Talk about keeping up the New Year's Eve
"One night lasts for two years, and the fifth watch is divided into two days." On New Year's Eve, the whole family reunites, has New Year's Eve dinner, chats around the fire, bids farewell to the old and welcomes the new. This is The custom of staying up late on New Year's Eve is common in our country.
According to historical records, this custom first appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. "It's night, the roar of firecrackers is forbidden, and the sound can be heard outside. In the homes of scholars and common people, they sit around the stove and can't sleep at night." It gradually became popular in the early Tang Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": " The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze. ”
In ancient times, staying up late on the New Year’s Eve was also called “zhao shou”. People lit candles or oil lamps and stayed up all night to symbolize driving away all evil plagues. Go and look forward to a prosperous new year. This custom has been passed down to this day.
To this day, our people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve, setting off firecrackers outside their houses, sitting around the fire or watching TV indoors, and laughing.
Customs of New Year greetings
New Year greetings are a traditional custom among Chinese people. It is a way for people to bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year, and express good wishes to each other.
Since about the Qing Dynasty, New Year greetings have added the form of "group worship". Qing Dynasty native Yi Lanzhu said in "Side Hat Yu Tan": "At the beginning of the year, the capital routinely performs group worship to unite the New Year. "Friendship, to strengthen the nostalgia", "every year, we book guests with new year letters, have meals and banquets, and have fun every day."
With the development of the times, the custom of New Year greetings has constantly added new content and forms. Nowadays, in addition to following the previous methods of New Year greetings, people have also developed ceremonial New Year greetings via telegrams and telephone calls.
The legend of pasting the word "福" upside down
Every Spring Festival, every household has to paste the word "福" (福), large and small, on their doors, walls and lintels. Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in my country. According to "Meng Liang Lu" records: "On New Year's Eve, we shop for department stores, paint door-god peach charms, and welcome the Spring Festival..."; "Every family of scholars and common people, big or small, sweeps the door, removes dust, cleans the courtyard, and The door god hangs a bell, nails peach charms, puts up spring signs, and offers sacrifices to the ancestors." The "spring card" in the article is the word "福" written on red paper.
Receive the God of Wealth
Eat dumplings during the New Year
Dumplings are a folk food with a long history and are very popular among the people. There is a saying among the people that "dumplings are not as delicious as dumplings" slang. During the Spring Festival, dumplings have become an indispensable delicacy.
According to "Guang Ya" written by Zhang Yi, a native of the Three Kingdoms Wei Dynasty, there was a food called "wonton" shaped like a crescent moon at that time, which was basically similar in shape to today's dumplings. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wontons were "shaped like a crescent moon and were eaten all over the world." It is speculated that after the dumplings were cooked at that time, they were not taken out and eaten separately, but mixed with the soup in a bowl and eaten, so people at that time called the dumplings "wontons". This way of eating is still popular in some areas of my country. For example, when people in Henan, Shaanxi and other places eat dumplings, they put some coriander, chopped green onion, dried shrimps, leeks and other small ingredients in the soup.
Exploring the origin of Spring Festival couplets
Spring Festival couplets originated from Taofu. "Peach charms" are rectangular peach boards hung on both sides of the door in the Zhou Dynasty. According to "Book of the Later Han Dynasty and Etiquette Records", the peach charm is six inches long and three inches wide, and the two gods "Shen Tu" and "Yulei" are written on the peach board. "On the first day of the first lunar month, a peach charm is made and placed in the household. It is called a fairy tree and is feared by all ghosts." Therefore, "Yanjing Shisui Ji" in the Qing Dynasty said: "The Spring Festival couplets are also peach charms."
In the Ming Dynasty, Taofu was renamed "Spring Couplets". Chen Yunzhan of the Ming Dynasty recorded in "Hao Yun Lou Miscellanies": "The creation of Spring Festival couplets dates back to the Ming Dynasty. In the imperial capital of Jinling, before New Year's Eve, a decree was suddenly issued: a Spring Festival couplet must be added to the doorsteps of the houses of ministers and common people. A Spring Festival couplet appeared on the occasion of the Emperor's visit." Zhu Yuanzhang Not only did he go out of the city in disguise to watch the laughter, 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 house that castrated pigs and had not hired anyone to write them for them. Zhu Yuanzhang specially wrote a Spring Festival couplet for the pig man, "Cleaving the road of life and death with both hands, and cutting off the roots of right and wrong with one knife." The association is appropriate and humorous. After Ming Taizu advocated it, Spring Festival couplets became a custom and have been passed down to this day.
