Special Customs of Celebrating the Spring Festival in China

Spring Festival, that is, Lunar New Year, commonly known as Chinese New Year, generally refers to New Year's Eve and the first day of the first month. But among the people, the traditional Spring Festival refers to offering sacrifices to stoves from the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th of the first month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first month as the climax.

Twenty-three and twenty-four of the twelfth lunar month

Little new year

The 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month, also known as "off-year", is the day when people worship the kitchen. The folk song "Twenty-three, Melon Stick" refers to the sacrificial stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five", that is, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the government held a sacrifice to the kitchen, on the 24th, the general public, and on the 25th, the boat was built. Off-year is the beginning and foreshadowing of the whole Spring Festival celebration, and there are two main activities: sweeping the New Year and offering sacrifices to stoves. In addition, there is the custom of eating stove candy. In some places, we also eat fire, sugar cakes, oil cakes and tofu soup.

Sacrifice to the kitchen god

Sacrificing stoves is a very popular custom in China. In the past, almost every kitchen had a kitchen god. People call this god "the Bodhisattva who commands life" or "the stove commands life". It is said that he is the "Nine-day East Chef Commanding the Kitchen Palace" sealed by the Jade Emperor, who is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of various families and is worshipped as the patron saint of the family. Kitchen shrines are mostly located in the north or east of the kitchen, with the idol of Kitchen God in the middle. Some people who don't have the niche of the Kitchen King even put the idol directly on the wall. Some gods only draw a kitchen god, while others have two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Chef".

The sacrificial furnace on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the New Year in China. Because, a week later, on New Year's Eve, Kitchen God came to the world with the good and bad fortune that the family should get. Kitchen God is considered to guide the gods in the sky. Other gods have ascended to heaven after the Chinese New Year, and only Kitchen God will stay in other people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony of welcoming God is called "receiving God", and the kitchen god is called "receiving kitchen". Generally, it is New Year's Eve to pick up the kitchen, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, just put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche.

As the saying goes, "Men don't Yue Bai, women don't sacrifice to the kitchen". In some places, women don't sacrifice stoves. It is said that the kitchen god looks like a small white face and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the kitchen stove, which is "suspected of men and women."

People pay attention to eating jiaozi on the Festival of Sacrificing Kitchen, which means "Look at the windward side of jiaozi". Eat more cakes and buckwheat noodles in mountainous areas. In the southeast of Shanxi, the custom of eating fried corn is popular. There is a saying in the folk proverb called "Twenty-three, don't eat fried corn, pour a pot at the beginning of the new year". People like to bond fried corn with maltose and freeze it into pieces, which tastes crisp and sweet.

crispy noodles

After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household should steam steamed bread. Generally speaking, it can be divided into two types: worshipping God and visiting relatives. The former is solemn, while the latter is gorgeous. Especially to make a jujube hill for Kitchen God. "A steamed bread, neighbors to help". This is often a great opportunity for folk women to show their dexterity. Steamed bread is a handicraft.

write Spring Festival couplets

After the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, every household will write Spring Festival couplets. People pay attention to it, and God will stick it, and doors will stick it, and things will stick it, so Spring Festival couplets have the largest number and the most complete content. The couplets in front of the statues are particularly particular, and they are mostly words of admiration and blessing. Vulgar gods are the gods of heaven and earth. "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and earth's virtue is as heavy as mountains"; Land god alliance "white jade is born in the soil, gold is born in the ground"; God of wealth "God of wealth in heaven, God of wealth on earth"; Jing Shenlian "The well can pass through the four seas, and the home can pass through the three rivers". The Spring Festival couplets in granaries and barns all express warm congratulations and hopes, such as "five crops are abundant and six livestock are prosperous"; "The rice surface is as thick as a mountain, and the oil and salt are as deep as the sea"; "Nanshan cattle are like tigers, Beihai Ma Rulong"; "Big sheep flourish every year, and little sheep increase every month" and so on. There are also some single couplets, such as "Looking up to see happiness" in each room, "Going out to see happiness" across the door, "Prosperity is soaring to the sky" on the fire, "The courtyard is full of gold" on the tree, and "Deep-rooted foliage" on the stone mill. The couplets on the gate are the facade of a family, which are particularly exquisite, lyrical or picturesque, rich in content and witty.

