The Spring Festival custom in Qufu

Pay attention to the New Year in Confucius' hometown —— Qufu's New Year custom

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

Lunar New Year's Eve is the last night of the year, commonly known as "the end of the year". On this night, people will "vigil" as usual (light candles and stay up all night). At this time, all the things for the New Year are ready, and the indoor sanitation of the yard is also brand-new. People began to put new Spring Festival couplets and door gods on their doors. There are two kinds of door gods in Qufu: martial arts door gods and literati door gods. The martial arts goalkeeper is attached to the outer door. There are two traditional doors in China, and so are the door gods of martial arts. They are called "Shen Tu" and "Lei Yu". Legend has it that they were evil spirits of ancient times, and later they were interpreted as the images of Qin Qiong and Wei Chijingde, two military commanders in the Tang Dynasty. On the door of the main room and the wing, there are literati gods, usually colorful paintings such as "making money into treasure" and "five sons into the topic". In Qufu, the left is up and the right is down. The positions of the two doormen are fixed and cannot be changed at will. If you post it incorrectly, it will be called anti-gatekeeper, which will lead to everything going wrong and a dilemma within one year. Therefore, there is a saying in Qufu that "the gatekeeper is in a dilemma".

Spring Festival couplets with Confucian cultural characteristics

Qufu's Spring Festival couplets are very particular, and there are many couplets handed down, such as "True temperament begins with the Five Virtues, and great article study begins with the Six Classics", "Poetry between heaven and earth is the most expensive, and filial piety comes first", "A gentleman in Luduo is close to a saint in Nepal", "Filial piety is the most favorite, and too much soup is a poetry book", which has strong Confucian cultural significance. Couplets are usually written on Huang Dan paper or red gold paper. Most of these colored papers have white edges, commonly known as "white heads", which are not cut off, but deliberately left at the lower end of the couplets, meaning "grow old together".

In addition to posting Spring Festival couplets and door gods on the door, the words "Go out to see happiness" should be posted on the wall or tree facing the door outside the gate, and the word "Fu" should be posted on both sides of the screen wall, the second door and the door of the main house (the word "Fu" should be posted upside down, which is homophonic with "Fu arrived"), and similar words "You" should be posted on the grinding, cylinder and basin.

offer sacrifices to ancestors

Sacrifice is the core of the whole Spring Festival celebration. Therefore, the most important thing on New Year's Eve is to prepare for the sacrifice. Sacrifice to heaven is on the incense table on the east side outside the main hall. A square shed is surrounded by new stalks (the upper end of sorghum stalks), which is called "heaven and earth shed". There is a sign of heaven and earth in it, which reads: "God of the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth". There are two candlesticks and an incense burner in front of the memorial tablet.

Ancestor sacrifice is in the main room in the middle of the main hall, and the square table and poles are placed in the middle of the main hall against the wall. In the middle of the horizontal bar is the general memorial tablet with the words "God of three generations of relatives of Yishengmen", and on both sides and back are the gods with the names of deceased fathers and ancestors, relatives and elders at home and abroad, and relatives at home and abroad who have died for more than three to five generations, all arranged according to Zhao Mu. There are two candlesticks on the table of the Eight Immortals with a censer in the middle.

There are also people who worship the memorial tablet of "protecting the family forever" in the main hall. The kitchen god is still in the kitchen.

After placing these tablets, we began to prepare fire paper, which is a kind of paper with rough workmanship, soft and flammable color and yellow color. It is believed that after burning paper, it will reach the hands of deceased relatives and become a mingbi that can be used in another world. So everyone is very careful when preparing fire paper. The first process of preparing toilet paper is to fill the rows of toilet paper with the marks of square holes used to make money. The second process is to fold the stamped paper into the shape of an ingot or a golden brick one by one, and put some incense in it, so that the paper is ready.

On New Year's Eve, it is time to welcome the ancestors and gods home for the New Year. Under the leadership of their parents, men carry lanterns and trays (poor people need dustpans without trays), and put "three generations of clan" tablets, three sticks of incense and four paper ingots in them to welcome the ancestors' gods home for the New Year, which is called "welcoming the old". This ceremony is very important and is often held at the crossroads of Tongtu Street. Put the memorial tablet on the road to Zulin, surround it with a circle, and burn incense and ingots together in front of the memorial tablet. Parents should knock four heads on the memorial tablet. After burning the incense paper, put the memorial tablet back on the tray, chanting: "Dear grandparents, go home for the New Year!" " "Then solemnly, the eldest son or grandson carries the memorial tablet in the tray, welcomes him home, puts it in the middle of the memorial tablet on the big table, then inserts the burning incense in the incense burner and burns the gold ingot. From then on, the cigarettes in the furnace must be connected day and night without interruption until the "old" is delivered after the Chinese New Year.

