What are the customs and characteristics of Chinese New Year in southern China?

The custom of Chinese New Year in South China;

Sweep the dust-the folk proverb says: on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, sweep the house dust ". The north is called cleaning the house and the south is called dust removal. Indoor and outdoor, behind the house, thoroughly clean up, clothes and appliances, wash a new look, and greet the Spring Festival cleanly.

Door painting-According to Shan Hai Jing, when Li Shimin was ill, he often heard amityville horror's voice in his dream, so that he couldn't sleep at night. At this time, two generals, Qin and Weichi Gong, volunteered to stand on both sides of the door. As a result, the palace is safe. Li Shimin felt sorry that the two generals were too hard, so he ordered the painter to paint their mighty images on the door, which is the so-called "keeper". According to Cai Yong's Random Thoughts in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were statues of Shen Tu and Lei Yu stuck on the door in the Han Dynasty, which evolved into woodcut New Year pictures in the Song Dynasty. Later, people rushed to follow suit, and after several evolutions, they formed their own unique style, that is, the current New Year pictures. The earliest existing New Year picture in China is the Song version of Meitu of the Sui Dynasty.

Spring Festival couplets evolved from "peach stalks" in the Warring States period more than two thousand years ago. According to Huainanzi, peach characters (peach stalks) are carved from peach wood. It is engraved with a spell that destroys happiness, and it changes every year. Meng Changjun, the Emperor of Shu after the Five Dynasties, had a whim during the Spring Festival and asked people to slice peach trees. He wrote a couplet on it: "Welcome to Qing Yu in the New Year and celebrate the festival in Changchun". This is the earliest Spring Festival couplets in China. As for the official birth of the name Spring Festival couplets, it was in the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, made Jinling his capital, he made an imperial edict on New Year's Eve: "When the official family visits the New Year, they must write a Spring Festival couplets." Since then, Spring Festival couplets have become popular, and every household should post Spring Festival couplets during the New Year.

Fireworks-The custom of setting off firecrackers in the Spring Festival began in the Han Dynasty. According to "The Story of Meng Jing Times" written by Nan Liang Zonggu, "On the first day of the first month ... the rooster crowed, and people set off firecrackers in front of the court to drive away evil spirits from Shan Yao." In ancient times, firecrackers were set off by burning bamboo in a fire. Because the air in bamboo is heated and expanded, it makes a "crackling" sound to ward off evil spirits, hoping for good luck and happiness in the coming year. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, firecrackers made of gunpowder came into being.

New Year's greetings-According to the Miscellaneous Notes of Lu Rongyuan in Ming Dynasty, the custom of New Year's greetings was first implemented in Kyoto in Ming Dynasty. When dealing with officials, whether you know them or not, you should worship each other, while the people worship their relatives and friends. In the Qing Dynasty, it was popular to send "greeting boxes" during the Spring Festival, that is, to send New Year cards to relatives and friends in exquisite and beautiful decorative boxes to show solemnity. In today's China, "Happy New Year" has become a traditional custom. Dear friends and colleagues visit and greet each other.