Eat stove candy

Kitchen sugar is a kind of maltose, which is very sticky. The candy that is drawn into a long strip is called "Guandong Sugar", and the candy that is drawn into a flat circle is called "honeydew melon". When it is placed outside in winter, because of the cold weather, the honeydew melon is solidified firmly, and there are some tiny bubbles in it, which tastes crisp and sweet and has a special flavor. The real kwantung candy is too hard to break. Be sure to split it with a kitchen knife when eating. The material is very heavy and fine. The taste is slightly sour, there is no honeycomb in the middle, each piece weighs one or two, two or four, and the price is relatively expensive. There are two kinds of sugar: sesame sugar and sesame-free sugar.

Made of sugar into melon shape or north melon shape, the center is empty, and the skin thickness is less than five points. Although the size is different, the transaction is still calculated by weight. Some big honeydew melons weigh one or two kilograms, but few people buy them as a cover.

sweep the dust

After the Stove Festival, preparations for the Chinese New Year officially began. Dust removal is year-end cleaning, which is called "house cleaning" in the north and "dust removal" in the south. Cleaning before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of China people. Clean thoroughly outside, in front of and behind the house to welcome the Spring Festival. The custom of "sweeping the house with dust on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to Lu Chunqiu, China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying, because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival means "getting rid of the old and not being new", and its original intention is to sweep away all "unlucky" and "unlucky". This custom has placed people's desire to break the old and create new ones and their prayers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.

1February 29th, New Year's Eve

The night on the last day of the twelfth lunar month, that is, the last day of the lunar year (30 days old and 29 days old) is called "New Year's Eve". It is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first month), which is the day when people bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Because the big moon has 30 days and the small moon has only 29 days, the date of New Year's Eve is different. But this day, whether it is 29 or 30, is customarily called "New Year's Eve". On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together to have a New Year's Eve dinner (the last meal of the Lunar New Year). After New Year's Eve, there is a custom of giving lucky money and staying up on New Year's Eve, which means from the last day of the lunar new year to the first day of the following year.

During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, a ceremony of "exorcism" was held in the palace at the end of each year to beat drums to drive away epidemic ghosts, which was called "banishment". Later, the day before New Year's Eve was called "small exorcism". New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve.

Tian di Ji Biao

Legend has it that this night is the time when the gods in heaven are in the lower world, so there is a custom of receiving gods among the people. Heaven and earth table is a temporary table, which is specially designed for New Year's Eve, and is mainly used to receive gods. Generally, there is no big Buddhist temple house to pay special attention to, because there are few sacrifices to the Buddha at ordinary times, and a large reward should be given to the Buddha at the end of the year. The content of Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of perennial Buddhist temples. Except for some hanging money, incense sticks, five sacrifices and big sacrifices, most of the idols worshipped are temporary, such as Percentage, which is a woodcut idol album. "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth", a complete book of color printing, and woodcut on rhubarb fringed paper; Fu Lushou Samsung photo, etc. Some of the above images will be incinerated after receiving the gods, such as "percentage", and some will not be incinerated until the evening shift or even the Lantern Festival. The position of the table is not uniform. For example, the room is spacious and can be put in the house. If there is no land at home, put it in the yard.

Eat new year's eve dinner

When children are playing with firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. Chinese New Year's food is cooked a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked on New Year's Eve. In the north, jiaozi on the first day of New Year's Day will also be wrapped up on the evening of 30th. At this time, everyone's chopping boards are busy chopping meat and vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards in every household, firecrackers in streets and alleys, abacus and accounting sounds in small shops are full of laughter and laughter, one after another, echoing, interwoven into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve.

