1. Customs of the Spring Festival

1. Sacrificing stoves on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month

In China, the Spring Festival usually begins with offering sacrifices to stoves. Sacrificing a stove is a custom that has great influence and spread widely among the people in our country. In the old days, almost every kitchen had a "kitchen god" god.

2. Sweep the dust on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month

"Sweep the dust and sweep the house on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month". According to Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, China had the custom of sweeping the dust during the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun Dynasties. According to the folk saying: Because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival has the meaning of "except Chen Buxin", and its intention is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom is entrusted with people's desire to break through the old and establish the new and their prayer 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 appliances, tear down and wash bedding curtains, sweep the six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge open channels and culverts. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of engaging in sanitation and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

3. On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the Jade Emperor was supposed to go down to the next world on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month after the kitchen god went to heaven, to investigate the good and evil on earth and decide the fortunes of the coming year, so every family offered a blessing to it, which was called "receiving the Jade Emperor". On this day, we should be careful in our daily life and words, and strive for good performance in order to win the favor of the Jade Emperor and bring good fortune to the coming year.

4. Bathing on the 27th and 28th of the twelfth lunar month

In traditional folk customs, it is necessary to take a bath and wash clothes intensively in these two days to get rid of the bad luck of the year and prepare for the Spring Festival next year. There is a proverb in Beijing that "twenty-seven washes the ill and twenty-eight washes the sloppy". Bathing on the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month is "washing Fulu".

5. On New Year's Eve of the twelfth lunar month, people stick up the door gods, put up Spring Festival couplets, watch the New Year's Eve, firecrackers, eat New Year's Eve, give lucky money, and pay homage to their ancestors.

New Year's Eve means "the month is poor and the old year is exhausted". People have to get rid of the old and get rid of the new, which means to get a new year in the coming year. It is the last night of the lunar year. Therefore, the activities during this period are centered on eliminating the old and renewing the new, eliminating disasters and praying for blessings.

There is a custom of sticking to the door in Chinese New Year. At first, the doorkeeper carved mahogany into a human figure and hung it next to people. Later, it was painted as a doorkeeper and posted on the door.

One source of Spring Festival couplets is the peach symbol. At first, people carved figures in mahogany and hung them by the door to ward off evil spirits. Later, they painted the door gods on the mahogany, and then simplified them to write the names of the door gods on the mahogany board.

paste blessings, stick grilles, New Year pictures and thousands of pictures. These have the folk functions of blessing and decorating the residence. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China. They reflect the customs and beliefs of the people and place their hopes on the future.

Keeping the Year, the folk in China have the habit of keeping the Year on New Year's Eve. Watching the New Year begins with eating New Year's Eve. This New Year's Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, from the time when the lantern is lit, and some families have to eat it until late at night. According to Zonggu's Record of Jingchu's Years Old, it was customary to have New Year's Eve dinner at least in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The custom of observing the old age not only contains feelings of farewell and nostalgia for the years that have passed away like water, but also expresses good hope for the coming New Year.

firecrackers, there is a folk saying in China that "open the door firecrackers". That is, at the arrival of the new year, the first thing for every household to open the door is to set off firecrackers to eliminate the old and welcome the new with the sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". Its origin is very early, and it has a history of more than two thousand years. 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. Wang Anshi's poem "January Day":

Spring breeze warms Tu Su.

every household has a pupil day.

Always change new peaches for old ones.

depicts the grand festive scene of Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival.

Eating New Year's Eve is the most lively and enjoyable time for every household in the Spring Festival. On New Year's Eve, a table was filled with rich new year's dishes, and the whole family was reunited, sitting around the table, and having a family reunion dinner, the sense of fulfillment in my heart was really unspeakable.

Give lucky money, which is given by the elders to the younger generation. In some families, after dinner, everyone is not allowed to leave at the table. When everyone has finished eating, the elders will give it to the younger generation, and encourage their children and grandchildren to learn and make progress in the new year.

in ancient times, ancestor worship was very popular. Due to the different manners and customs in different places, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to visit the ancestral graves in the wild, and some go to the ancestral halls to worship their ancestors. Most of them put their ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to display their offerings, and then the worshippers offer incense and bow down in order of age.

6. Pay New Year greetings on the first day of the first month

On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the doors are open, firecrackers will be set off first, which is called "opening firecrackers". After the sound of firecrackers, the ground is full of broken red, which is called "full house red" At this time, the streets are full of anger and joy.

An important activity in the Spring Festival is to celebrate the Spring Festival at the homes and neighbors of new friends and friends, formerly known as New Year greetings. 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 good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings, some of which are led by the same clan leader to pay New Year's greetings door to door. Some colleagues invite several people to pay New Year greetings; There are also people who get together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship". Because it took time and effort to pay a New Year call at home, some elites and scholars later used stickers to congratulate each other, thus developing the later "new year card". When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to their elders, wishing them a long and healthy life. The elders can distribute the lucky money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that the lucky money can suppress evil spirits, because "old" and "special" are homophonic, and the younger generation can spend one year safely with the lucky money.

7. Visiting temple fairs

Visiting temple fairs is the Spring Festival complex of most people in China, and it is also an indispensable custom. Temple fairs in the Spring Festival were originally folk religious ceremonies. At the time of temple fairs, monks and Taoist priests usually performed "rituals" or "Dojo" to offer sacrifices to the gods and buddhas. People also had to make pilgrimages, make vows, make vows and seek blessings. During the temple fair, there are also vendors selling and folk art performances. At the temple fair, there are many traditional events with a long history that are deeply loved by ordinary people, such as lion dance, dragon dance, yangko dance, walking on stilts, and roller boating.