After welcoming the "old" god home, put a wooden stick called "door stick" horizontally on the ground inside the gate. It is said to prevent homeless ghosts from breaking into the house. The New Year's Eve dinner at the end of the year is not particularly particular. Jiaozi is the staple food for most poor families. No matter what kind of food, it must be provided to the world and ancestors before the family can eat it. Because this meal is the last meal of the year, it is also called "farewell meal". Sacrifice activities are held in the evening after midnight. After a meal, we begin to "store food" (prepare for food), that is, first, the dishes in the bowl are "distilled" at midnight (heated in a steamer) and then placed on the steamer or grate of the kitchen cauldron for sacrifice. Food is mainly provided in four places: one is the shed of heaven and earth, the other is the ancestral spirit, the third is the guardian fairy, and the fourth is the chef. The number of dishes served in each place is different, but they are all singular. Generally, there are five kinds of five bowls in front of the gods of heaven and earth, three kinds of three bowls in front of ancestors and family gods, and there is only one bowl in the kitchen. Three dishes are a rich cooked meat, a bowl of crispy meat and a bowl of meatballs; On the basis of three kinds of five kinds of dishes, add the same steamed whole chicken and fried whole carp, which means "chicken celebrates more fish" every year; A bowl of vegetables is all the miscellaneous flowers saved by three dishes. When saving money, each bowl of vegetables is equipped with boiled cabbage, which is called "the bottom of the dish". The more dishes, the better, indicating that the family is thick. The square meat, crispy meat and meatballs on the top should be put less and evenly, and the bottom of the plate should be covered tightly, which means that you can't "show the bottom" to avoid disaster. Poor people can't afford to buy whole chickens and fish, so they only buy three kinds of food. It's called "what is home". When saving food, everyone can use carp, but only people named Kong can't. The reason is that Kong Li, the second ancestor of Confucius, not only can't use carp to worship his ancestors, but even the name of carp has been renamed as "red fish". Because avoiding ancestors is taboo, Qufu people also call carp "red fish".

After "saving offerings", the hostess sprinkled a circle of bran around the cauldron where the offerings were distilled, and also sprinkled bran along the gate, courtyard wall and eaves, indicating that the house was filled with bran (blessing) gas. There are also farmers who sprinkle some sesame stalks to take the auspicious meaning of sesame blossoms.

At night, when all the sacrifices are ready, people will take the time to sleep for a while. Some people stay up all night, which is called "keeping the old age". In Qufu, the locals call it "hair loss". Before midnight on New Year's Eve, people in every household get up to wash their hands and faces. The men are busy dispersing the "gold ingots", starting from the gate and spreading to the yard. Put one pair on each side of the double door, one pair on the single door by the rotating fan, four pairs in the shed of heaven and earth, three pairs in front of the ancestral house, two pairs in front of their own house, one pair in front of the kitchen, and one pair in another cowshed, toilet, well platform, road mill, chicken nest and warehouse. At the same time, the candles were scattered, and the front door, the second door, the door of the hall, the shed of heaven and earth, the ancestral tablet, the guardian fairy and the kitchen god were in front of each other. When the incense is scattered, there is one branch on each side of the door. The heaven and earth shed and ancestral spirits are full of fragrance. The first three are Baojiaxian, one is Chef Jun, and the other places where ingots are placed are all the same. At the same time, put two small wine glasses in front of each table and one in front of the kitchen. In addition, firecrackers should be hung up and set off. After getting up and washing, the women immediately went to the kitchen to burn large pots of "steamed vegetables", steamed bread, flower cakes and so on. After distillation, the male at home will send the food to the shed in order, and the male parents will take it and put it on the confession. The chicken is served first, and the head of the chicken faces inward, which is called "chicken offering the head"; Then the fish, with the ridge inward, is called "fish sacrifice ridge"; Then the top meat, crispy meat, and Jiuzi. Every dish is sprinkled with spinach, which is called "dish cap". Finally, put two plates of steamed buns and flower cakes, which are placed symmetrically left and right. There are five steamed buns on each tray, three at the bottom and five red dots at the top. Flower cake is a kind of jujube cake, each with three to five layers. After serving in the heaven and earth shed, three dishes are served in front of the ancestral spirit in the first room. Generally speaking, the food for ancestor worship is less than that for heaven and earth, and in most cases there is no chicken or fish. It is often after the distribution of food that the chickens and fish in the shed of heaven and earth are moved out and shared by the "old", indicating that heaven and earth are respected and "old" is second. Finally, put the food in front of Garbo Fairy. A bowl of food in front of the kitchen god can be served directly from the pot.