Eating New Year's Eve is the most lively and enjoyable time for every household in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, there was a big dinner, and the whole family got together, sat around the table and had a reunion dinner. The sense of accomplishment in my heart is beyond words. People not only enjoy the delicious food on the table, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold dishes, stir-fried dishes and snacks on the table. Generally, there are two things, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, which indicates that it is thriving; "Fish" and "fish" are homophonic, symbolizing "more happiness and more celebration" and also meaning "more than one year". There are also radishes, commonly known as vegetable heads. Good luck. Lobster, fried fish and other fried foods, wish your family prosperity, such as "cooking oil with fire." Finally, dessert, I wish the future sweet. Even if you can't drink on this day, you can drink a little.

There are many kinds of New Year's Eve dinners, including jiaozi, wonton, long noodles and Yuanxiao. , and each has its own emphasis. Northerners are used to eating jiaozi during Chinese New Year (the custom of eating jiaozi was handed down from the Han Dynasty), which means "making friends when young". Because the white flour jiaozi is shaped like a silver ingot, the pots on the table symbolize the meaning of "getting rich in the New Year, and the ingots are rolling in". Some wrapped jiaozi and some coins sterilized with boiling water, saying that whoever ate first would make more money. Eating wonton in the New Year is based on its original meaning. Legend has it that the world was in chaos before it was created, and Pangu began to create the universe. Long noodles, also known as longevity noodles, eat noodles in the New Year and wish you a long life.

stay up late or all night on New Year's Eve

Since the Han Dynasty, the alternation of the new year and the old year is generally at midnight, and celebrating the New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of observing the old age has a long history, which was first seen in the local chronicles of the Western Jin Dynasty: on New Year's Eve, all parties give gifts to each other, which is called "giving back the old age"; Wine and food are invited, which is called "not old"; Young and old get together to drink and wish a complete song called "age division"; Everyone stays up all night, waiting for dawn. This is the so-called "shou sui".

On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, light candles or oil lamps, sit around the stove and chat, wait for the time to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year, and keep vigil all night, which symbolizes driving away all evil diseases and epidemics and expecting good luck in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, wrote a poem "Shou Sui": "Cold words and winter snow, warm with spring breeze". To this day, people are used to celebrating the New Year's Eve.

In ancient times, observing the age has two meanings: the old man's observing the age means "resigning from the old", which means cherishing time; Young people keep their age in order to prolong the life of their parents.

Communicate with god

Receiving God means dividing the old year into the new year, but the time of receiving God is not uniform. Some people begin to hold ceremonies as soon as their children arrive, some people begin to receive gods at midnight when their children are "right", and some people do so after their children are "right". After the sacrifice, the immortals from all walks of life returned to the Heavenly Palace, ignoring worldly affairs, and after New Year's Eve, that is, when the New Year came, they came to the world for deliberation. The ceremony of receiving gods was held at the table of heaven and earth, presided over by the oldest person in the family. Because the immortals live in different directions in heaven, the lower bound naturally comes in different directions. As for who to meet and where to come from, we should check the "constitution book" in advance, lead the whole family to hold incense in the yard, and follow their instructions to meet the gods. For example, Xin Weinian's "Constitution Book" states that "God of Wealth is due east, God of Wealth is due south, you God is northeast, West God is southwest, and Tai Sui God is southwest". After kowtowing according to the position, stand still until the incense is exhausted, and then kowtow. Finally, take down the fragrant roots, idols and ingots, put them into the money and grain pots already prepared in the yard, and burn them with pine branches and sesame stalks. When the gods were closed, firecrackers exploded and the atmosphere was extremely strong.

tread on

After receiving the gods, sesame stalks spread from the street gate to the door of the house, and people walked on it, making a noise, which was called "stepping on the old" or "stepping on the special". Because "broken" and "treasure" are homophonic, it means that the new year begins to exorcise evil spirits.

Pick up the god of wealth

In the old society, since the financial door was opened at midnight during the Spring Festival, people have sent the God of Wealth. The god of wealth shouted outside the door with a piece of paper in his hand, "Here comes the man who sent the god of wealth!" " At this time, the owner of the house welcomed the arrival of the god of wealth and gave the reward to the bearer. Say something auspicious when sending the god of wealth, such as "gold and silver treasures are rolling in!" There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenix on the right.

