What is the custom of New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve finally arrived in anticipation! New Year's Eve is the eve of the Spring Festival, also known as Lunar New Year's Eve. There is a legend that in ancient times, there was a fierce monster named Xi who came out to hurt people at the end of the year. Later, people knew that Xi was most afraid of red and noise, so on Lunar New Year's Eve, every household posted red couplets and set off firecrackers to drive away Nian animals, in order to keep the New Year safe. This custom has been passed down to this day and is called "New Year's Eve". How much do you know about the custom of Lunar New Year's Eve? Now let me explain something to you!

1, paste couplets

Before the Spring Festival couplets are customized on New Year's Eve, other door decorations can be ignored for every household, but a pair of bright red and jubilant Spring Festival couplets must be affixed.

Then everyone must be curious about the origin of posting Spring Festival couplets, which actually originated from ancient peach symbols. Fu Tao is a rectangular red board hanging on both sides of the gate. Write the names "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu" on it to ward off evil spirits. During the Spring Festival, people always replace the old ones with the new ones. Wang Anshi's poem "Thousands of households always get rid of old peaches for new ones" is about this.

Today, Spring Festival couplets, whether in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of bright red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door, which will increase the festive atmosphere of the festival and herald a good omen for the coming year.

2. Bao jiaozi

It is a tradition in China to pack jiaozi on New Year's Eve. You must eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve. Legend has it that you are grateful to Zhang Zhongjing for his medicinal diet to prevent freezing. Just like Joule, you cook food for the New Year and call it "jiaozi". Therefore, every family will get up early to pack jiaozi. Nowadays, some people will pack only a few peanuts or other nuts in many jiaozi. Whoever eats this kind of jiaozi indicates good luck and good luck in the new year.

3. New Year's Eve dinner

New Year's Eve is the most important day in a year, and it is also a day for family reunion. On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, and wait for the time to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Every family has a very rich New Year's Eve dinner. In addition to the whole family getting together for dinner to show harmony and reunion, it is also necessary to offer sacrifices to ancestors and pray for the blessing of their gods before eating.

Step 4 watch the Spring Festival Evening

It is indispensable for family reunion to watch the annual Spring Festival Gala, which has gradually become an indispensable part of New Year's Eve. The whole family gathered in front of the TV to watch the Spring Festival Gala, which is incomparable to any festival.

5, shou sui

Keeping the old year is the custom of staying up late to welcome the new year on the last night of the old year. Also known as New Year's Eve, the common name is "Enduring the Year". 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. Since the Han Dynasty, the time for the alternation of the old and new years is generally at midnight. On New Year's Eve, men, women and children will be brightly lit and get together to watch the New Year. Therefore, observing the age is one of the customs of the Spring Festival.

In some places, on New Year's Eve, the whole family get together, eat New Year's Eve, sit around the fire 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 looking forward to good luck in the new year.

6, lucky money

Legend has it that in ancient times, wild animals would take children away and eat them while adults were sleeping, so many places had the custom of not sleeping on New Year's Eve, but once a mother put a copper coin in a red bag under her child's pillow, only to find that wild animals were afraid to get close to her children, so from then on, adults would give lucky money to their children or younger generations every New Year's Eve. That "year old" is said to be the origin of the animal name-red envelope.

On the one hand, it originated from the ancient "shocking the world". It is said that there was a fierce beast called Nian in ancient times, which would come out every 365 days to hurt people, animals and crops. Children are afraid, adults use the sound of burning bamboo to drive "Nian" away, and comfort children with food, which is "earthquake suppression". Over the years, it turned into money instead of grain. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "scare of money". According to historical records, Wang Shaozi was carried away by bad people in Nanxun and exclaimed on the way. Unexpectedly, he was saved by the imperial car, and Song Shenzong gave him "golden rhinoceros money". Later, it developed into "lucky money".

With the development of the times, the present "lucky money" is more direct and pure. Generally, red tickets are wrapped in exquisite red packaging and then distributed to children for lucky draw.

In addition, New Year's Eve is also called "Ji Xiangye" in many places. On this night, both adults and children should say auspicious words. Therefore, happiness, kindness and reunion are also the biggest themes of New Year's Eve.