After the sacrifice, the small handless cups on each sacrifice case should be filled with wine. All the dishes are served. It's nearly midnight. So, I started lighting candles and incense, and I started pointing inward from the outside of the gate. Incense from heaven, earth, ancestors, Bao Jiaxian, Zao Jun, etc. It must be lit by the man and inserted in the incense burner. At the same time, the gods were burned in front of the heaven and earth shed (a kind of seal painting of the gods), and the ingots everywhere were lit and firecrackers were set off. At that time, incense filled the courtyard and firecrackers exploded. This moment is a grand ceremony to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year-hair loss. In urban areas, people only get "sick" after hearing the firecrackers of Confucius, because all ordinary families can't celebrate the New Year before the "Saint's House". In rural areas, people always look at the stars or calculate the time by burning incense. In short, thrift is called Chinese New Year, and the earlier the better.

In the brilliant atmosphere of firecrackers and cigarettes, people in every household began to kowtow to pay homage. First of all, there is a master with a senior family, attended by his children and grandchildren, who worship the God of heaven and earth in front of the shed of heaven and earth. Before kowtowing, pour the sacrificial wine in front of the altar, which is called "pouring a libation", then bow, kneel down and kowtow four times, get up and bow again, and then drink a libation. Then go to the hall to kowtow to the ancestors, and the ceremony is the same as worshipping heaven and earth; Then go to the East Building to worship Bao Jiaxian, and finally go to the kitchen to worship the chef. After parents worship, they should light candles in the shed of heaven and earth and take a photo in the yard. In the glorious period, all the men in the family, including boys, kowtowed to Heaven and Earth, ancestors, Bao Jiaxian and Chef Jun in turn. During this period, women have filled jiaozi with vegetarian dishes in the kitchen, and young men have sent them to various memorial places to cook dinner. Except for one bowl provided by Chef Jun, the others are all two bowls. After the sacrifice to jiaozi, women kowtowed to heaven and earth, ancestors, family immortals and kitchen gods in turn.

After worshipping heaven and earth, ancestors and immortals, they began to kowtow to their elders in front of the ancestors in the first room. Let the oldest men and women in the family sit on the chairs on both sides of the square table to receive gifts. Take the lead by the eldest son, kowtow to the ancestors four times, and when you get up, say, "kowtow to my father!" " "kneel down and kowtow again, then stand up and bow and say," kowtow to my mother! " "In this way, after the boss kowtowed, the second, third and fourth children worshipped their ancestors, kowtowed to their parents and kowtowed to their brothers and sisters. After the sons finished speaking, the grandchildren continued to squat; After men knock on the door, female family members knock on the door for their elders in the order of seniority, regardless of gender. When kowtowing, you should kowtow to the ancestral tablet four times. When you get up and bow, you should tell which elder to kowtow to, and then kneel down and kowtow one by one. The youngest child kowtows the most, and must kowtow to his grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, uncle, aunt, second uncle, second aunt … or uncle, aunt, brother, sister, etc. Never miss one. This is the warmest and most peaceful moment in the family. After kowtowing to the elders, the elders should give money to the underage boys and girls as a reward, which is called "lucky money". The younger generation congratulated the elder on his long life, and the elder also congratulated the child on reaching the age of one. For the daughter-in-law who is newly married in the first year, the in-laws should also reward "lucky money"

Family reunion dinner on New Year's Eve

After the kowtowing ceremony, the whole family began to eat New Year's Eve, steamed bread and wine. Most appetizers are ready-made rapeseed and cold dishes, and cold dishes must have lettuce or spinach, which means "making money" and "making more money". The main meal is vegetarian stuffed buns. Everyone should eat this meal and have leftovers. If you are not in the Spring Festival because of business, others will eat for you.

Eating jiaozi on New Year's Eve is particularly interesting, because everyone can eat jiaozi, which means something special. Jiaozi is mostly made by housewives themselves, and it is put in a bowl according to the characteristics of various jiaozi productions, so that people who pack jiaozi can know who to eat this bowl for. For example, buns wrapped in bran, peanuts and long fruits are generally given to the elderly, buns wrapped in money are given to the man in charge, and buns wrapped in dates and chestnuts are given to newlyweds. Children have nothing to pay attention to, but they can give anything for fun. However, children are often very serious. If they eat buns with special meaning, they will often be happy for one year, but if they don't eat them, they will be unhappy for one year. They don't know that this is specially arranged by adults. They just want luck.

Farmers raise horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs, pigs and other livestock, which are also called by their parents in front of their pens and fences to reward them with steamed buns, so that the six livestock will be prosperous, auspicious and safe in a year.

Pay new year's call

Worship the ancestors of heaven and earth, eat New Year's Eve, and people begin to pay New Year greetings to each other. Starting with the closest and most respected people in the family, kowtow to the family from door to door, and then kowtow to the neighbors, neighborhoods and villages to pay New Year greetings.

