Legends, stories, customs, styles, calligraphy and painting, and couplets about the Spring Festival

In ancient China, there was a beast called "Xi", which had long tentacles on its head and was extremely ferocious. "Xi" lives deep on the bottom of the sea all year round. It only climbs ashore on a specific day (New Year's Eve) to devour livestock and harm people. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in villages and villages help the elderly and children flee to the mountains to avoid the harm of the "Xi" beast. One New Year's Eve, an old man came begging from outside the village. The villagers were in a hurry and panic. 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 the "Xi" beast. The old man lifted up his beard and said with a smile: "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home all night, I will We must drive away the Xi beast." The old woman continued to persuade, but the beggar man smiled and said nothing.

In the middle of the night, the "Xi" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: at the east end of the village, the old woman lived in her husband's house, with red paper on the door and brightly lit candles in the house. "Xi" beast trembled all over and screamed strangely. When approaching the door, there was a sudden "bang bang bang bang" explosion sound in the courtyard. "Xi" trembled all over and did not dare to move forward. It turns out that "Xi" is most afraid of red, fire and explosions. At this time, the door of my mother-in-law's house opened wide, and an old man wearing a red robe was seen laughing in the courtyard. "Xi" turned pale with fright and ran away in embarrassment. The next day was the first day of the first lunar month. People who had returned from the refuge were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about the beggar's promise to the old man. This incident quickly spread in the surrounding villages, and people all knew how to drive away the "Xi" beast. From then on, every New Year's Eve, every family posted red couplets and set off firecrackers; every household lit candles and watched the New Year's Eve. Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, we also visit relatives and friends to say hello. This custom spreads widely and has become the most solemn traditional festival among Chinese people.

In ancient times, there was a beast called "Xi", which was several times larger than the current elephant and dozens of times more ferocious than the tiger. It specializes in eating people, and it can eat dozens of people at a time, and the number of people it eats is countless. The common people have suffered. One day, "Xi" came again, and a young man hated it so much that he said: "Rather than let it eat it, it is better to fight with it. Either way, you will die." He rushed forward with a splitting ax, and many The young people also rushed forward. But they were no match for "Xi", and all the young people were eaten by "Xi". After that, "Xi" became more vicious, and the people were full of resentment and hatred.

The resentment that soared into the sky alarmed the Taibai Venus in the sky, and the roar of hatred that shook the earth alarmed the Earth King Bodhisattva underground. Taibai Jinxing discussed with the Earth King Bodhisattva and sent Patriarch Shen Nong to the earth to collect "Xi". Shen Nong held a whip in his hand and aimed it at Xi's butt. The ferocious "Xi" fell to the ground and became motionless. Shennong ran up a few steps, put one foot on "Xi"'s head, and roared: "Beast, you cannibalize countless people and have committed extremely sinful crimes. Today is your doom." After that, he took two slices from his waist. The melon bowl is aligned with "Xi". "Xi", which was bigger than an elephant, suddenly closed up in the melon bowl. Shen Nong buried the bowl containing "Xi" under the ground. Before leaving, he repeatedly warned: "This bowl is buried underground. Melons will grow in the future. This melon cannot be broken. You must say it is unbreakable." Later, the buried bowl was buried underground. When a melon did grow in the place where the bowl was, the people called it "North Melon" according to Shennong's "no" message. The day of Shennong's New Year's Eve happened to be the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, so the people called this day "New Year's Eve", which means New Year's Eve. On this day, northern melons are offered in the hall to suppress evil spirits, and gongs and drums are beaten, bamboos are blown and lanterns are lit to commemorate the merits of the ancestor Shennong. Probably it was adopted by later generations based on the customs and traditions of the year. Unlikely the origin of "year".

Spring Festival customs

Han people’s Spring Festival customs: generally eat rice cakes, dumplings, glutinous rice cakes, glutinous rice balls, poached eggs, large meatballs, whole fish, fine wine, lucky oranges, apples, peanuts, melon seeds , candies, tea and delicacies mainly; it is also accompanied by dusting, washing bedding, preparing New Year goods, pasting Spring Festival couplets, pasting New Year pictures, pasting paper cuttings, pasting blessing characters, lighting candles, lighting fires, setting off firecrackers, watching the New Year, giving New Year money, Many activities such as paying New Year greetings, visiting relatives, visiting ancestral graves, visiting the flower market, and having social gatherings are the ultimate family joy.

