Chinese folk customs

It is difficult to know when the custom of celebrating the new year originated, but it is generally believed that it originated from the activities of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors at the end of the year in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. The first month of the lunar calendar (January) is the beginning of a year, and the first ten days or the middle ten days of the first month, most of the time is just the beginning of spring (a small part of the time is in the last ten days of the lunar month), now named spring Festival; the final determination of the specific time of the festival is believed to have something to do with this time having the least impact on agricultural labor. The last day of the lunar calendar is called "Lunar New Year's Eve". On New Year's Eve, the whole family get together to have a new year's dinner (the last meal of the lunar year). After the new year's dinner, there are the customs of making new year's Eve (observing the new year's Eve) and issuing new year's money, which means that the last day of the previous lunar year is observed until the first day of the next year. Therefore, this festival is also called Chinese New Year. From the solar calendar, the Spring Festival is from January 21 to February 20. Spring begins on February 4 or February 5 every year.

New year

In the folk, especially in rural areas, they have the habit of having a small and big year.

On the 23rd (or 24th) day of the twelfth lunar month (see the description on the discussion page), the kitchen god sent the kitchen god to heaven to report to the jade emperor the performance of his family in the past year. In order to make the kitchen god say good things, he should offer the sweet melon. When seeing him off, he should paste the sugar on his mouth to let him say good things in heaven. To welcome the kitchen king back on New Year's Eve is to invite (buy) a new kitchen King painting (with kitchen King's master and his wife's milk) for the kitchen. A couplet is usually pasted on both sides of the painting: Heaven says good things, and the lower boundary guarantees peace. Horizontal inscription: head of a family.

The lunar new year begins on the last day of the twelfth lunar month. It is generally believed that until the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first lunar month, there is also a saying that the year is before the first lunar month.

Holiday date

The "Spring Festival legal holiday" stipulated by the mainland is three days from the first day to the third day of the first lunar month (from the first day to the third day). Nevertheless, many places (especially non-state-owned units) still do not officially go to work until the eighth day of the first month.

Influenced by Chinese culture, China's neighboring countries, such as South Korea, Korean for "seollal 설날" (Korean "new year" means), the legal holiday; Vietnam, known as "New Year's Day", the legal time of the holiday is the same as China, also from the first day to the third day. Although different countries have different appellations, their customs are similar.

Chinese New Year customs

Laba: the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the lunar calendar is a traditional festival of the Han nationality, which serves as a signal of the coming "new year". As a tradition, this day to drink Laba porridge, Laba garlic production. See Laba Festival

Offering sacrifices to the kitchen is to send the kitchen god to heaven to sweep away the dust, paste Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures, invite God, worship God, send God, burn incense, light candles and hang lanterns,

It's beautiful to light a candle in a lantern. If you put a light bulb, it's much worse

Worship ancestors first, beat gongs and drums, eat new year's Eve dinner, watch new year's Eve, set off firecrackers, pay New Year's greetings, collect (give) lucky money, walk on stilts, dance dragon lantern, family reunion. People who go out to study and work should go home to spend the new year with their parents.

Legend of the year

According to legend, in ancient China, there was a kind of monster called Nian, which had long tentacles and was extremely fierce. "Nian" has been living deep in the sea for many years. He climbs ashore every new year's Eve, swallowing livestock and harming people's lives. Therefore, every new year's Eve, people in villages help the old and the young to flee to the mountains to avoid the harm of Nian beast.

On the new year's eve of this year, people in Taohua village were helping the old and the young to take refuge in the mountain. From outside the village, an old beggar came. He was leaning on crutches, carrying bags in his arms, with flowing silver whiskers and bright eyes. Some of the villagers sealed the windows and locked the doors, some packed their bags, some drove cattle and sheep, and there was a scene of panic. At this time, who has the heart to take care of the begging old man. Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid Nian beast. The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile, "if my mother-in-law wants me to stay at home all night, I will drive Nian beast away.". When the old woman looked at him closely, she saw that he was young, hale and hearty, and had an extraordinary bearing. But she still continued to persuade and begged the old man to laugh without saying a word. Mother in law had no choice but to leave home and take refuge in the mountains.

In the middle of the night, the new year beast rushes into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from that in previous years: in the east of the village, there was a wife's wife's house, the door was pasted with red paper, and the house was full of candles. "Nian" beast trembled all over and gave a strange cry. "Nian" glares at her mother-in-law's house for a moment, then pours at her with a wild cry. When he was near the door, there was a sudden "bang bang" explosion in the hospital. Nian shuddered all over and did not dare to move forward. It turns out that Nian is most afraid of red, fire and explosion. At this time, her mother-in-law's door was wide open, and an old man in a red robe was laughing. "Nian" was shocked and ran away.