Customs of the Spring Festival
The Spring Festival is an ancient festival in my country and the most important festival of the whole year. How to celebrate this festival has been formed over thousands of years of historical development. Some relatively fixed customs and habits were established, many of which are still passed down to this day.
Sweeping dust
"On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house." According to "Lu Spring and Autumn Annals", my country had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the era of Yao and Shun. According to folklore: because "dust" and "chen" are homophonic, sweeping dust in the New Year means "removing the old and spreading the new", and its purpose is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new. Every Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean the environment, wash all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulv courtyard, dust away dirt and cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of doing hygiene and welcoming the New Year cleanly.
Spring couplets
Spring couplets are also called door pairs, spring posts, couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. They describe the background of the times and express good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words. , is a unique literary form in my country. Every Spring Festival, every household, whether in urban or rural areas, selects a red Spring Festival couplet and pastes it on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival.
This custom originated in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju’s Spring Festival Couplets monograph "Three Couples on the Threshold" has a detailed introduction to the origin of the couplets and the characteristics of various works. All discussed.
There are many types of Spring Festival couplets. According to the place of use, they can be divided into door centers, frame pairs, horizontal drapes, spring strips, bucket squares, etc. The "door center" is affixed to the upper center of the door panel; the "frame pair" is affixed to the left and right door frames; the "horizontal stripe" is affixed to the crossbar of the door; the "spring strips" are affixed to the corresponding places according to different contents; "Dojin" is also called "door leaf", which is square and diamond-shaped, and is often attached to furniture and screen walls.
Pasting window grilles and pasting the word "福" upside down
In the folk, people also like to put various paper-cuts - window grilles - on their windows. Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in my country and has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is mostly pasted on windows, it is also called "window flower". With its unique summary and exaggeration techniques, window grilles vividly express auspicious symbols and good wishes, decorating the festival with prosperity and splendor.
At the same time as pasting Spring Festival couplets, some families have to paste large and small "福" characters on their 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 in detail, such as longevity stars, longevity peaches, carps jumping over dragon gates, good harvests, dragons and phoenixes, etc.
New Year Pictures
Posting New Year pictures during the Spring Festival is also very common in urban and rural areas. The thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and joy to thousands of households. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs and reposing their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god". With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year paintings is no longer limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. In some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", "Five Grain" Classic color New Year pictures such as "Prosperous Harvest", "Prosperity of Six Livestocks", "Welcoming Spring and Receiving Good Luck" can satisfy people's good wishes of celebrating the good year. There are three important producing areas of New Year paintings in our country: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong. They have formed three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings, each with its own characteristics.
The earliest New Year paintings collected in our country today are the woodcut New Year paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty called "Slimming with the Dynasty and the Beauty of the Country", which depict four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and Luzhu. The most widely circulated among the people is a New Year painting of "Mouse Marriage". It depicts an interesting scene of a mouse marrying a bride according to human customs. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shanghai Zheng Mantuo combined the calendar with New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This two-in-one New Year picture later developed into a wall calendar, which is now popular all over the country.
Keeping the year old
Keeping the year old on New Year’s Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest records can be found in the "Feng Tu Zhi" of Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person greets each other with gifts, which is called "giving the new year"; "Dividing the year old"; everyone stays up all night waiting for dawn, which is called "keeping the year old".
“One night is two years old, five o’clock is divided into two days.” On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gets together, has New Year’s Eve dinner, lights candles or oil lamps, sits around the fire and chats, waiting to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. At this time, the all-night vigil symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to auspiciousness in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": "The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze." To this day, people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year.
In ancient times, staying up late had two meanings: older people staying up late meant "saying goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; young people staying up late meant to prolong the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the transition between the new and the old year has generally been at midnight.