In addition, some people dressed in red robes, gauze hats, beards on their mouths, yellow cloth bags on their backs, dressed as the god of wealth, followed by several drummers, and distributed statues of the god of wealth from door to door as a reward. Every time I go to someone's door, I will sing a bunch of auspicious words, such as "the left compartment is full of gold and silver, and the right compartment is full of treasure", until the owner happily takes over the statue of the god of wealth and gives them some money. These talents thank each other and fight harder later. In the sound of gongs and drums, go to another house.

The first day of the lunar new year

The first day of the first month was originally called "New Year's Day", and the original meaning of "yuan" was "head" and later extended to "start". This day is the first day of the year, the first day of spring and the first day of the first month, so it is called "Sanyuan". Because this day is still the old dynasty, the moon dynasty and the Japanese dynasty, it is also called the "three dynasties"; Because it is the first Shuori, it is also called "Yuanshuo". On the first day of the first month, there are other nicknames, such as Shangri-La, Zheng Chao, Sanshuo and Shisan, which means the beginning of a year, January and a day.

Open the door and set off firecrackers.

When the door is opened in the morning of the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door to set off firecrackers". After the firecrackers, the ground is broken red, which is the so-called "full house". At this time, the streets are full of anger and joy.

Pay new year's call

On the first day of the new year, men get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends, and wish each other good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings, some of which are led by the same patriarch from door to door. Some colleagues invited several people to pay New Year greetings; Others get together to congratulate each other. This is called "group worship". Because it takes time and effort to pay New Year greetings at home, some elites and scholars later congratulated each other with famous cards, thus developing the later "New Year cards".

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders and wish them health and longevity. The elders can distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can kill evil spirits, because "old" and "special" are homophonic, and the younger generation can spend a year safely with lucky money. There are two kinds of lucky money, one is to put colored rope in the shape of Jackie Chan at the foot of the bed, which was recorded in Yanjing year; The other is the most common, that is, parents wrap the money distributed to their children in red paper. Lucky money can be given in public after the younger generation pays New Year's greetings, or it can be secretly put under the child's pillow by parents when the child falls asleep on New Year's Eve. It is still very popular for elders to give lucky money to younger generations.

Zhansui

In the old society, due to the sunny weather in the first few days of Xinzheng, people put this year. Its theory began in Dong Fangshuo's "Year", which means that eight days after the year, one day is chicken day, two days are dogs, three days are pigs, four days are sheep, five days are cows, six days are horses, seven days are people and eight days are valleys. If it is sunny, things that belong to it will breed, if it is cloudy, the days that belong to it will not last long. Later generations follow their habits and think that the weather is sunny from the first day to the tenth day, and there is no wind or snow for good luck. Later generations developed from the occupation era to a series of sacrifices and celebrations.

Drink Tu Su wine.

Tu Su wine is a kind of medicinal liquor. In the ancient custom, the whole family drank Tu Su wine on January Day to eliminate unhealthy tendencies. Tu Su wine is made by hanging rhubarb, platycodon grandiflorum, Zanthoxylum bungeanum, Cinnamomum cassia, Cornus officinalis and Saposhnikovia divaricata in a well, picking them at the end of Yuan Dynasty and cooking them with the wine for four or five times. In ancient times, Tu Su wine was drunk in a unique way. Most people drink alcohol, always starting from the elderly; But drinking Tu Su wine is just the opposite, starting with the smallest. Perhaps young people grow up day by day, drinking first to congratulate them, and old people drinking late to retain them. Su Zhe, a writer in the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "In addition to Japan" that "it has been more than 70 years since Tu Su drank the last drink every year", which is a custom. In ancient times, this unique drinking order often caused people to have various emotions, so it left a deep impression on people.

Jucai

It is said that the first day of the first month is the birthday of a broom, so you can't use a broom on this day, otherwise it will ruin your fortune, attract a "broom star" and cause bad luck. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep it from the outside to the inside. Don't throw water on the garbage on this day, for fear of breaking the money. Today, many places still have the custom of cleaning up New Year's Eve. On the first day of New Year's Day, there was no broom or garbage, and a large barrel of wastewater was prepared to avoid splashing outside that day.

