About the origin and customs of the Spring Festival?

Origin of the festival

The origin of traditional festivals is related to the ancient primitive beliefs, sacrifices, and humanistic and natural cultural contents such as celestial signs and calendars. Most of the ancient traditional festivals were formed in the ancient people's activities of choosing auspicious days for sacrifices to thank the gods and spirits of heaven and earth and the kindness of ancestors. Early festival culture, reflecting the ancient nature worship, the unity of man and nature, prudence, the human spirit of the origin; a series of sacrificial activities, contains the rites of civilization profound cultural connotations.

The concept of "year" comes from the ancient calendar, "Pangu King Table" and "Three Fates" are contained: "The Emperor's began to make the name of the stem and branch to determine the location of the year". The ancients used the heavenly stem and earthly branches as a carrier, the heavenly stem carries the way of heaven, the earthly branch carries the way of the earth; in the sky into the elephant, in the earth into shape, in the people into the operation;

Therefore, the heavenly stem and earthly branches to the deed of the personnel of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth positioning, stem and branch to determine the time and space, the combination of ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches, the formation of sixty jiazi, used to describe the personnel of heaven and earth. The yearly cycle of the stem and branch is based on the first day of the year and the first day of the month of the festival.

The formulation of the ancient stem and branch calendar provided the preconditions for the creation of festivals, and primitive beliefs and sacrificial culture were important factors in the formation of the New Year Festival. The Spring Festival is evolved from the first of the year to pray for the year sacrifice, ancient times people to the end of a year of agricultural work in the beginning of a new year of the first year, held sacrifices to pay tribute to the gods of the heavens and earth, the ancestors of the benevolence of the gods, and to pray for a good year.

Ancient rituals of the situation is difficult to know, but still can be found from the later generations of the festival in some of the remains of the ancient custom; such as Lingnan part of the inheritance in the first of the year (the first day of the new year) to pay homage to the custom of the New Year, New Year's Day during the grand and grand worship of the gods and ancestors festival rituals, which can be seen in the ancient times of the first year of the festival of the clues and traces.

The primitive sense of the first year, refers to the dry calendar "spring", when the elephant "bucket handle refers to the c", the transformation of yin and yang, yang and hibernation, all things are spring, means that a new cycle has begun. The origin and development of the Spring Festival is a process of gradual formation, refinement and popularization.

As an important part of traditional Chinese culture, the New Year festival culture reflects the profound Chinese cultural connotation and records the colorful social life and cultural content of ancient people.

Traditional Chinese New Year customs:

Organizing New Year's goods

Chinese New Year's culture has a long history and has given rise to a variety of New Year's customs all over the country, which are very different from the north and the south and have their own characteristics. However, the preparation of New Year's goods, New Year's gifts is almost the whole country's "New Year's Eve must".

Chinese families buy a lot of "New Year's goods" before the New Year, such as spring couplets, lucky charms, new clothes, and food during the New Year (the market is mostly closed during the New Year). Shopping for New Year's goods is an important activity of the Chinese people during the Spring Festival.

Sacrifice of the stove

The lunar calendar December 23/24 sacrifice of the stove, is the day after nightfall to brush the stove clean, the old Zaojun removed and burned, in addition to the new statue of the early morning of the evening of the new day to post, a send a welcome, are to be placed on the wine and meat, sweets, sugar cane, rice and fruits, etc., burning incense, candles, paper cannons.

Folk worship stove, originating from the ancient fire worship practices, stove worship in Chinese folk history for thousands of years, stove god beliefs are the Chinese people on the "food and clothing" dream of the pursuit of the reflection.

Sweeping the dust

In folklore, on the eve of the New Year, there is the custom of sweeping the dust (also known as sweeping the house) on the 24th day of the Lunar New Year. The folk proverb says "twenty-four, sweep the house". Sweeping dust is the end of the year cleaning, every household to clean the environment, cleaning all kinds of appliances, unwashing bedding curtains, sprinkle clean the six village courtyard, dusting dust cobwebs, dredging nullahs and ditches.

Everywhere overflowing with joy to engage in health, clean and welcome the new year's happy atmosphere. According to folklore: because the "dust" and "Chen" consonant, the New Year dust sweeping "in addition to the meaning of Chen Bu Xin", the intention is to all the poor luck, bad luck, swept out the door. Folk called "dust day".

Posting New Year's Red

On the 28th, 29th, or 30th day of the New Year, every household "puts up New Year's Red" (New Year's Red is a collective term for the red celebratory elements of Spring Festival couplets, door gods, and so on, which are put up at the time of New Year's Eve). According to the Jade Candle Book and the Yanjing Yearly Record, the original form of the Spring Festival couplets was what was known as the "Peach Symbol".