Firecrackers
There is a saying among Chinese folk that "firecrackers open the door". 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, with the sound of beeping firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". It originated very early and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere. It is a festive entertainment activity that can bring people joy and good luck. As time goes by, in addition to the above-mentioned titles, the Spring Festival is also called "Kai Nian", "Kai Sui", "Fang Sui", "Hua Sui", etc. Among many titles, "New Year's Day" is the most common and longest lasting. .
After the victory of the Revolution of 1911, the Nanjing Provisional Government adopted the Gregorian calendar and designated the first day of the first lunar month of the Gregorian calendar as New Year's Day. In this way, the Spring Festival became the title of the first day of the first lunar month. In fact, the name Spring Festival has existed since ancient times, and it refers specifically to the beginning of spring. Since the first day of the first lunar month is called the Spring Festival among the people, the beginning of spring is no longer called the Spring Festival.
On the morning of the first day of the first lunar month, children of the same generation go together in twos and threes to pay New Year greetings to their elders. After meeting, everyone in the village congratulates each other on the New Year. The village is in a peaceful atmosphere, and it feels very good!
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month is the "hui" in our village. The art teams and martial arts classes from neighboring villages come to our village to perform. There are a number of venues set up on the street, and a circle of people gather in each venue to watch the performances. , even more lively than the first day of the Lunar New Year! !
The customs of New Year greetings are different in various places in Hainan. In some places, people come to visit people on the first or second day of the Lunar New Year, but it is boring to come on the third or fourth day of the Lunar New Year. In some places, it is not possible to visit people’s homes on the first day of the Lunar New Year. New Year gifts usually include citrus fruits or orange leaves sandwiched in the gifts to express the blessing that "this year will bring good luck and good luck".
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, a married daughter takes her husband and children back to her parents' home to pay New Year's greetings. If it is the first year of marriage, she will bring her own firecrackers and set off a string of firecrackers before entering the door to express her notice. The most solemn New Year greetings for daughters and sons-in-law to their father-in-law and mother-in-law. On this day, everyone else in the family (especially the elders) must be at home to accept the New Year greetings. The father-in-law and mother-in-law have to prepare a sumptuous feast, and when the daughter and son-in-law leave in the afternoon, they have to give the daughter candies, rice cakes, etc. wrapped in red paper to "greet the way."
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, some places in Hainan call it "Chaokao", which means that the dry rice, chicken, and duck heads and feet specially cooked for the New Year's Eve are stir-fried in a pan with oil before eating to express this. Having something leftover from last year to this year also means that the New Year has passed
A little talk about staying up late
"One night is two years old, and five is divided into two days." On New Year's Eve, the whole family reunites to celebrate the New Year. Dinner at night, chatting around the fire, bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new year, this is a common custom in our country of staying up late on New Year's Eve.
According to historical records, this custom first appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. "It's night, the roar of firecrackers is forbidden, and the sound can be heard outside. In the homes of scholars and common people, they sit around the stove and can't sleep at night." It gradually became popular in the early Tang Dynasty. In the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": " The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze. ”
In ancient times, staying up late on the New Year’s Eve was also called “zhao shou”. People lit candles or oil lamps and stayed up all night to symbolize driving away all evil plagues. Go and look forward to a prosperous new year. This custom has been passed down to this day.
To this day, our people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve, setting off firecrackers outside their houses, sitting around the fire or watching TV indoors, and laughing.
Customs of New Year greetings
New Year greetings are a traditional custom among Chinese people. It is a way for people to bid farewell to the old year, welcome the new year, and express good wishes to each other.
In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "bainian" was to congratulate the elders on the New Year, including kowtowing to the elders, giving wishes, wishing them a happy new year, and greeting them with well-being. When you meet relatives and friends of the same generation, you should also give congratulations.
