Legends, stories, customs and folklore about the Spring Festival

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a young man named Wan Nian who was collecting firewood. He saw that the seasons at that time were very chaotic, and he was determined to set the seasons correctly. One day, he went up the mountain to collect firewood and was suddenly inspired by the moving shadows of trees. When he returned home, he designed a "sundial" specifically for measuring the length of the sun's shadow. But what to do when cloudy, rainy and foggy weather occurs? Later, he saw the spring water dripping rhythmically on the cliff. He had an idea and made a five-layer clepsydra and used the leakage method to time the time. Slowly he discovered that every three hundred and sixty-five days, the length of the day would repeat itself, and the shortest day was on the winter solstice.

Wannian brought a homemade sundial and water leaker to the emperor and explained the winter solstice and the cycle of the sun and the moon. After hearing this, the emperor felt that what Wannian said was very reasonable, so he kept Wannian to make the calendar, and built a sundial and a sundial in front of the Temple of Heaven.

After a while, the emperor sent The seasonal officer A Heng went to learn about the situation of the Wannian calendar. Wannian took out the cursive calendar he made and said: "There are three hundred and six sunrises and sunsets, and the cycle starts from the beginning. The growth and decline of vegetation are divided into four seasons, and there are twelve circles in one year." Ah Heng was very jealous of Wan Nian's talent and was afraid that Wan Nian would be favored by the emperor, so he bribed an assassin to stab Wan Nian. When the emperor found out, he was furious, executed A Heng, and visited Wan Nian in person. Wan Nian pointed at Shen Xing and said: "Now Shen Xing has caught up with Canbaixing, the Xing family has recovered, Zi Shi Ye Yi, the old year is over, and spring has begun again. I hope the emperor will set a festival." "Spring is the year. First of all, let’s celebrate the Spring Festival.” The emperor said. Since then, the customs of the Spring Festival have been passed down to this day.

In addition, people call the Spring Festival "Chinese New Year".

It is said that "Nian" is a "one-horned, ferocious beast". Every year on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, it comes out to prey and bite people, threatening the safety of human life. However, through long-term practice, people have found that this kind of beast has "three fears" - fear of sound, fear of light, and fear of red color. In order to drive it away, people cut red peach wood into signs and hung them at the door, calling it " Peach charm". There were also burning cut green bamboos, which produced crackling "sounds" and "light" when burning. After seeing "Nian", all we could do was walk far away and run quickly. Early the next morning, everyone was safe and sound, and they congratulated each other, " This is where the "New Year's greetings" comes from.

Couplets are commonly known as "couples" and "couples". It is simple in expression, profound in meaning, neat in contrast, and harmonious in level and oblique. It is a unique art form of the Chinese language with one word and one sound. It can be said that the art of couplets is a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation.

Couplets are one of my country’s unique literary forms. Its wonderful combination with calligraphy has become a colorful artistic creation of the Chinese nation. Couplets, also known as "couples", are named after the couplets that were often hung in the halls and halls of houses in ancient times. As early as before the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was a custom of hanging peach charms during the Chinese New Year. The so-called peach charms are the names of the legendary ghost-conquering gods "Shen Cha" and "Yu Lei", respectively written on two peach boards and hung on the left and right doors to drive away ghosts and suppress evil spirits. This custom lasted for more than a thousand years. It was not until the Five Dynasties that people began to inscribe couplets on peach boards. According to the "History of the Shu Family in the Song Dynasty", Meng Chang, the lord of Shu after the Five Dynasties, "every year, he ordered a scholar to compose a poem, write a peach charm, and place it around the door of his bed. In the last year of his life (AD 964), the scholar Xing Yinxun wrote a poem, and Chang used it as a poem. Fei Gong's self-motivated inscription says: "New Year's Day", "Jia Festival" is Changchun. This is the earliest Spring Festival couplet in my country. After the Song Dynasty, it has become quite common for folk to hang Spring Festival couplets during the New Year. The sentence in Wang Anshi's poem "Thousands of households always replace old talismans with new peaches" is a true portrayal of the grand occasion at that time. Since the appearance of Spring Festival couplets is closely related to Taofu, the ancients also called Spring Festival couplets "Taofu". The custom of keeping the year old includes not only a feeling of nostalgia for the passing years, but also a good hope for the coming New Year. The ancients wrote in a poem "Shou Sui": "Invite the Ajong family to keep the year old, and the wax torch is passed on to the blue gauze. Thirty and sixty years have been wasted, but I cherish my years from this night."

"It is human nature to cherish the years, so the great poet Su Shi wrote the famous line "Shou Sui": "There will be no years next year, and worries will be wasted; if you work hard today, you can still be proud of your youth! "This shows the positive significance of staying up late on New Year's Eve