The Spring Festival is one of the most important festivals in our country. During the Spring Festival, tourists who are away from home go home one after another to reunite with their families. Every house is decorated with lights and colors and plays festive music. It is extremely lively. Below are the traditional customs of the Spring Festival that I have compiled for you. You are welcome to learn from them and refer to them. It will definitely be helpful to you.
What are the traditional customs during the Spring Festival?
The first day of the first lunar month
The first day of the first lunar month was originally called "New Year's Day". The original meaning of "Yuan" is "head", which was later extended. for "start". This day is the first day of the year, the first day of spring, and the first day of the first month, so it is called "Three Yuan".
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, people set off firecrackers first, which is called "opening the firecrackers." After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with red, as bright as clouds and brocade, which was called "Full of Red". People get up early, dress up, go out to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, and wish each other a happy New Year.
The second day of the first lunar month
On the second day of the first lunar month, a married daughter will return to her natal family, and her husband will accompany her, so it is commonly known as the "Welcoming Son-in-Law Day". On this day, the daughter who returns to her natal family must bring some gifts and red envelopes to distribute to the children of her natal family, and have lunch at her natal family, but she must rush back to her husband's house before dinner, which is called "the first month of the year." In the past, families would also choose this day to take a family photo.
In the north, the God of Wealth is worshiped on the second day of the first lunar month. Whether it is a commercial shop or an ordinary family, activities to worship the God of Wealth must be held. In the past, big business houses in old Beijing would hold large-scale sacrificial activities on this day, and the sacrifices would also include the "five major sacrifices", namely whole pigs, whole sheep, whole chickens, whole ducks, red live carps, etc., in the hope of making a fortune this year.
The third day of the first lunar month
In most places across the country, the time to "go back to your parents' home" is usually arranged on the second day of the first lunar month. However, in Shandong and other places, it is not until the third day of the first lunar month that you "go back to your parents' home." ".
In some northern areas, the third day of junior high school is called "Broom Day". Because on this day, you can clean up the garbage from the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, pick up your own broom and clean the room, and when cleaning, you must sweep from the outside in, which means to gather wealth.
The meaning of the Spring Festival
1. Paste Spring Festival couplets and door gods
Spring couplets express people’s good wishes for the New Year, and door gods are used to ward off evil spirits. The red couplets on the door and the brand-new door gods must be posted on New Year’s Eve to tell people: New Year is here!
2. Ancestor worship:
The ancients attached great importance to New Year sacrifices ancestral custom. Although there are different forms of ancestor worship due to different customs in different places, they all mean that future generations will not forget their ancestors on the occasion of the festival, remember their ancestors, and pray for their ancestors' blessings and good fortune throughout the year.
There are different places to worship ancestors. Some go to ancestral graves to worship ancestors, and others go to ancestral halls to worship ancestors. However, for the convenience of worshiping ancestors, many people worship at home. It is more important to place the ancestors’ tablets at home. Before each meal, please ask people to use it before the family starts eating.
3. Staying up late on New Year's Eve
The whole family sits together around the fire and cannot sleep till midnight, which is called staying up late.
On the occasion of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new, people should make their New Year's wishes and summarize the gains of the past year. This is a time when the family enjoys family time and looks forward to the future. Therefore, people who are away from home should rush home before New Year’s Eve to reunite with their families.
4. Make a prosperous fire
On New Year’s Eve, a bonfire is lit outside the house. The stronger the fire, the better, which means that people are prosperous and the grain is abundant.
In some places, the act of igniting a vigorous fire is called "raising the fire", which means that if the fire is a little more prosperous, the new year will be prosperous.
5. Eating New Year’s Eve dinner
There are many traditional New Year’s Eve dinners. Dumplings for northerners and wontons for southerners are must-haves. Their shapes are like ingots, which means wealth in the coming year. . "Fish" is homophonic to "surplus", and it is also an auspicious dish that has more than enough every year on the New Year's dinner table.
6. Receiving Gods
On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, after reporting their work to the Jade Emperor, the gods will return to earth on New Year’s Eve, so every household begins to welcome the gods after midnight. Return, use the firecrackers one after another to guide the direction, and invite the gods to your home to bless your family.
The origin of the Spring Festival
The origin of the Spring Festival has a history of more than 4,000 years in China. It is the most lively and solemn traditional festival among Chinese people. The ancient Spring Festival, It refers to the "beginning of spring" season among the twenty-four solar terms of the lunar calendar. After the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Spring Festival was moved to the end of the year, and generally refers to the entire spring. At this time, the earth returns to spring and everything is renewed, and people regard it as the new year. In the early years of the Republic of China after the Revolution of 1911, when the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar, the first day of the first lunar month was designated as the Spring Festival. It was not until September 27, 1949 that the Chinese People's Consultative Conference officially changed the first day of the first lunar month to the tenth day of the first lunar month. The New Year on May is designated as the "Spring Festival", so many people still call the Spring Festival the Chinese New Year.
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