The second day of the first lunar month.

On the second day of the first month (the third day of the first month in northern China), married daughters will take their husbands and children back to their parents' homes to pay New Year greetings. When a daughter returns to her mother's house, there must be a big bag of biscuits and sweets distributed by her mother to her neighbors, just like the scene of the New Year. If there are many daughters at home, and these daughters don't come back on the same day, then we must share one at a time. The gift is quite thin, just four biscuits. But it reflects the deep affection, the real "courtesy is light and affection is heavy", and expresses the girl's miss for the villagers. When the girl goes home, if there is a nephew at home, menstruation has to pay again. Although she gave lucky money on New Year's Day, this time it had a different meaning. This custom is called "eating midnight snack" by Chaoshan people. As the name implies, it's just lunch, and the daughter must get back to her husband's house before dinner.

Sacrifice to the God of Wealth (North)

In the north, the god of wealth sacrifices on the second day of the first month. On this day, both commercial shops and ordinary families will hold activities to worship the god of wealth. Families offered sacrifices to the God of Wealth who arrived on New Year's Eve. In fact, the bought rough printed matter was incinerated. I want to eat wonton at noon this day, commonly known as "Yuanbao soup". Fish and mutton were used as sacrifices. On this day, big businesses in old Beijing held large-scale sacrificial activities, offering sacrifices with "five sacrifices", that is, whole pig, whole sheep, whole chicken, whole duck and red live carp, hoping to make a fortune this year.

On the third day of the first month

The third day of the first month is the day when Nu Wa herded sheep, so it is called "Sheep Day". On this day, people cannot kill sheep. If the weather is good, it means that sheep will be raised well and sheep farmers will have a good harvest this year.

Burning door god paper

In the old society, on the third day, pine and cypress branches were burned together with the janitor's note hanging on the festival to show that the New Year had passed and it was time to start business. As the saying goes, "if you burn the janitor's paper, one will seek physiology."

Guzi birthday

People think that the third day of the first month is Xiaomi's birthday. On this day, people hope to sacrifice and pray for the new year. They don't eat rice.

Xiaonianchao

That is, tianqing festival. The court festival in the Song Dynasty, the first year of Song Zhenzong Dazhong Xiangfu, was spread all over the world because of the gobbledygook, so Zhenzong issued an imperial edict, which designated the third day of the first month as Tianqing Festival, and officials and others had five days off. Later, it was called Xiaonian Dynasty, which did not sweep the floor, beg for fire or draw water, just like the old dynasty.

Post "Red Mouth"

In the south of China, on the morning of the third day of New Year's Eve, a "red mouth" is posted. I think this day is easy to quarrel and not suitable for New Year's greetings. The so-called "red mouth" is usually a red note about seven or eight inches long and one inch wide, on which are written some words of peace and good luck (format: "On the third day of the first month of 1994, the front door of the gods should be nailed down, and every man and woman who steals Mars will be rewarded"). One is posted on the top of the front and back doors, and the other is picked out and thrown out on the garbage. These rubbish are all piled up on the second day of the first grade, and they should be cleaned up and dumped together by the third grade. Otherwise, it is equivalent to the outflow of gold and silver at home. In a word, sticking a "red mouth" is to make people feel that they can go in and out safely all year round, will not quarrel with others, and will not encounter all kinds of unfortunate disasters, and make more money at home and all the best.

"year of sending"

Generally speaking, the ceremony of sending gods and ancestors back to heaven is held at night.

The fifth day of the first month

The fifth day of the first month, commonly known as breaking the fifth.

There is a folk custom of eating jiaozi, which means to make money and cherish it. According to the old habit of eating "dumplings" once every five days (called "boiled cakes" in the north), some people only eat them for three or two days, and some eat them every other day. However, there is nothing you can't eat. In ancient times, this was true from the royal residence to the small houses in the streets and even entertaining guests. Women no longer taboo, began to visit each other and congratulate each other. Newly married women go home on this day. Many taboos can be broken after folklore tells them on this day. It is not appropriate to do things on the day of the break, otherwise something will happen this year. In addition to the above taboos, the custom of breaking Mayday is mainly to send the poor, welcome the god of wealth and open the market for trade.