For example, the New Year's Eve dinner is particularly important: firstly, the whole family must gather together, and those who have not returned for some reason must leave a seat and a set of tableware to reflect the meaning of reunion; secondly, the meal is sumptuous, and "mouth color" is emphasized, and the rice cake is called "bubugao". The dumplings are called "Wanwanshun", the wine is called "Changliushui", the eggs are called "Da Yuanbao", and the fish is called "Nian Nian Yu"; this fish is not allowed to be eaten, it is called "Kan Yu" and must be reserved for the first day of the new year edible. In areas in the north where there are no fish, fish are often carved out of wood as a substitute; third, the seating arrangement is orderly, with the ancestors often at the top. The grandchildren are in the middle and the parents are at the bottom. Everyone, regardless of gender, old or young, drinks alcohol. Close the door when eating, and the excitement will stop.

It is still customary to hang Chinese knots during the Spring Festival in Tianjin. Before New Year’s Eve, Tianjin people have the custom of going to Qiaoxiang Pavilion in Tianjin Ancient Culture Street to ask for Chinese knots, which means Qiaoxiang receives blessings.

Every place has its own characteristics in the New Year’s Eve family banquet dishes. In the old days, most people in Beijing and Tianjin would make dry rice, stew pork, beef and mutton, stew chicken, and make a few stir-fry dishes. Shaanxi family banquets generally consist of four large plates and eight large bowls. The four large plates are mainly stir-fried and cold dishes, and the eight large bowls are mainly stewed and cooked dishes. Meat dishes in southern Anhui include braised pork, tiger skin meat, meatballs, muxu pork, steamed pork, stewed meat and pork liver, pig heart, pork belly products, as well as various fried pork slices, fried shredded pork, etc. In the eastern region of Hubei, there are "three steams", "three cakes" and "three pills". "Three steams" are steamed whole fish, steamed whole duck and steamed whole chicken; "three cakes" are fish cakes, meat cakes and mutton cakes; < /p>

"Three Balls" are fish balls, meat balls, and lotus root balls. In Harbin, people usually fry 8, 10, or 12 or 16 dishes. The main ingredients are nothing more than chicken, duck, fish and vegetables. The New Year's Eve dinner in southern Gansu usually consists of 12 dishes. In some places in Zhejiang, it is usually served as "Ten Big Bowls", which means "ten blessings". It mainly consists of chicken, duck, fish and various vegetables. In Nanchang, Jiangxi, there are usually more than 10 dishes. Dishes include four cold dishes, four hot dishes, eight major dishes, and two soups.

There are one or more essential dishes at New Year’s Eve family banquets in various places, and these dishes often have some auspicious meanings. For example, in the Suzhou area, there must be green vegetables (Anle vegetables), soybean sprouts (Ruyi vegetables), and celery (Qinqinchen) on the table. In the central and southern Hunan area, there must be a carp of about one kilogram, which is called "Tuan Nian fish". A pork knuckle of about 3 kilograms is called "Tuannian knuckle". There are two fish on the dining table in central and southern Anhui. One is a complete carp, which can only be looked at but not eaten. It not only respects the ancestors but also means that there will be more than enough every year. The other is. Silver carp is edible, symbolizing the succession of descendants and prosperity. The first bowl of rice at the Qimen family banquet is "Zhonghe", which is made of tofu, mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, dried shrimps, fresh meat, etc., which means "harmony." "Making money".

There is a bowl of "Chicken Claws" on the dining table in Hefei, which means "grabbing money and getting rich." The housekeeper wants to eat a chicken leg, which is called "Catching Money Claws", which means "grabbing money and making money". To bring wealth and wealth. The head of the family in Anqing should eat a bowl of noodles called "Qianchuanzi" before meals. In Nanchang area, they must eat rice cakes, braised fish, fried rice noodles, rice with eight treasures, and boiled rice soup. There will be fish every year, a good harvest, rice in bunches, eight treasures to bring wealth, and prosperity every year.