New Year greetings usually start at home. On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, after getting up, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders, wishing them good health, longevity and all the best. After the elders are worshiped, they should distribute the "New Year's money" prepared in advance to the younger generations. After paying New Year greetings to the elders at home, people should also greet each other with a smile on their faces when they go out to congratulate each other on the New Year. They should also say auspicious words such as "Gong Xi Fa Cai", "Blessed Seasons", "Happy New Year", etc. Neighbors, relatives and friends also visit each other's homes. New Year greetings or invitations for drinking and entertainment. Meng Yuanlao of the Song Dynasty described the time in Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty in Volume 6 of "Tokyo Menghua Lu": "On October 1st, the Kaifeng Mansion was closed for three days, and the scholars and common people celebrated each other since early in the morning." In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Lu Rong wrote in "Shu" Volume 5 of "Yuan Miscellanies" says, "On New Year's Day in the capital, people from the imperial court to the common people would cross the roads for days, which is called 'New Year's greetings.' However, the common people paid more sincere wishes to their relatives and friends. When the imperial officials came and went, If you love too much, you will not be devoted..." Gu Tieqing, a native of the Qing Dynasty, described in "Qing Jia Lu", "Men and women pay homage to their parents in order, and the master takes the lead in visiting relatives and friends of neighboring clans, or sending his children to congratulate them, which is called 'New Year greetings'. At the end of the year, Those who are not in contact with each other also go to each other's door at this time..."
In ancient times, it was the custom for upper-class scholar-officials to congratulate each other with name cards. Zhou Hui, a native of the Song Dynasty, said in "Qingbo Magazine": "During the Yuanyou years of the Song Dynasty, servants were often used to carry famous thorns to celebrate the New Year." At that time, the scholar-bureaucrats had many contacts, and it would take time and energy to visit people from all over the world to pay New Year greetings. Therefore, some friends who were not close to each other did not go there in person. Instead, they sent servants to bring them a two-inch wide, three-inch paper cut from plum blossom paper. An inch-long card with the name, address and congratulatory words of the congratulatory person written on it is sent to express New Year greetings on your behalf. In the Ming Dynasty, people paid homage instead of paying New Year greetings. Wen Zhengming, an outstanding painter and poet of the Ming Dynasty, described it in his poem "New Year's Greetings": "I don't ask for a meeting, but for a visit. Famous papers come from the dynasty and fill the house. I also throw in a few papers with others. The world hates them for being simple but not too empty." The "name" and "name" mentioned here are the origins of today's New Year's cards. New Year's cards are used to connect feelings and exchange greetings. They are convenient and practical and are still popular today.
Since about the Qing Dynasty, New Year greetings have added the form of "group worship". Qing Dynasty Yi Lanzhu said in "Side Hat Yu Tan": "At the beginning of the year, the capital routinely conducts group worship to bond the New Year's friendship and strengthen the nostalgia." , "Every year, guests are invited to book New Year's greetings and have dinner and banquets to enjoy themselves."
With the development of the times, new content and forms are constantly being added to the custom of New Year greetings. In addition to the previous methods of New Year greetings, ceremonial New Year greetings via telegrams and telephone calls have emerged.
The legend of pasting blessing characters upside down
During the New Year festival, every household will post on their doors and walls. The words "福" (福), large and small, are pasted on the doors and lintels.
Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in my country. According to "Meng Liang Lu" records: "On New Year's Eve, we shop for department stores, paint door-god peach charms, and welcome the Spring Festival..."; "Every family of scholars and common people, big or small, sweeps the door, removes dust, cleans the courtyard, and The door god hangs a bell, nails peach charms, puts up spring signs, and offers sacrifices to the ancestors." The "spring card" in the article is the word "福" written on red paper.
The current interpretation of the word "福" is "happiness", but in the past it meant "blessing" and "luck". Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival, whether now or in the past, expresses people's yearning for a happy life and their wishes for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wish, people simply paste the word "福" upside down, which means "happiness has fallen" and "blessing has arrived". There is also a folk legend about the word "福" being pasted upside down. Zhu Zhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, used the word "福" as a secret sign to prepare for murder. The kind-hearted Queen Ma decided to avoid the tragedy of killing, so she ordered everyone in the city to put a label with the character "福" on their doors before dawn. Naturally, no one dared to disobey Queen Ma's will, so everyone put a label with the character "福" on their doors. One of the families was illiterate and actually pasted the word "福" upside down. On the next day, the emperor sent someone to check the streets and found that every family had pasted the stickers with the character "福", and one family had the character "福" upside down. The emperor was furious after hearing the report, and immediately ordered the imperial guards to kill the entire family. Empress Ma realized what happened and told Zhu Yuanzhang, "that family knew you are coming today, so had purposely turned the label with the label "福" upside down. Doesn't that mean "luck arrives"?" The emperor heard that it made sense, and gave the order Let him go, and a catastrophe is finally eliminated. From then on, people began to paste the character "福" upside down, firstly to bring good luck, and secondly to commemorate Queen Ma.
