Traditional Composition of Putian Spring Festival Customs

According to the old custom in Putian, the Spring Festival usually begins at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. "Sweep around, wash and see your ancestors", and Putian dialect calls cleaning "sweeping", and the sweeping day is generally set at the tenth to twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month; Every household chooses a sunny day in the "double day", washes all the things at home and moves to the outdoor sun, one can be dried and the other can be disinfected; Then there is the indoor "sweeping tour". In the past, every household used a broom made of sugarcane leaves, straw and reed leaves to clean the corner of the house. Now, we still don't let go of any dirt in the house and clean it carefully.

The "offering a sacrifice to a stove" on February 24th of the lunar calendar/KLOC-0 is to send a stove to heaven. Burn a piece of paper at the time of worship and give it to the kitchen god, praying for the jade emperor's blessing and adequate food and clothing.

December 25th of the lunar calendar is the most curious day for me since I was a child. My mother says every year that this day can't be angry, can't bicker with others, can't do bad things and can't get into trouble for a year. I spend this day with a question mark every year. Later, I learned that this day is a big day for Pu Xian customs, commonly known as "25th". This day, usually sunny, is said to be a day of "God bless the people". This day is also a day to do good deeds and accumulate virtue. Money and food promised to God for various reasons should be sent to the Town God Temple (or the temple in the village), and the manager will turn it into charity for the poor and beggars. On this day, we must do good deeds, for example, if we don't pay back our debts, we can't recover them.

The new year is coming, and every family is preparing for it. The children are happier. They followed their parents to the supermarket to buy snacks, rice cakes and ingredients for two reunion dinners. I also want to post Spring Festival couplets. These days, when I go out, I will see every family standing on chairs and posting Spring Festival couplets!

The long-awaited New Year's Eve has arrived, and every household is full of excitement. Putian calls eating the reunion dinner "around the stove", which symbolizes the whole family eating around. Putian people attach great importance to family relations. This night, people who are tired of running around outside should try their best to come back and reunite with their loved ones. Crucian carp, crab, shrimp, sweet balls, etc. These things are indispensable on the dining table, and these dishes also have their own meanings. Behind the stove, the older generation will give lucky money to unmarried men and women under 16; There are also children who give lucky money to their parents, grandparents; The husband gave the unemployed wife lucky money. The meaning of Chinese New Year's lucky money has increased by one year for children, filial piety for the older generation and love for his wife. According to the old times is according to the special, that is, to expel evil.

On the first day of the new year, every household opens the door and sets off firecrackers. In the morning, everyone should eat a bowl of noodles, which means a long life in the new year. On the first day of the first month, my parents and I wore new clothes to visit relatives, and there were jubilant scenes everywhere.

The most special custom in Putian is to celebrate the New Year on the fourth or fifth day. Because Fujian was invaded by the Japanese in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it was New Year's Eve, and some villagers fled to the mountains to take refuge and escaped. By the time it was calm, it was already the second day of the New Year's Day. The local people went home, and their home was terrible. People decided to celebrate the New Year again, and towns and villages were different. Some are on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, and some are on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. It's hard to find a custom of two years in China. Besides, people don't visit their friends on the second day of New Year's Day. In order to warn the Japanese invaders during the New Year's Day, the local people stipulate that they should not visit relatives and friends on the second day of the New Year's Day (unless they have been to the first day).

Another special festival in Putian is the Lantern Festival. On the Lantern Festival night, the village palace will be decorated with lanterns, set up a "banquet table", fold cakes, and the villagers will carry the statue of Bodhisattva. When the procession traveled all over the country, families set up incense tables in the hall. When the parade passes by, they light candles, set off firecrackers, burn firewood and make "tributes" to pray for peace and happiness for a year, commonly known as "invitation banquet". After cleaning up the furniture, the housewives took the embers home and poured them into the stove, indicating that they would be more prosperous in the coming year.

The second day of the second lunar month is the "Zhonghe Festival". This day is commonly known as "the first tooth". Families offer sacrifices to God and ancestors. Merchants prepare banquets and invite shop assistants to be the "first teeth". In rural communities, if there is no Lantern Festival in the first month due to heavy rain and other reasons, it will be reissued on this day, commonly known as "February 2". With, the Spring Festival is over.