Eating dumplings

People in the north like to eat dumplings during the Spring Festival, which means reunion and good luck. To bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, people in the past dynasties have put a lot of effort into filling dumplings. Whoever eats the dumplings will be rich in the coming year; whoever eats the dumplings will be filled with honey. It means a sweet life in the coming year and so on.

Door God

There is a custom of sticking door gods during the Chinese New Year. The original door gods were carved in peach wood and hung next to people. A portrait of the door god is painted and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in guarding the door. With them, evil spirits of all sizes dare not come in to cause harm.

However, the door god recorded in the real history books. , not Shencha and Yulong, but an ancient warrior named Chengqing. It is recorded in Ban Gu's "Hanshu Biography of King Guangchuan": There was an ancient painting on the door of King Guangchuan (Quji). The portrait of the warrior Cheng Qing, wearing short clothes, long trousers and long sword. In the Tang Dynasty, the position of the door god was replaced by Qin Shubao and Yuchi Jingde.

The description in "Journey to the West" is more detailed, "Jinghe River." The Dragon King made a bet with a fortune teller, and as a result, he violated the rules of heaven and deserved to be punished. The Jade Emperor appointed Wei Zheng as the supervisor and beheading official. In order to survive, the Dragon King of Jinghe begged Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty for mercy. Taizong agreed, and when it was time to slay the dragon, he summoned Wei Zheng to confront Yi. Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng took a nap, then his soul ascended to heaven and beheaded the Dragon King.

The Dragon King complained that Taizong did not keep his word and shouted for his life outside the palace day and night. Taizong informed the ministers that General Qin Shubao said: "I would like to stand outside the door with Yuchi Jingde in uniform." Taizong agreed. That night turned out to be uneventful. Taizong couldn't bear the hard work of the two generals, so he ordered his skillful painter to paint the true faces of the two generals and paste them on the door. "

There are also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. There is one door god statue on the left and right. Later generations often painted a pair of door gods, one civil and one military. The door gods are divided into three categories: the first category is " "Gate Door God" is usually posted on the car door or the entire door, about four to five feet high and about two to three feet wide. The second type is "Street Door God", which is mostly posted on small street doors, about two feet high and about two feet wide. One foot. These two types of door gods are two gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White is good and evil, and black is evil. The third type is the "house door door god", which is more popular than the street door. The door gods are smaller and limited, and there are two gods, black and white, but there are also two gods, black and white, who are seated. The door of the house is usually decorated with a statue of "Qilin sending a son", two dolls painted with powder and combed with prince crowns, each riding a unicorn. It was originally supposed to be posted on the door of newlyweds to bring good luck, but later it became a New Year decoration on ordinary street doors.

Spring couplets

Spring couplets are derived from peach charms. "Peach Talisman" is a rectangular peach wood board hung on both sides of the gate in the Zhou Dynasty. According to "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Etiquette", the peach charm is six inches long and three inches wide. The two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" are written on the peach wood board. "On the first day of the first lunar month, make a peach charm and place it in your household. It is called a fairy tree and is feared by all ghosts. "So, the Qing Dynasty's "Yanjing Chronicles" says: "Spring couplets are peach charms. "

During the Five Dynasties, in the palace of Western Shu, someone wrote couplets on peach symbols. According to "History of the Song Dynasty: Shu Family": Meng Chang, the Lord of Later Shu, ordered the scholar Zhang Xun to inscribe the peach wood board with " Fei Gong, a self-motivated inscription says: "New Year's Day, Happy Festival, Changchun." This is China's first Spring Festival couplets. Until the Song Dynasty, Spring Festival couplets were still called "Taofu". In Wang Anshi's poem, there is "Thousand Doors" In the Ming Dynasty, the peach charms were renamed "spring couplets". Chen Yunzhan's "Hao Yun Lou Miscellanies" contains: "The creation of Spring Festival couplets dates back to Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. In Jinling, the imperial capital, a decree was suddenly passed on before New Year's Eve: a Spring Festival couplet must be added to the door of the houses of ministers, scholars and common people when the emperor was leaving. "Zhu Yuanzhang not only went out of the city in disguise to watch the laughter, but he also wrote Spring Festival couplets himself. He passed by a house and saw that there were no Spring Festival couplets posted on the door, so he went to inquire and found out that this was a castration family and had not asked anyone to write it for him. Zhu Yuanzhang He specially wrote the Spring Festival couplets for the pig man, "Cleaving the road of life and death with both hands, cutting off the roots of right and wrong with one knife." The couplets were appropriate and humorous. After Ming Taizu advocated this, the Spring Festival couplets became a custom and have been passed down to this day. /p>