There are also folk people who carefully draw the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity stars, longevity peaches, carps jumping over dragon gates, good harvests, dragons and phoenixes, etc. In the past, there was a folk saying that "on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, every family wrote big characters". The word "福" used to be mostly handwritten, but now it is sold in markets and shops.
Accepting the God of Wealth
According to folklore, the fifth day of the first lunar month is the birthday of the God of Wealth, so after the first day of the Lunar New Year, the next most important activity is to receive the God of Wealth ------- The night before the birthday, each family prepares a banquet to congratulate the God of Wealth.
There are many folk legends about the God of Wealth:
In the Song Dynasty, Cai Jing was rich. According to folk legend, he was the god of wealth. He was born on the fifth day of the first lunar month, so the people regarded him as the God of Wealth. Sacrifice handle. After Cai Jing was demoted, the people replaced the God of Wealth. At that time, the national surname of the Song Dynasty was Zhao, and the character Xuan was a component of the character "Lan", so the God of Wealth was given the name Zhao Xuantan to worship.
On the fifth day of the lunar month, the God of Wealth is received, and Zhao Xuan Tan is the most respected. Many shops and residences enshrine his woodblock-printed statues: the mysterious altar has a face like the bottom of a pot, holding a steel whip in hand, and riding a black tiger, which is extremely powerful.
In addition to Zhao Xuantan being revered as the "righteous God of Wealth", there are also folk sayings as the "Partial God of Wealth" Wuxian Wealth God, the "Literary God of Wealth" Caibo Xingjun and the "Martial God of Wealth" Guan Shengdijun.
The belief in the Five-Hand God of Wealth is popular in the Luyuan area of ??Dexing, Jiangxi. The first character of the title of the five brothers is "Xian", so they are called "Five-Xian God of Wealth". He robbed the rich and gave to the poor during his lifetime, but after his death he still punished the evil and promoted the good, and protected the poor people. There is the Five-Hand God of Wealth Temple outside Andingmen in Beijing.
The "God of Wealth and Wealth", Cai Bo Xingjun, is also known as the "God of Fortune and Wealth". His portraits are often listed with the three stars of "Fu", "Lu" and "Shou" and the God of Joy. For blessing, wealth, longevity, wealth and happiness. Caibo Xingjun has a white face and long hair, and holds a treasure basin in his hand. This is where the four words "recruiting wealth and treasures" come from. Most people will hang this picture in the main hall during the Spring Festival to pray for wealth and good luck.
The "Martial God of Wealth" Guan Sheng Emperor is Guan Yu and Guan Yunchang. Legend has it that Guan Yun had been in charge of military stations, was good at calculations, invented the daily necessities, and was trustworthy and loyal, so he was worshiped by merchants. Most merchants regard Guan Gong as their patron saint, and Guan Gong is also regarded as a person who attracts wealth. God of Wealth.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, all shops open for business. Early in the morning, gongs, firecrackers and food are prepared to welcome the God of Wealth. Gu Tieqing of the Qing Dynasty quoted a poem about bamboo branches by Cai Yun in "Qing Jia Lu", which describes the situation of Suzhou people welcoming the God of Wealth on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year: "Five days for wealth, five days for wealth, one year's wish will be rewarded in one hour; beware of other places to welcome God early, overnight Hurriedly hugging the road." "Bao Lutou" also means "welcoming the God of Wealth". Merchants who believe in the Holy Lord Guan will offer sacrifices to Guan Gong on the fifth day of the first lunar month, set off firecrackers, and burn gold paper to worship him, hoping that the Holy Lord Guan will bless him with good fortune for the year.
Set off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year
There is a Chinese folk 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". It originated very early and has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Nowadays, most of us believe that setting off firecrackers can create a festive atmosphere and is an entertainment activity during the festival. It can bring joy and good luck to people. However, if we trace the origin of firecrackers, we will understand the original intention of ancient people setting off firecrackers and the history of their evolution.
