Beijing
Since the twelfth lunar month, there have been literati writing Spring Festival couplets under the eaves of shopping malls in an attempt to earn some money for the New Year. After the sacrifice, the new Spring Festival couplets were gradually posted, and thousands of families took on a new look. Some people use James Zhu, others use red paper, and only the imperial court and imperial clan princes use white paper with red and blue edges as the rules. Those who are not imperial clan shall not use them at will.
In the twelfth lunar month, plum blossoms will be tied in a big-bellied and small-mouthed utensil and placed about five feet underground. When the fire warms the ground slightly, the plum blossoms will gradually turn white, put in paper cages and sell in the city. Momo, plum blossom and Spring Festival are also acceptable. In busy areas, stalls are set up to sell pictures, and women and children compete to buy them for fun.
Shandong Province
Eating wonton on New Year's Day in Ningyang County is called "filling the warehouse". In Huangxian County and Penglai area, it is wasteful to get up early on New Year's Day. The hostess holds a red candle to light up every corner of the room, which means to drive away the darkness with light, and then paste all kinds of window grilles made of flour on the windowsill. After getting up, the child has to climb the door and play three swings. It is said that they grow very fast. In some areas, cooking jiaozi with sesame stems means that the New Year rises like sesame blossoms, and steamed bread should be put in the pot after meals, which means there are "leftover heads". In the first year, the new wife in Jiaodong will go to her husband's grandparents' house to pay a New Year call, which is called "Zagen". It is said that when you get to your grandparents' house, you can take root, and there will be no divorce and early widowhood.
Zhejiang Province
On the first day of the Lunar New Year in Wucheng County, a long pole sokcho was placed on it, which was lit and burned, and gongs and drums were played, which was called "Qingtian Silkworm". Light a lantern on the pole until March 3. Ningbo should eat bean porridge after ancestor worship on the first day of New Year's Day, and order a "closing cannon" before closing the door at night. Shaoxing uses a "tea bowl" for Chinese New Year guests, in which olives and kumquat are put, and tea eggs are put at the same time, which is called "holding gold ingots".
Shanxi province
There are few customs of worshipping gods and ancestors in Shanxi now, but the rule of eating and not talking at the age of 30 still exists. The first meal of the Spring Festival is jiaozi. When cooking jiaozi, set off firecrackers. In order to drive away evil and seek good luck, jiaozi is cooked with sesame stalks in some areas, which means that the new year is like sesame blossoms and the days are getting better and better. Jiaozi wants to cook more, it must be more than enough. When eating, in addition to one bowl per person, one or two more bowls should be served in order to prosper the population.
Fujian Province
Before going out on New Year's Day, Xiamen people should worship the jade emperor in the sky, which is called "offering sacrifices to the gods". Sacrifice flowers and fruits to God in the morning, and sacrifice and a bowl of spring rice to God at noon. Spring rice is a spring flower made by inserting red paper on white rice. "Spring" and "leftover" are homophonic in Min dialect, and spring rice is a good choice because of its "surplus every year". The fourth day in Zhangzhou is called "Jiegu". In addition to burning incense in the temple, a candy and cake box called "recommendation box" should be prepared to welcome the gods in the main hall.
Liaoning province
Many people in Liaoning light the longevity lantern on New Year's Eve and keep it on all night. From New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month, every family hangs red lanterns, lights are lit on New Year's Eve, and lights are lit all night, which means longevity.
Married daughters can't spend the New Year at their parents' home, otherwise this year will be bad for their brothers. That's what the so-called "don't look at the bride's lamp" means on New Year's Eve. Of course, this custom with feudal superstition has been gradually forgotten with the progress of society and the changes of the times.
Guangdong Province
In Haifeng area, young people and elders pay New Year greetings, and elders will give them red envelopes or oranges. Chaozhou's Spring Festival diet includes pickled vegetables, rotten jiaozi, fermented steamed stuffed buns, tube frying and five-fruit soup. On the fourth night, every household should light a lamp and prepare a jar of water, which is called "waiting for water". On the first day of the first month in Dongguan, taro is offered with sugar, which is called "wealth is predestined friends".
Jiangsu Province
During the Spring Festival in Jiangning County, a rooster was posted at your door. On New Year's Day, there were more believers in Wuxian than in Tong Yuan Temple. Suzhou people's congress needs three firecrackers to open the door in advance on the first day of the lunar new year, which is called "promotion to the third level" When you go out in the morning, you should follow the direction specified by the Gregorian calendar, that is, the so-called "happy side of God", and go to temples such as the City God Temple and the Land Fair to burn incense. You have to go through ten temples, which is the so-called "ten temples to burn incense". From New Year's Day to Lantern Festival, huge coal is burning in the stove, which is called "Happy Group".