"Every year there will be more than enough" New Year pictures, stickers with blessing characters, window grilles, New Year pictures, and hangings all have the function of praying for blessings and decorating homes. New Year pictures are a kind of Chinese folk custom. An ancient folk art, it reflects the customs and beliefs of the people and expresses people's hopes for the future. Like the Spring Festival couplets, they originated from the "door gods" and developed into characters from the names of Shen Tu and Yu Lei. However, New Year pictures are still developing along the direction of painting. With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is no longer limited to door gods, but gradually invites the God of Wealth to homes, and then the "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxu and Longevity" was produced in some New Year painting workshops. , "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", "Abundance of Grain", "Prosperity of Animals", "Welcoming the Spring and Receiving Blessings" and other colorful New Year pictures to satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. Because Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang advocated posting Spring Festival couplets during the Spring Festival, the New Year pictures were also influenced by it. As it became more popular, three important producing areas for New Year paintings appeared across the country: Suzhou Taohuawu, Tianjin Yangliuqing and Shandong Weifang; forming the three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined calendars and New Year paintings. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar, which is to use auspicious words engraved on the red paper, stick it in front of the door, and match the peach charms. The one with the figures of the Eight Immortals on it is often used by ordinary households, but is rarely used by wealthy families. The yellow paper is three inches long, and the red paper is more than an inch long, which is called "small hanging Qian". It is used in shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang is made of copper coins, which has the same effect as lucky money.

The word "福" is pasted on it.

At the same time as pasting Spring Festival couplets, some families will paste the word "福" in large and small sizes on their house doors, walls, and lintels. Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in my country.

The word "福" refers to blessing and luck, expressing people's yearning for a happy life and their wishes for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply paste the word "福" upside down to express "happiness has arrived" and "blessing has arrived". Folks also use the word "Fu" to make various patterns with detailed drawings, such as longevity star, birthday peach, carp jumping over the dragon gate, good harvest, dragon and phoenix showing auspiciousness, etc.

Setting up a heaven and earth table

This is a temporary offering table, specially designed for New Year’s Eve. Generally, homes that do not have a large Buddhist hall attach great importance to the Heaven and Earth Table, because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha, and at the end of the year a large reward is given to the gods and Buddhas. In addition, this table is mainly used to receive the gods. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. In addition to the usual hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the idols enshrined there are temporary, such as "hundred percent". It is a woodcut album of god statues; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth" is a full deity code printed with watercolor woodcut on large yellow edged paper; portraits of the three stars of fortune, longevity and longevity, etc. Some of the above statues were burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%". Some have to wait until Powu or even the Festival of Lanterns to burn them. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house. If there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Legend has it that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods.

Watching the Spring Festival Gala

Although this is not a custom, after entering the 1980s, due to the popularity of television, the Spring Festival Gala became an indispensable cultural feast for Chinese people. ! Every year, more than 1 billion people watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV or the Internet!

Staying up late

Chinese people have the habit of staying up late on New Year’s Eve, which is commonly known as “staying up late”. The New Year's Eve dinner begins with the New Year's Eve dinner. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, starting from the time when the lanterns are turned on. Some people have to eat until late at night. According to Zong Mao's "Jingchu Years' Records", the custom of eating New Year's Eve dinner has existed at least in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. 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.

Set off firecrackers on the first day of the Lunar New Year

Chinese people have a saying of "opening firecrackers". That is to say, when the New Year arrives, the first thing every household does when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to ward off the old and welcome the new with the beeping sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers".

When midnight strikes, the New Year’s bell rings, and the sound of firecrackers rings across the entire land of China. In this "three yuan" moment of "the yuan of the year, the yuan of the month, and the yuan of the time", some places still build "vigorous fires" in the courtyard to show that the energy is strong and prosperous. Around the blazing fire, the children set off firecrackers and jumped happily. At this time, there were bright lights inside the house, brilliant sparks in front of the court, and loud noises outside, pushing the lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve to its climax. . Poets and writers of all ages have always praised the coming of the New Year with their most beautiful verses. Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri":

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu.