The "Records of the Years of Jingchu" records: "On the first day of the first lunar month, when the rooster crows, firecrackers are fired in front of the court to avoid the evil spirits from the mountain." This record shows that firecrackers were a kind of food in ancient times. Sound tools are used to drive away plague and evil spirits, which makes the custom of setting off firecrackers a certain superstitious color from the beginning. In fact, this is entirely caused by the misunderstanding of the ancients.
According to the "Shenyi Jing", in ancient times, people passed through the mountains and slept outdoors, and lit bonfires at night, firstly to cook and keep warm, and secondly to prevent wild beasts from attacking. However, there is an animal in the mountains that is neither afraid of people nor fire, and often steals food when people are not prepared.
In order to deal with this kind of animal, people think of burning firecrackers in the fire and using the popping sound of bamboo to make it escape. The animal mentioned here is called "Shanxi". The ancients said that it can make people suffer from cold and fever. It is a ghost that can make people suffer from cold and fever diseases. It scares away the bad smell of the mountain, that is, it drives away the plague evil, so that it can bring good luck and peace.
In the early Tang Dynasty, when the plague was widespread, a man named Li Tian put saltpeter in a bamboo tube and lit it to make a louder sound and thicker smoke. As a result, the mountain miasma was dispelled. Stopped the epidemic. This is the earliest prototype of firecrackers filled with gunpowder. Later, when gunpowder appeared, people filled bamboo tubes with saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal and burned them, creating "firecrackers." By the Song Dynasty, people began to use paper tubes and hemp stems to wrap gunpowder and weave them into strings to make "weipao" (i.e. firecrackers). Regarding the evolution of firecrackers, "Popular Choreography" records: "Firecrackers in ancient times were all fired with real bamboo, so the Tang Dynasty poems were also called firecrackers. Later generations rolled paper for them. They were called "firecrackers."
Setting off firecrackers has become a recreational activity with national characteristics. In addition to setting off firecrackers during the Spring Festival to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, people also set off firecrackers during major festivals and happy events, such as the Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, weddings, house building, and openings. etc., they also set off firecrackers to celebrate the New Year.
Eating dumplings during the New Year
Dumplings are a folk food with a long history and are very popular among the people. There is a saying among the people: "Dumplings are not as delicious as dumplings." " is a common saying. During the New Year festival, dumplings have become an indispensable delicacy.
According to the "Guang Ya" written by Zhang Yi, a native of the Wei Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms, at that time, dumplings were shaped like a crescent moon and were called The shape of "wonton" food is basically similar to that of today's dumplings. By the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wontons were "shaped like a crescent moon and were eaten all over the world." It is speculated that after the dumplings were cooked, they were not taken out and eaten alone. The soup is mixed together in a bowl and eaten, so people at that time called dumplings "wontons". This way of eating is still popular in some areas of our country. For example, people in Henan, Shaanxi and other places eat dumplings by putting some in the soup. Cilantro, chopped green onions, dried shrimps, leeks and other small ingredients.
The Spring Festival is a happy and peaceful festival, and it is also a day for family reunions. Children who are away from home have to go home to celebrate the New Year's Eve. , is the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month in the old year, also called New Year's Eve, also called Reunion Eve. At this time of transition between the old and the new, staying up late is one of the most important annual activities. On New Year's Eve, the whole family stays up together to stay up late and have a happy gathering. Drink heartily and enjoy family happiness. There is a custom of eating dumplings on New Year's Eve in northern areas. The method of making dumplings is to mix the noodles first, and the word "harmony" means "he". The word "jiaohe" in dumplings is a homophone, and "he" and "jiao" mean to get together, and they also take the form It means New Year's Eve. In the South, it is customary to eat rice cakes during the New Year. The sweet and sticky rice cakes symbolize the sweetness and happiness of life in the new year.