After the Tang Dynasty, in addition to the two generals of the past, Qin Shubao and Yuchigong, the two military generals of the Tang Dynasty, were used as door deities. Spring Festival couplets are also called door pairs, spring stickers, couplets, pairs of couplets, peach symbols, etc. It is a unique form of literature in China that depicts the background of the times and expresses the good wishes with neat, pair-wise, concise, and exquisite words.

Every Spring Festival, no matter in the city or in the countryside, every family has to choose a big red spring couplets to paste on the door, to increase the festive atmosphere for the holiday. This custom is said to have begun to flourish in the Ming Dynasty, and by the Qing Dynasty, the ideology and artistry of the Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved.

Couplets

Couplets are more varied, the paste method is also more, according to its place of use, can be divided into the heart of the door, the frame of the pair, the horizontal phi, the spring strips, the Doufang and so on. "Door heart" on the upper center of the door panel; "frame" on the left and right door frame; "Phi" on the horizontal wood of the door winks; "spring strips

Posted in the center of the door frame; "frame pair" on the left and right door frames; "horizontal phi" on the horizontal wood; "spring strips" on the corresponding places according to different contents; "bucket catty", also known as the "door leaf", for the square rhombus, more in the furniture, the shadow wall.

Pasted New Year's paintings

The Spring Festival hanging paste New Year's paintings in urban and rural areas is also very common, thick black colorful New Year's paintings to thousands of families added a lot of prosperity and joy of the festive atmosphere. New Year paintings are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs, and holding their hopes for the future. New Year's paintings, like spring scrolls, originated as "door gods".

With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year's paintings was not only limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but also became colorful, and in some New Year's paintings workshops produced "Three Stars of Fortune, Luck and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Provide Blessings," "Five Grains of Good Fortune," "Six Animals of Prosperity," and "Welcoming the Spring and Receiving Blessings," and other classic colorful New Year's paintings, which were used to satisfy the people's wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year.

There are three important production areas of Chinese New Year paintings in China: Taohuayu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; and three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings have been formed, each with its own characteristics. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo in Shanghai combined the calendar and New Year's paintings. This is a new form of New Year's paintings. This combination of two and one of the New Year's paintings, later developed into a wall calendar, and is still popular throughout the country.

Window and "lucky" characters

In folklore, people also like to put all kinds of paper cuttings on the windows - window. Window flowers not only set a festive mood, but also decorative, appreciative and practical in one. At the same time, some people have to stick on the door of the house, walls, lintels, large and small "Fu" characters.

The Chinese New Year is a time-honored custom of Chinese folklore. The character "福" refers to good fortune and luck, and is a symbol of people's desire for a happy life and their wish for a better future. Some people simply put the character "福" upside down to show that "happiness has arrived" and "good fortune has been inverted (到)".

The main door of the word can not be pasted upside down, the door is to welcome the blessing of the place, the word should be pasted. Folk will also be "Fu" word fine detail into a variety of patterns, patterns have longevity, longevity peach, carp jump Dragon Gate, the five valleys, dragon and phoenix, etc.

This is the first time in the world that the word "Fu" is used in the Chinese language, but it is also used in the Chinese language.

New Year's Eve Dinner

New Year's Eve Dinner is also known as New Year's Eve Dinner, New Year's Reunion Dinner, Reunion Dinner, etc., which refers to the New Year's Eve dinner on the lunar calendar. The New Year's Eve dinner comes from the ancient ritual of year-end sacrifice. The annual New Year's Eve dinner is extremely important to the Chinese people, the family respect and love each other, **** narrative family, sitting around the table, doubly happy.

People pay great attention to the New Year's Eve "New Year's Eve dinner", in addition to family reunion, gather the joy of heaven, but also pray for the safety of the family size, working outside the home are rushed back to the New Year. Reunion dinner is the main event of the Spring Festival, not only colorful, but also very concerned about the meaning. Before eating the New Year's Eve dinner, you have to worship your ancestors and the gods, and only after the incense and candles have been burned will the meal begin.

The meal is usually served with chicken, fish, oyster sauce, lettuce and bean curd for good luck.

Watch the New Year's Eve

Watching the New Year's Eve is one of the most important New Year's Eve activities, and the custom of watching the New Year's Eve has a long history. Vigilance folklore is mainly manifested in the New Year's Eve lamps and lanterns all night long, the vigil is said to be "burning lamps and candles", that is, the New Year's Eve all burning lamps and candles, all the houses are lit lamps and candles, but also special lamps and candles in the bottom of the bed, known as the "light of the wastage", it is said to be so light of the year after the next year will make the wealth of the family. The year the family wealth is abundant.