Thousands of households are as bright as the sun. Always replace old talismans with new ones.

Describes the festive scene of the Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. For businessmen, setting off firecrackers has another meaning: they set off firecrackers on New Year's Eve to make big profits in the new year. However, according to old customs, you should be the first to honor the God of Wealth, and the last to set off firecrackers. Legend has it that if you want to make a fortune, the firecrackers should be fired until the end to be considered sincere.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner

When the children were playing and setting off firecrackers, it was also the busiest time for the housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes had been prepared a few days ago, and The New Year's Eve dinner is always cooked by the chef on New Year's Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the sound of abacus and accounts came from the small shops, and mixed with the laughter everywhere, one after another, filled with ears, intertwined into a cheerful New Year's Eve movement.

Eating New Year’s Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. New Year's Eve. The table is filled with sumptuous New Year dishes, and the whole family is reunited. Sitting around the table and enjoying the reunion dinner, the sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable.

People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "abundance every year". There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. On this day, even if you don’t know how to drink, you can drink a little.

There are many famous New Year’s Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, long noodles, yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the Chinese New Year, which means "Gengsui Jiaozi" (Gengsui Jiaozi), the transition between the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in". When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying whoever eats them first will earn more money. The custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty. According to legend, the medical sage Zhang Zhongjing saw that the ears of the poor were rotten by the frost during the twelfth lunar month of winter, so he made a "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" to treat frostbite for the poor. He used mutton, chili peppers and some cold-repelling and warming medicinal materials, wrapped them in dough to make ear-shaped "Jiao Er", cooked them in a pot, and distributed them to the poor. After eating, people felt their whole bodies warm and their ears warm. Later, people followed suit and it has been passed down to this day. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created. Pangu created the world, and then there were four directions in the universe and long noodles, also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity.

Receiving God

Receiving God is a distinction between the old and new years, but the time of receiving God is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, midnight, and some begin after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the human world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world to take care of affairs. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance, and then lead the whole family to hold incense and pick up the god according to the direction in the courtyard. . For example, the "Constitution" of the Xinwei Year instructs: "The God of Wealth is due to the east, the God of Fortune is to the south, the God of Gui is to the northeast, the God of Joy is to the southwest, the God of Taisui is to the southwest, etc." After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basins that have been prepared in the courtyard for burning. When burning, burn pine branches, sesame straw, etc. together. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.

Trampling on evil spirits

After receiving the god, spread sesame straw from the street door to the door of the house, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "trampling on evil spirits", also known as "trampling on evil spirits". It's called "trampling on evil spirits". Since "broken" and "haunted" have the same pronunciation, it means starting to drive away evil spirits in the new year.

Worshiping ancestors

In ancient times, this kind of custom was very popular. Due to the different etiquette and customs in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to visit their ancestors' tombs, some go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors, and most of them place the ancestor's tablets in the main hall in sequence at home, display the offerings, and then the worshipers press the long The younger ones offer incense and kneel down in order. When the Han people worship their ancestors, they usually make fish and meat bowls, which are served in high bowls, which is quite similar to eating with bells and cauldrons. For southerners living in Beijing, ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of dishes, with a hot pot in the middle and cups and chopsticks according to the spiritual position. On New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and New Year's Eve, the hot pot is fanned out and the dishes can be changed at any time. Banner people worship their ancestors, which is different from Manchuria and Mongolia. Mongolian Banner people offer yellow rice noodles fried in butter. When withdrawing, they fry them in sesame oil and dip them in white sugar, which gives them a different flavor. Manchurian bannermen worshiped their ancestors and offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples, and plain wax sandalwood, which was extremely quiet and solemn. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian rice dumplings are served, and on Yuan Yuan night, the Lantern Festival is served. Every morning and evening, incense is burned, kowtow is offered, and new tea is offered. Although the forms of ancestor worship vary, most of them are hung on New Year's Eve and the offerings are withdrawn on the night of the Lantern Festival. Relatives and friends who are close to each other must also visit the ancestor hall when paying New Year's greetings. Not only should they be careful to follow the distant past, but they will never forget their intentions, because of the virtue of respecting their ancestors. , also saved by this.

