I don't realize that I am over seventy years old," is a reference to this custom. This kind of unique drinking order, in ancient times, often produce all kinds of feelings, so it leaves a deep impression on people.

Next Year Rice

In the north, some people have to provide a pot of rice, burned before the year, to be provided for the New Year, called the "next year rice", is the leftovers year after year, year-round food, this year also ate the meaning of the food of the past year. This pot of next year's rice is generally cooked with a mixture of rice and millet, Beijing slang called "two rice", in order to have a yellow and white, which is called "gold and silver, gold and silver pot full of" the "gold and silver rice This is called "gold and silver rice". Many places in the New Year's Eve preparation of pastries and fruits, are trying to get a lucky mouth: eat jujube (early spring), eat persimmon cakes (everything is as good as it can be) eat almonds (happy people), eat long life fruit (longevity), eat rice cakes (a year higher than a year). On the night of New Year's Eve, the family, while eating and having fun, talks and laughs.

Lastly, on the last day of the 11th year, Coyote once again sends his blessings, wishing all his wolf friends, a happy new year and a successful career.