The way neighbors pay New Year greetings is different from the way their elders are kowtowed by the younger generation, but they are especially polite. When kowtowing outside other doors, the eldest son (or other sons) of that family should bend his knees to hold the kowtower's right arm, not let him drive, and not let the guests bow down to show "unworthiness". If the guests insist on worshipping, the son of this family will accompany the guests to kowtow to the ancestral tablet four times. After standing up and bowing, the eldest son refused to answer the phone when the guests greeted their elders and kowtowed; If it is too late to stop knocking, let the guests kowtow, and the son must stand on the east side and bend over to pay a half-salute to the guests to show his modesty and gratitude. If the New Year's greetings are of low seniority, it is necessary to kowtow to every elder in this family gradually, and the New Year's greetings in this family will resist again and again, and the result is still until the kowtow is finished. As for the peers kowtowing to each other to celebrate the New Year, the host family must absolutely bend their knees to stop it, and finally the host and guest bow to each other. In this family, men should finish greeting each other before dawn, and then go to the neighborhood to pay New Year greetings one after another. Worship is usually finished before noon. Neighbors visit each other, exchange a few pleasantries and leave, usually without sitting down.

After the morning, the women were refreshed and dressed up, and began to visit New Year. Its order is the same as that of men, family first, neighborhood later. When they kowtow to every household to pay New Year's greetings, the host's daughter-in-law will politely decline the phone call. When men and women meet for the first time in the street or at home, they should say "Happy Spring Festival" or "Congratulations on getting rich" to each other. Men bow, women don't bow, just say hello. In recent years, we have not bowed our heads, just saying hello to each other.

The reason why the custom of New Year's greetings is enduring is that this etiquette can adjust interpersonal relationships and deepen children's feelings. Through the New Year greetings, the younger generation pays more attention to their elders, and their elders care more and more for them. If there is any quarrel or contradiction between neighbors, once they step into the house and kowtow to the old man, it means that they have put aside their differences and eliminated the barriers. For thousands of years, this custom has helped people to solve many contradictions and make people reunite and live in harmony in the new year.

Visit relatives

From the second day of the first month, people began to visit relatives and pay New Year greetings to each other. I used to kowtow to my elders, and I also kowtowed to my relatives to pay New Year greetings. This etiquette of visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year is to visit relatives first, and then visit old relatives. Many relatives have to walk for many days, with gifts (meat) waiting to follow, often until the seventh and eighth day of July, or even the fifteenth day of the first month. In the past, most people's living conditions were not very rich, and there were not many preparations for New Year's Eve. If the guests can meet the standard of "white steamed bread with fine noodle soup, crispy meatballs with cabbage help", it will be the level of middle-class families. Therefore, the folk proverb says, "when relatives arrive at the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, there is no tofu and no residue."

In Qufu custom, from the first day to the tenth day, this "tenth day" is the representative day of ten people, things and things, commonly known as "chicken one, dog two, cat three, dog (wild dog) four, pig five, sheep six, man seven, grain eight, fruit nine and food ten". That is, the first day of the first month is rooster day, the second day is dog day, the third day is cat day, the fourth day is wild dog day, the fifth day is pig day, the sixth day is sheep day, the seventh day is human day, the eighth day is valley day, the ninth day is fruit day and the tenth day is vegetable day. It is believed that in these ten days, the weather is sunny, rainy and windy, and every owner has good or bad luck corresponding to the "day". If the first day of the first lunar month is sunny, chickens will not suffer from plague this year. If it rains, chickens will suffer from many diseases this year. Another example is the eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the weather is fine, the grains are abundant. In case of rain or wind, the crops planted this year may fail. Therefore, there is a saying in Qufu's agricultural proverb: "There are ten good days in the new year, so don't ask the gods", which means that this year must be a good year for the people without disasters.

In this "ten days", Qufu people pay the most attention to the seventh and eighth days. On the seventh day, it is customary to use vegetable leaves to make small tofu. It is said that people can avoid disasters and diseases by eating vegetable tofu on this day. On the eighth day of the eighth day, people in Qufu don't have to cook with rice noodles or grind them to prevent damage to food. There are no special taboos for the other eight days. It can be seen that in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucian culture, the Spring Festival has always maintained a very traditional and primitive way. The local government attaches great importance to the development of Spring Festival tourism products, and two special products, "Confucius' hometown dinner tour" and "going home for the New Year", are successful representatives. From the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, foreign guests and overseas compatriots can go to the local people's homes to spend the Spring Festival with the people in Confucius' hometown and experience the joy of the festival with their hosts. Learn all kinds of traditional ceremonies and procedures of China people's "New Year's Eve", including making jiaozi, pasting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, dancing dragons and lions, watching lanterns, exchanging greetings with their hosts, and experiencing deep affection, friendship and warm family atmosphere.