Sacrifice to the God of Wealth (South)

Southerners sacrifice to the god of wealth on the fifth day of the first month. According to folklore, the God of Wealth is the Five Gods. The so-called five roads refer to the east, west, north and south, which means that you can get money when you go out of five doors. Every new year, people open doors and windows, burn incense, set off firecrackers and fireworks to welcome the god of wealth at 0: 00 on the fifth day of the first month. After receiving the god of wealth, everyone still has to eat road wine, often until dawn. Everyone is full of hope of getting rich. I hope the god of wealth can bring home gold and silver treasures in the new year and make a fortune. They say the sooner you meet the end of the road, the better. The first one you receive is the true god, which is particularly effective, so it is called "grabbing the road". In some places, the fourth day of January is really "grabbing the road" and it has become a custom.

Send the poor

On the fifth day of the first month, "seeing the poor off" is a unique custom among the ancient people in China. It means offering sacrifices to poor ghosts (poor gods). The pauper, also known as "pauper", is said to be the son of Zhuan Xu. He is weak and short, and likes to wear rags and drink porridge. In hancheng city, Shaanxi Province, people should avoid going out on the fifth day, and roast fresh meat in a pot, and stir-fry beans to make them crack and make a sound. They think that they can break the poor and get rich. In addition, in the old New Year's Eve or the fifth day of the first month, you should eat very full, commonly known as "filling the poor pit". The popular custom of sending the poor reflects the traditional psychology of China people who generally hope to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new in the new year, send away the old poverty and hardships and welcome a better life.

open the market

During the old custom Spring Festival, large and small shops closed together from the beginning of the New Year, but opened on the fifth day of the first month. People are used to taking the fifth day of the first month as the holy day of the god of wealth, thinking that choosing this day to open the market will definitely make a fortune. The stock market also opened on this day.

The seventh day of the first month

The seventh day of the first month is People's Day, also called People's Victory Day, People's Celebration Day, Population Day and People's Seventh Day. Legend has it that Nu Wa created chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, horses and other animals at the beginning of creation, and then created people on the seventh day, so this day is the birthday of mankind. Some people began to observe daily customs in the Han dynasty, and they began to pay attention to it after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In ancient times, people had the custom of "men winning". Men's victory is a headdress, also called Cai Sheng and Watson. Since the Jin Dynasty, people cut the ribbon for flowers, cut the ribbon for people, or carved gold foil for people to hang a screen and wear it in their hair. In addition, there is the custom of climbing high and writing poems. After the Tang Dynasty, more attention was paid to this festival. Every day, the emperor gave his ministers colorful victories and boarded a grand banquet. If the weather is fine on the seventh day of the first month, the population will be safe and smooth in the first year.

Smoky sky

On this day, people will eat spring pancake rolls "box lunch" (a kind of cooked food) and spread pancakes in the yard to smoke the sky.

Eat qibao soup

Qibao soup is a soup made of seven kinds of vegetables, which people eat when they are alive to get good omen. It is said that it can dispel evil spirits and cure diseases. Different places have different products, different fruits and vegetables and different meanings. Mustard, cabbage, leek, spring vegetables, celery, garlic and thick-petalled vegetables used in Chaoshan, Guangdong; Hakka people use celery, garlic, onion, coriander and leek to match fish. Spinach, celery, onion and garlic, leeks, mustard greens, shepherd's purse and Chinese cabbage are used in Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province. Among them, celery and green onions are smart, garlic is good at calculation, and mustard makes people live longer.

fire-fiend

On the Shandong Peninsula, the seventh day of the first month is also a time to send Vulcan. Children choose a wooden stick about two meters long and bind it with wheat straw, which is called Vulcan. At dusk, one end of Vulcan is lit at home, and the children run away from home with the other end of Vulcan until it burns out. This activity means to send Vulcan out of the house, and there will be no fire in the house within one year, which is very safe.

