What are the customs during the Spring Festival?

Spring Festival is the most important traditional folk festival in China. No matter its grand etiquette, rich activities, heavy cultural connotation and great influence, it is incomparable to other traditional festivals. Let me briefly introduce the traditional customs of the Spring Festival and get to know them together.

1, posting Spring Festival couplets, also called couplets, is an essential custom element for the New Year. Every Spring Festival, whether in the city or in the countryside, Spring Festival couplets should be posted, which means to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Of course, as early as ancient times, the way to paste Spring Festival couplets at first was not what we see today. Spring Festival couplets are evolved from the symbol of peach. At that time, people posted not Spring Festival couplets at the door, but two rectangular mahogany boards, called peach charms, to ward off evil spirits. In other words, writing Spring Festival couplets on Fu Tao began with Meng Changjun, the monarch of Shu in the late Five Dynasties, and gradually became Spring Festival couplets after the Ming Dynasty.

Now every year in the twelfth lunar month, writing Spring Festival couplets begins quietly. At this time, it is time for talented people who write well to show their talents. With a wave of his hand, the black characters on the red paper gradually appear, either vigorous and powerful or dignified and beautiful. People who write Spring Festival couplets can earn a little money by this good hand, and people who buy Spring Festival couplets are also happy. Spring Festival couplets can be said to be a folk calligraphy exhibition. Every year on New Year's Eve, every household sticks Spring Festival couplets with red paper to set off the festive atmosphere and make people feel happy.

2. New Year's Eve, which is also called "Year", and folk activities are called "Shounian Fire". On New Year's Eve, every household will turn on the lights all night. It is said that this will enrich the family. In addition, there is a custom of vigil all night in some areas. On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together for a reunion dinner and send blessings to each other. Everyone sits around the fire and chats together, which means reunion and harmony. Vigilance, hoping that all evil diseases and epidemics will be driven away.

The vigil on New Year's Eve is the most important annual custom activity in the traditional Spring Festival in China. On New Year's Eve, all the family members get together to celebrate the festival and enjoy family happiness. New Year's Eve has a history of thousands of years. In ancient times, there were two meanings: the old man kept his age, which meant cherishing time; Young people keep their age, which means keeping their parents safe and prolonging their lives.

3. Dust removal in rural areas. On the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the whole family cleaned the house together, and cleaned the whole house inside and outside to welcome the New Year. I still remember cleaning the house with adults when I was a child. At that time, I felt very happy because I knew that the Spring Festival was coming. According to Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, as early as the Yao and Shun era, China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival. Because "dust" and "Chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the Spring Festival has a new meaning, meaning "getting rid of the old and not being new", hoping to sweep all bad luck out of the house.

4. Cut and paste window grilles In ancient times, window grilles were not bought, but were cut by craftsmen themselves. Scissors move, all kinds of animals and plants are lifelike, and window grilles are mostly themed with auspicious patterns, such as magpie climbing plum, deer crane, five bats celebrating their birthday, lotus (lotus) with fish (the rest), Yuanyang playing in water, harmony between the two immortals and so on. ..... put the best wishes of the year on the window. Although few people can cut window grilles by themselves now, the custom in stick grilles still remains. People often put red window grilles in clean rooms to add more joy, so as to decorate the environment and render the atmosphere. They hope to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

In the traditional sense, it is the day when people sacrifice stoves. People will not only put honeydew melons, cakes and so on. On the console table in front of the kitchen god, it is necessary to replace the old portrait of the kitchen god and paste the new portrait of the kitchen god that every household "please" come back.

According to legend, Kitchen God was originally a civilian, Zhang Sheng. After marriage, he spent all his time drinking, losing everything and begging in the streets. One day, he begged at his ex-wife Guo Dingxiang's house, ashamed and burned to death under the stove. When the Jade Emperor knew about it, he thought that Zhang Sheng would change his mind, and it wouldn't be bad in the end. Because he died at the bottom of the pot, he was named the kitchen god. Every year, he went to heaven on the 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month and returned to the bottom of the stove on the New Year's Eve. The people think that the kitchen god must be respected because he wants to repay the kindness to heaven. Therefore, people celebrate the "off-year" on the 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month, praying for peace and wealth in the coming year.

These are the customs I know about the Spring Festival. What else do you know, my friend?