The next day was the first day of the first month of the first lunar month. The people who came back from the refuge were very surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the wife suddenly realized, and quickly told the villagers about the promise of the old beggar. The villagers all rushed to his wife's house. There was red paper pasted on her door. A pile of unburned bamboo in the yard was still popping. A few red candles in the house were still shining In order to celebrate the coming of auspiciousness, the overjoyed villagers change their clothes and wear new hats one after another and say hello to their relatives and friends. This matter soon spread in the surrounding villages, people all know the way to drive "Nian" beast.

Since then, every year on New Year's Eve, every family pasted red couplets and set off firecrackers; every family had bright candles and waited for the new year. In the early morning of the first day of junior high school, I still have to go to my relatives and friends to say hello. This custom spread more and more widely, and became the most solemn traditional festival "Chinese New Year".

The first day of the first lunar month, also known as the lunar new year, is commonly known as "Chinese New Year" and "new year". This is the most solemn and lively traditional festival in China. Spring Festival has a long history. It originated from the activities of offering sacrifices to gods and ancestors at the end of the year in the Shang Dynasty. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the first month was called the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, the new year's day, and so on.

The arrival of the Spring Festival means that spring is coming, Vientiane is recovering, vegetation is renewing, and a new round of sowing and harvesting season is beginning. People have just gone through the long winter of ice and snow and withered vegetation. They have long been looking forward to the day of warm spring and blooming flowers. When the new year comes, they will naturally welcome the festival with joy, singing and dancing.

For thousands of years, people have made new year's custom celebrations extremely rich and colorful. Every year, from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 30th of the new year, the folk call this period "spring day", also known as "dust sweeping Day". It is a traditional habit of our people to clean up before the Spring Festival.

Then, every household prepares new year's goods. About ten days before the festival, people are busy purchasing goods, such as chicken, duck, fish, tea, wine and oil sauce, fried goods from north and south, sugar bait and fruit. They should also prepare some gifts for visiting relatives and friends during the new year. Children need to buy new clothes and hats for the new year.

Before the festival, the new year's message in red paper and yellow characters should be pasted on the door of the house, that is, the Spring Festival couplets written in red paper. There are colorful and auspicious New Year pictures in the room. Clever girls cut out beautiful window flowers and paste them on the windows. Red lanterns are hung in front of the door or the characters of Fu, God of wealth and door god are pasted. The characters of Fu can also be pasted upside down. When passers-by read the words of Fu, it is the time for happiness. All these activities are to add enough festive atmosphere to the festival.

Another name of the Spring Festival is Chinese New Year. In the past legend, Nian is an imaginary animal that brings bad luck to people. Over the past year. The trees are withered, and the grass is not growing; as the year goes by, all things grow, and flowers are everywhere. How can the year pass? With firecrackers, there is the custom of burning firecrackers, which is another way to set off the lively scene.

Spring Festival is a happy and peaceful Festival, and also a day for family reunion. Children who are away from home have to go home to get together during the Spring Festival. The night before New Year's Eve is lunar New Year's Eve, also known as new year's Eve, also known as reunion night. At this time of the new year's Eve, keeping the new year's Eve is one of the most important activities. On New Year's Eve, the whole family stay together, get together, drink and share the happiness of family. In northern areas, there is the custom of eating dumplings on New Year's Eve. The way of making dumplings is to make noodles first, and the word is the same Jiaohe Jiao is homophonic. He he Jiao means to get together, and he Jiao means to be younger. In the south, we have the habit of eating New Year cake. The sweet and sticky New Year cake symbolizes the sweet life of the new year.

When the first crow of a chicken or the new year's bell rings, firecrackers are blaring in the street one after another, and every family is jubilant. The new year begins. All men, women, old and young wear festival costumes to celebrate the new year's birthday for the family's elders. During the festival, they also give new year's money to children and have reunion dinner. On the second and third day of junior high school, they begin to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year's greetings to each other, and say something respectful Congratulations on new year, fortune, new year and ancestor worship.

The warm atmosphere of the festival not only permeates every household, but also fills the streets and alleys all over the country. In some local markets, there are customs such as lion dance, dragon lantern playing, community fire playing, flower market touring, temple fair touring, etc. During this period, the city is full of lanterns and the streets are full of tourists. It's very lively and unprecedented. It's not until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first month that the Spring Festival is really over.

The Spring Festival is the most important festival of the Han nationality, but more than ten ethnic minorities, such as Manchu, Mongolian, Yao, Zhuang, Bai, Gaoshan, Hezhe, Hani, Daur, Dong and Li, also have the custom of celebrating the Spring Festival, but the form of celebrating the Spring Festival has its own national characteristics and endless flavor.

Spring Festival

Chinese PinYin : Zhong Guo Min Feng Min Su