Sending the God of Wealth

In the old days, since the opening of the Wealth Gate at midnight during the Spring Festival, people would send gifts to the God of Wealth. They would hold a piece of paper printed on the God of Wealth outside the door and shout: "Send the God of Wealth." Here comes the Lord!" At this time, the owner of the house, in order to welcome the God of Wealth, gave the visitor a reward, and of course he always said some auspicious words when giving it to the God of Wealth. For example: "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in"! "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right"! And so on and so on.

Another way is to dress up as the God of Wealth, wearing a red robe, a gauze hat, a fake beard, and a yellow bag for collecting money, followed by a few gongs and drums, going from house to house. Distribute statues of the God of Wealth in order to collect rewards. Whenever they arrive at someone's door, they sing "The left compartment is filled with gold and silver, the right room is filled with treasures" and many other auspicious words, until the owner happily takes the red paper God of Wealth statue and gives them some money. These people pretending to be the God of Wealth, after thanking them repeatedly, they beat vigorously for a while, and moved to other houses amidst the sound of gongs and drums.

Drinking Tusu wine

Tusu wine is a medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, and one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi and boil it for four or five times with wine. In ancient times, the way to drink Tusu wine was very unique. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest ones. Probably the younger ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older ones drink later to show their retention as each year passes. The Song Dynasty writer Su Che's poem "Chu Ri" said, "I drink Tusu at the end of every year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is what this custom is about. This unique drinking order often made people feel all kinds of emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people.

The next year's meal

In the north, some families also provide a bowl of rice, which is cooked before the new year and served during the New Year. This is called "the next year's meal", which means there is leftover every year. There is endless food to eat all year round, so this year it means eating the food from the past year. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it has yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver, and the pot is full of gold and silver". The cakes, fruits and pastries prepared in many places during the observance of the year are all intended to bring good luck: eating dates (early spring), eating persimmons (all goes well), eating almonds (happy people), and eating immortality fruit (immortality) ) and eat rice cakes (which get higher every year). On New Year's Eve, the whole family ate, had fun, talked and laughed.

Forms of New Year greetings

With the development of science and technology, the form of New Year greetings during the Spring Festival has also gone beyond the traditional door-to-door delivery of blessings, and new forms of New Year greetings have emerged, such as telephone New Year greetings and greeting cards. New Year greetings, New Year greetings via SMS, online New Year greetings, etc. In addition to enriching the tradition of New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, these forms of New Year greetings are also favored by more and more people because of their simplicity, convenience, speed, no time, space, and national boundaries, liveliness, and low cost. According to statistics, every Spring Festival, billions of text messages are sent to send New Year greetings via mobile phones, and the number of participants who send greeting cards and New Year greeting webpages online is even more numerous.

Spring Festival Poems

Tian Jia Yuan Day

(Tang Dynasty) Meng Haoran

Last night the fight returned to the north, and today the new year starts in the east.

I am already strong in my youth, but I still worry about farming without a salary.

The father plowed the fields, and the shepherd boy followed him with the hoe.

The Tian family accounts for the climate, and the emperor said that this year will be good.

New Year's Eve

(Tang Dynasty) Laihu

The matter of concern has become empty, and I miss you for thousands of miles in one night.

I am so sad that after the rooster sounds at dawn, I will be haggard and see the spring breeze again.

Yuan Day

(Northern Song Dynasty) Wang Anshi

The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu.

Thousands of households always exchange old talismans for new peaches.

Staying up late

(Northern Song Dynasty) Su Shi

If there is no time next year, I may worry about wasting time.

If you work hard today, you can still be proud of the young man!

Yuanri·Yulouchun

(Northern Song Dynasty) Mao Pang

One year the lotus drips all the time, and the blue well slaughters the Su and freezes the wine.

The cold weather at dawn is still deceiving, but the slender spring willows come first.

The beautiful woman advises you to live a long life, and the cypress leaves and pepper blossoms bloom on your green sleeves.

In the depths of Zuixiang, we rarely know each other, and we only have old friends with Dongjun.