The eighth day of the first month

Legend has it that the eighth day is Xiaomi's birthday. If it's sunny this day, there will be a bumper harvest of rice this year. If it's cloudy, it's a sorry year.

Shunxing

Shunxing, also known as sacrificial star. On the eighth night of the first month, no matter whether people go to the temple to burn incense to worship the star king (Shunxing), every household will hold a ceremony to worship Shunxing after the stars appear in the sky. When offering sacrifices to heaven, put a "golden lamp" (yellow snuff) on the desk, stove, threshold and pot. And lit it, called "snuff", meaning to avoid evil. After the sacrifice of the stars, the whole family got together for the Lantern Festival.

Release and pray for blessings

On the eighth day of the first month, there is a "release" activity, which is to take some fish and birds raised at home outside and release them into the wild.

In the Ming Dynasty, Dong Liu recorded in The Scenery of the Imperial Capital: "On the eighth day of the first month, birds, fish and shrimp in pots, snails and mussels were released in Shixing Lane. Luo tang qian, monks speak Sanskrit, thousands of people are opposite, and feathers are flying in the air. Evil falls on the house, but when they move, they leave. Things like water are thrown into the bamboo shoots and bait of Jinshui River in the imperial city. "

The release on the eighth day of the eighth lunar month not only embodies the ancient people's morality of respecting nature and living in harmony, but also expresses people's good wishes for the prosperity of all things in the world at the beginning of the new year.

Early September

The ninth day of the first month is heaven. According to legend, this day is the birthday of the jade emperor, the tallest god in the sky, commonly known as "born in heaven". Heaven is the Jade Emperor, and Taoism calls it the "Yuan God", which is the highest god who dominates the universe. He is the supreme god who commands all the gods in the three realms and all the spirits on the earth, and represents the supreme "heaven". The main customs are offering sacrifices to the jade emperor and offering sacrifices to heaven through Taoist temples. In some places, women prepare incense sticks and bowls in the open air at the entrance of patio lane to worship heaven and pray for God's blessing.

The tenth day of the first month

Ten, homophonic "stone", so the tenth day is the birthday of stone. On this day, all stone tools such as grinding and grinding can't be moved, and even sacrifices are set up to enjoy the stones, for fear of hurting crops. Also known as "stone does not move" and "ten does not move". Henan custom: On this day, every household pays tribute and burns incense on stones. You must eat steamed stuffed buns for lunch, thinking that you can make a fortune within one year after eating cake. In Yuncheng, Shandong and other places, there is a move to lift the stone god. At the beginning of Kuya, people frozen a crock on a smooth stone. On the morning of 10, the jar nose was tied with a rope, and 10 boys took turns lifting the crock. If the stone does not fall to the ground, it indicates a bumper harvest that year.

Eleventh day of the first month

"Son-in-law's Day" is the day when father-in-law fetes his son-in-law. On the ninth day, there was a lot of leftover food to celebrate the "heavenly descent", except for one day on the tenth day, so the bride's family didn't have to spend any more money, so they used the leftover food to entertain their son-in-law and daughter. The folk song is called "Eleven Husbands".

The twelfth day of the first month

Twelve light sheds: From now on, people begin to prepare for the Lantern Festival, buy lanterns and build light sheds. There is a nursery rhyme that says, "Eleven people clamor, twelve people build a light shed, thirteen people turn on the lights, fourteen lights are on, fifteen lines and a half months, and sixteen people finish the lights."

The fifteenth day of the first month

the Lantern Festival

The festival customs of Lantern Festival are very distinctive. Festivals and custom activities also extend and expand with the development of history. As far as the length of festivals is concerned, there is only one day in Han Dynasty, three days in Tang Dynasty and five days in Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, the Lantern Festival lasted from the eighth day to the seventeenth night of the first month. Ten whole days. It is a city during the day, which is very lively; It's spectacular to light the lights at night. Especially the exquisite and colorful lights make it the climax of entertainment activities during the New Year.