Ancient north and south customs are different, the ancient northern year-keeping customs are mainly boiled New Year's Eve, such as the Jin Dynasty, the Zhou Department of the book of the "land and customs" said: New Year's Eve night everyone with each other and gift, called "feed the year"; young and old get together to celebrate, wishing the completion of the year, called "sub-years"; The whole year without sleep, to wait for the dawn, called the "old age".

Some places on New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together, ate New Year's Eve dinner, lit candles or oil lamps, sitting around the fireplace chatting, waiting for the time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, the all-night vigil, symbolizing all the evil plagues and epidemics, Zhao ran away, looking forward to a new year of good luck. New Year's Eve money

New Year's Eve money

New Year's Eve money, one of the customs of the Spring Festival, after the New Year's Eve dinner, the elders will be prepared in advance of the New Year's Eve money to be distributed to the younger generation, it is said that the New Year's Eve money can be pressed to stop the evil spirits, the younger generation to get the New Year's Eve money can be safe and sound through the year. In folk culture, Chinese New Year's Eve money is said to ward off evil spirits and blessings. The original purpose of New Year's money was to keep evil spirits away. It was believed that children were vulnerable to ghosts and spirits, so the money was used to ward off evil spirits and spirits.

In history, the New Year's money is divided into a variety of, generally in the New Year's countdown by the elders to the younger generation, said the pressure of the evil spirits, contains the elders of the younger generation of concern and sincere blessings; another is the younger generation to the elderly, the New Year's money "years" refers to the years, meaning that the old man is looking forward to longevity. The earliest dating back to the Han Dynasty, also known as the pressure to win money, and not in circulation, but cast into the form of coins ornamental objects, have the function of protection from evil.

Nianliu

Nianliu, one of the oldest customs, evolved from the ancient harvest rituals. Its main rituals and customs include honoring the gods, traveling to the gods, arranging jiao-festival, and offering sacrifices to the gods and goddesses of earth and grain, with the main purpose of thanking the gods, praying for good weather, prosperity, and peace of the country and of the people.

By and large, the festival is held from the second day of the first month to the end of the first month, especially on the fifteenth and sixteenth days of the year, but also in some places in the second month of the lunar calendar. Most of the rural annual rituals are centered on the Land Temple and are held in several surrounding villages.

Worshipping the New Year

Worshipping the god of the year at the beginning of the year to welcome spring and receive blessings. Paying homage to the New Year is one of the oldest traditional customs passed down by the Chinese people to this day. On the occasion of celebrating the old and welcoming the new, it is necessary to pay homage to the gods (ancestors) and show filial respect and remembrance to the ancestors.

This traditional custom has been passed down from generation to generation, so people always hold rituals to give thanks and pray for blessings. To this day, the Spring Festival rituals are still one of the main elements of the Spring Festival. Honoring the gods and ancestors and the ethics of kinship are the key elements of the Spring Festival that have lasted through the ages.

Paying homage to the New Year

Paying homage to the New Year is a cultural tradition that has been passed down since ancient times. Visiting and paying homage to the New Year during the Spring Festival is one of the traditional customs of the Spring Festival, and it is a way for people to bid farewell to the old and to welcome the new, and to express their good wishes to each other. On the second and third of the year, we began to go to relatives to see friends, pay respect to each other, congratulations and blessings, and say some words of congratulations on the new year, congratulations on the wealth, congratulations, good New Year, and so on.

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's greetings is constantly adding new content and form. The significance of New Year's greetings is that family and friends visit each other to get in touch with each other, to congratulate each other on the New Year, to express their feelings for their friends and relatives, and to express their best wishes for the new year.

On New Year's Day, people get up early, put on their best clothes, dress up neatly, and go out to visit friends and relatives to pay tribute to each other. The New Year's card, which is widely used in modern society, has been practiced in ancient China. As early as in the Song Dynasty, the families of the royal aristocrats and scholars and their relatives have used the New Year's card to pay tribute to the New Year, which is called the "name sticker" or "name sticker".

Burning firecrackers

Chinese folk "open door firecrackers". That is, at the dawn of the new year, the first thing that families do when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to beep and blare the sound of firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers is a Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers". Its origin is very early, so far has a history of more than two thousand years.

On the evolution of firecrackers, "popular arrangement of excellent" recorded: "Ancient firecrackers. All with real bamboo fire, so the Tang poetry also known as popping rod. Later people rolled paper for it. Called "firecrackers".

The original purpose of firecrackers is to welcome the gods and expel ghosts. Later, with its strong festive color development for the symbols of the old and the new. Firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, is a festive recreational activities, can bring people joy and good fortune. Firecrackers have become a recreational activity with national characteristics.