New Year's Eve

(Southern Song Dynasty) Wen Tianxiang

The world is empty, and the years are passing by.

The end of the road is full of storms and rain, and the poor side is full of snow and frost.

As time goes by, life is about to end, and the body and the world are forgotten.

There is no need to kill Su Meng again, and the night is still young.

Happy New Year

(Ming Dynasty) Wen Zhengming

I don’t ask for a meeting, but a visit, and the famous papers come to the house.

I also throw in a few pieces of paper with others. The world is too simple but not too empty.

Children, don’t be greedy

Children, don’t be greedy, after Laba Festival it will be the New Year. How many days do you drink Laba porridge? It will be twenty-three. Twenty-three, sticky melons; twenty-four, house cleaning day; twenty-five, make tofu; twenty-six, fried mutton; twenty-seven, kill the rooster; twenty-eight, make the dough; twenty-nine, steam Steamed buns; play all night on thirty nights, and twist on New Year’s Day.

Spring Festival food customs across China

The first meal of the Spring Festival in Hunan is "rice cake", which means "every year gets better and better", but a small number of Miao people in Hunan, The first meal of the Spring Festival is sweet wine and rice dumplings, which means "sweet life and abundant harvests."

In some places in Hubei, chicken soup is the first meal of the Spring Festival, symbolizing "peace and peace". In addition, the main labor force in the family eats chicken feet, which means "making money in the new year"; young students eat chicken wings, which means they can spread their wings and fly high; and the head of the family eats chicken bones, which means "getting ahead". In Jingzhou and Shashi areas, eggs are eaten as the first meal, which means "real, good luck and good luck". If you meet a guest, you should eat two "poached eggs" that are cooked very tender and the yolk can be seen through the white, which means "silver is wrapped with gold, gold is wrapped with silver, and you get gold and silver."

The first meal in Poyang, Jiangxi is to eat dumplings and fish, which means "Jiaozi" and "abundance every year". Some put sugar cubes, flowers and silver coins in the dumplings, which means "sweet life" ”, “Immortality”, “Get rich in the New Year”.

In some areas of Guangdong, the first meal of the Spring Festival is "Wannian Liang", which means making enough food for the family for the three days of the Spring Festival, which means "not worrying about eating and drinking". In the Chaozhou area, people often eat "fuyuan" fried in rice noodles and dried radish as their first meal, and drink "five-fruit soup" made from gorgon seeds, lotus seeds, etc., which means "life is sweet and has a long history".

The Zhuang people of Guangxi eat sweets as the first meal of the Spring Festival, which means that their life will be beautiful and sweet in the new year.

People in southern Fujian eat noodles as their first meal during the Spring Festival, which means "long life every year". People in Zhangzhou eat sausages, preserved eggs and ginger, which means "the days are getting more prosperous".

In some places in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the first meal of the Spring Festival is a "spring plate" consisting of celery, leeks, bamboo shoots, etc., which means "hard work and long-lasting".

In some places in Anhui, everyone has to take a bite of raw radish during the first meal of the Spring Festival, which is called "biting spring", which can "remove bacteria and prevent diseases, and bring good luck in the new year."

In some places in Guanzhong and Henan, the first meal of the Spring Festival is rice cooked with dumplings and noodles, which is called "Gold Thread Wearing Ingots" and "Silver Thread Hanging Gourd".

The first meal of the Spring Festival in Taiwan is "perennial vegetable", which is a kind of mustard with long stems and leaves and a bitter taste. Some even add slender vermicelli to the dish, which means "continuous and immortal".

In southern Henan, the New Year’s Eve dinner is eaten until midnight. When the New Year’s bell rings, a plate of fish is served to show that there is more than enough every year. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, dumplings and noodles are boiled and eaten together. The noodles represent money strings, which means making money.

Shanghainese eat glutinous rice balls, rice cakes, bee cakes, rice cakes, cloud cakes, etc. on the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is a metaphor for "getting higher year by year" and "climbing higher step by step". In addition, eating soybean sprouts (also called "wishful vegetables") symbolizes everything goes well, and eating sprouts (soaked with broad beans) means getting rich.

On New Year’s Eve in Sichuan, people usually eat hot pot and eat glutinous rice balls on the morning of the first day of the lunar month, which means reunion.