The warm atmosphere of the festival not only permeates every home. Households also fill the streets and alleys of various places. In some local markets, there are also customs such as lion dances, dragon lanterns, fire performances, flower markets, temple fairs and other customs. During this period, the city is full of lanterns, and the streets are full of tourists. It is a lively and grand event. Unprecedentedly, the Spring Festival is not really over until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
The original meaning of the Spring Festival and the New Year comes from agriculture. In ancient times, people called the growth cycle of grains ". "Nian", "Shuowen. Hebu": "Nian, the grain is ripe. The lunar calendar came into being during the Xia and Shang dynasties. The moon cycle was used as the month, and the year was divided into twelve months. The day when the moon was not visible was called the new moon of each month. The first day of the first lunar month was called the first day of the year, which is the first day of the year. Beginning, also called Nian, the name of Nian started from the Zhou Dynasty. It was not officially fixed until the Western Han Dynasty and continues to this day. But in ancient times, the first day of the first lunar month was called "New Year's Day". It was not until the victory of the Revolution of 1911 in modern China that the Nanjing Provisional Government stipulated the use of the lunar calendar among the people in order to adapt to the agricultural season and facilitate statistics, and the Gregorian calendar was implemented in government agencies, factories, mines, schools and groups. , the first day of the first lunar month of the Gregorian calendar is called New Year's Day, and the first day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar is called the Spring Festival.
On September 27, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. At the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, it was adopted that the world's common Gregorian calendar should be used, and the first day of the first month of the Gregorian calendar was designated as the Gregorian calendar. New Year's Day is commonly known as the solar year; the first day of the first lunar month is usually around the beginning of spring, so the first month of the lunar calendar is definitely the "Spring Festival", commonly known as the lunar year.
In the traditional sense, the Spring Festival refers to the period from the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, or the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, with New Year's Eve and the first day of the first lunar month as the climax. During the Spring Festival, a traditional festival, my country's Han nationality and most ethnic minorities hold various celebration activities. Most of these activities focus on worshiping gods and Buddhas, paying homage to ancestors, removing the old and bringing in the new, welcoming the new year, welcoming good fortune, and praying for a good harvest. The activities are rich and colorful with strong national characteristics.
Staying up late on New Year's Eve is the custom of not sleeping on the last night of the old year and staying up late to welcome the arrival of the new year. It is also called staying up late on New Year's Eve, and is commonly known as "staying up late". Looking into the origin of this custom, there is an interesting story spread among the people:
In ancient times, there was a ferocious monster that lived scattered in the deep mountains and dense forests. People called them "Nian". It has a ferocious appearance and a ferocious nature. It specializes in eating birds, beasts, and scale insects. It changes its taste every day, ranging from kowtowing insects to living people, making people talk about "New Year".
Later, people gradually grasped the activity pattern of "Nian". It would rush to crowded places to taste fresh food every three hundred and sixty-five days, and its appearance time would always be after dark, until the rooster crows and dawn. , they returned to the mountains and forests.
The custom of keeping the year old arose in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Many literati in the Liang Dynasty wrote poems about keeping the year old. "One night lasts two years, and the fifth watch divides two years." People light candles or oil lamps and keep vigil all night, symbolizing driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to good luck in the new year. This custom has been passed down to this day.
Spring Festival Legend 2: Wannian created the calendar
According to legend, in ancient times, there was a young man named Wannian. He saw that the festivals were very chaotic at that time, and he had an idea. The plan to set the seasons accurately. But he couldn't find a way to calculate time. One day, when he was tired from going up the mountain to chop firewood, he sat under the shade of a tree to rest. The movement of the tree shadows inspired him. He designed a dial to measure the sun's shadow and measure the time of the day. Later, the dripping spring on the cliff inspired him, and he made a five-layer clepsydra to calculate time. As time went by, he discovered that every three hundred and sixty days, the four seasons cycled around again, and the length of the days repeated themselves.
The king at that time was named Zu Yi, and he was often troubled by the unpredictable weather conditions. After Wan Nian found out, he took the sundial and the clepsydra to see the emperor and explained to Zu Yi the principles of the movement of the sun and the moon. After Zu Yi heard this, Long Yan was overjoyed and felt that it made sense. So he left ten thousand years to build the Sun and Moon Pavilion in front of the Temple of Heaven, and built the sundial platform and leaky pot pavilion. He also hopes to accurately measure the laws of the sun and the moon, calculate the accurate morning and evening times, and create a calendar to benefit the people of the world.