Heilongjiang province
It is the custom of northerners to eat jiaozi during the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, we must eat jiaozi, but people in Heilongjiang have to wrap some coins (usually peanuts or other nuts instead) in the jiaozi. Whoever eats this kind of jiaozi indicates good luck and good luck in the new year. In addition, Heilongjiang must eat jiaozi on the fifth day, also known as "breaking the fifth day", which means biting jiaozi, which means destroying all unlucky things, and it means driving away disasters and evil spirits.
Sichuan Province
Chengdu people don't eat during the New Year because "rice" and "sin" are homophonic. In order to avoid taboos, they eat glutinous rice balls or dried noodles to pray for family reunion and longevity. Liu Ge and other places will celebrate the "off-year" on the seventh day of the first month. Besides worshipping God and ancestors, they will also have a family reunion dinner. Chengdu people visit Du Fu Caotang in the western suburbs every day. On the first day of the Lunar New Year in Changshou County, nine candles are lit outside the door, which are called "nine-level candles" to respect heaven and earth.
Shanxi(Province)
All the clans in Fuping County are portraits of their ancestors. On the first day, they called their children and grandchildren to worship. After the sacrifice, they were given a golden banquet called "Sacrifice Sitting". On the second day of the following year, relatives and friends give each other pasta and pork, which is called "Worship Festival". On the first day of New Year's Day in Gaoling County, yellow paper is hung on a bamboo pole at dawn to worship heaven, which is called "welcoming the gods". It is said that charcoal can be hung on the door, and it can kill the plague. Shiquan County takes yellow paper as money and hangs it on the door on New Year's Day, named "Bao Gai Qian". Lintong county regards the fifth day as "send the poor festival". After cutting the paper, every household takes it to the door and throws it away. Everyone must eat enough on that day, which is called "filling the five poor"
Jilin province
Due to the cold weather in Northeast China, some fruits will have different tastes after freezing. The most common are iced pears and frozen persimmons. It is understood that the purest is frozen autumn pear. In Jilin, there is a kind of pear called Qiuli, which is sour and astringent when it is just picked, so people pick it and put it directly under the tree and cover it with a layer of leaves. The frozen autumn pear is sweet and sour, and the juice is abundant. Frozen pears should be thawed in water before eating. Eating this pear after New Year's Eve can relieve hangover and boredom.
For everyone in China, the Spring Festival is definitely the biggest and most lively traditional festival of the year. During the Chinese New Year, people in China have different customs in terms of house furnishings, family's food, clothing, housing and transportation, behavior and catering. The same Spring Festival is different in the north and south of the river, and many places have their own unique Spring Festival customs.
"Twenty-three, cantaloupe stick" in the folk song of offering sacrifices to stoves refers to offering sacrifices to stoves on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month every year. On this day, old people will "invite" (actually buy) a painting of Kitchen God and Kitchen God's grandmother and hang it respectfully in the kitchen. This day is the day when Kitchen God plays with things in the sky. On the kitchen table, there are four plates of "dried fruits", such as red dates, walnuts, dried persimmons and kitchen candy. The first three can be changed at random, but kitchen candy (sesame candy) must be available. This is because sesame candy is sticky and sweet, which can make the kitchen god "speak well in heaven and return to the palace for good luck". In the middle of the altar, in addition to the sweet and salty cakes made at home, there must be a killed rooster. Because according to legend, Kitchen God rode a rooster to heaven.
Sweeping the dust "Sweeping the house with dust on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month" is a custom that places people's desire to break new ground and pray to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of electrical appliances, remove and wash bedding curtains, sweep six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge culverts in open channels. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of cleaning and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.
Sticking Spring Festival couplets is also called door couplets, Spring Festival couplets, couplets and peach symbols. It depicts the background of the times and expresses good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should choose a pair of red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival.
On the stick grilles, folks also like to stick various paper-cuts on the windows-window grilles. Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in China, which has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is often pasted on the window, it is also called "window grilles".
Posting the word "Fu" upside down is a long-standing folk custom in China. The word "Fu" symbolizes good luck and wishes for a happy life and a bright future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply put the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "Fu has arrived" and "Fu has arrived".
It is also common to hang New Year pictures in urban and rural areas during the Spring Festival. Thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperous and joyful festive atmosphere to thousands of families. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, which reflects people's simple customs and beliefs and places their hopes on the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods".
Standing guard on New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of vigil on New Year's Eve has a long history. Everyone stays up all night waiting for the dawn, which is called "watch".
Firecrackers There is a folk proverb in China called "Open the door and set off firecrackers". That is, when the new year comes, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, which is a kind of entertainment in festivals and can bring happiness and good luck to people.
On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dress neatly, go out to visit relatives and friends and wish each other a happy new year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings, some of which are led by the same patriarch from door to door. Some colleagues invited several people to pay New Year greetings; Others get together to congratulate each other. This is called "group worship". When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders and wish them health and longevity. The elders can distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that lucky money can kill evil spirits, because "old" and "special" are homophonic, and the younger generation can spend a year safely with lucky money.