8. Watching the social fire

Apart from the temple fair, the social fire, in which people perform and entertain themselves, is also an entertainment activity with a long history. Social fire originated from the ancient worship of land gods and fire gods. Society, the land god; Fire, the ancestor of fire, is the legendary Vulcan. In China, which is famous for its agricultural culture, land is the foundation of people's foothold, and it has laid a material foundation for human survival and development. Fire is the source of people's cooked food and heating, and it is also an indispensable condition for human survival and development. Ancient people believed that fire also had "spirit" with primitive thinking, and regarded it as a sacred object with special meaning to worship, thus forming the concept of respecting fire. The worship of ancient land and fire has produced the custom of offering sacrifices to the society and fire. With the development of society, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to social fires has gradually become a grand, rich and diverse folk entertainment activity.

9. Dragon dance

Dragon dance, also known as "playing with dragon lanterns" and "dragon lantern dance", is one of the traditional dance forms of the Han nationality. Every festival, there is a custom of dragon dancing everywhere.

Dragon dance originated in the Han Dynasty, and it has survived from generation to generation. Dragon dance was originally a ritual to worship ancestors and pray for rain, and later it gradually became a recreational activity. By the Tang and Song Dynasties, dragon dancing had become a common form of expression on holidays.

There is a folk legend about the origin of dragon dance: One day, the dragon king suffered from unbearable low back pain, and all the medicines in the Dragon Palace were taken, but it still didn't work. I had to become an old man and come to the world for medical treatment. The doctor felt strange after feeling the pulse and asked, "You are not human, are you? "The dragon king can't hide it, so he has to tell the truth. So the doctor changed him back to his original shape and caught a centipede from the scales around his waist. After poisoning and dressing, the Dragon King recovered completely. In order to thank the doctor for his treatment, the Dragon King said, "As long as you dance and play with dragons like me, you will have a good weather and a good harvest.". After this incident came out, people thought that dragons could spread clouds and rain, and they danced dragons to pray for rain whenever there was drought. There were also rules of spring dance Qinglong, Red Dragon in summer, White Dragon in autumn and Black Dragon in winter.

11, lion dance

Lion dance, also known as "playing the lion" and "lion dance", is a traditional dance form in China and a popular folk sports activity, just like dragon dance. They will also dance lions during the Spring Festival or celebrations.

Lion dancing began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In China, there are various forms of lion dance, which can be roughly divided into two types: northern lion dance and southern lion dance. The appearance of the lion dance in the north is very similar to that of a real lion, and the whole body is covered with a lion's cloak. The lion dancer (usually two people dance together to form a big lion) only shows his feet, but does not see him. There are female and male lion dances in the north, as well as literary lions, martial lions, adult lions and young lions.

Southern lion dance is mainly popular in Guangdong. This kind of lion dance consists of one person dancing the lion head and one person dancing the lion tail. Lions are different from northern lions in shape, style and color. Lion dancers wear all kinds of knickerbockers and Tang-style lantern sleeves or vests with tight buttons, showing the whole body of lion dancers. Try your best to dance the lion

Why do people especially like to dance the lion during the Spring Festival? According to legend, in the early Ming Dynasty, a monster appeared in Foshan, Guangdong Province. At the turn of the new year, it came out to ruin crops and hurt people and animals, and the people complained bitterly. Later, it was suggested that lion dance be used to scare the monster, and it really worked, and the monster ran away. The local people think that lions have the power to exorcise evil spirits and have auspicious omen, so they beat gongs and drums every Spring Festival, go door to door and dance lions to celebrate the New Year, so as to eliminate disasters and forecast good luck.

second, eating customs during the spring festival

in the ancient agricultural society, housewives were busy preparing new year's food after the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Because it takes a long time to marinate preserved meat, it must be prepared as soon as possible. Many provinces in China have the custom of marinating preserved meat, among which Guangdong Province is the most famous preserved meat.

steamed rice cakes, which are homophonic and have varied tastes, have almost become a necessary food for every family. The styles of rice cakes are square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and express the meaning of making a fortune in the New Year. The taste of rice cakes varies from place to place. Beijingers like to eat red date rice cakes, hundred fruit rice cakes and white rice cakes made of glutinous rice or yellow rice. Hebei people like to add jujube, red bean and mung bean to the rice cake and steam it together. In northern Shanxi, in Inner Mongolia and other places, it is customary to eat fried rice cakes with yellow rice flour during the New Year, and some of them are stuffed with bean paste and jujube paste, while Shandong people steam rice cakes with yellow rice and red dates. The rice cakes in the north are mainly sweet, steamed or fried, and some people simply eat them with sugar. The rice cakes in the south are both sweet and salty, such as those in Suzhou and Ningbo, which are made of japonica rice and have a light taste. In addition to steaming and frying, you can also slice and fry or cook soup. Sweet rice cakes are made of glutinous rice flour with white sugar, lard, rose, sweet-scented osmanthus, mint, vegetable paste and other ingredients. They are fine in workmanship and can be steamed directly or fried with egg white.

In jiaozi, there is a tradition of eating jiaozi at the Northern New Year's Eve, but the customs of eating jiaozi vary from place to place. Some places eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve, some places eat jiaozi on the first day of school, and some mountainous areas in the North have the custom of eating jiaozi every morning from the first day to the fifth day. Eating jiaozi is a unique way to express people's desire to pray for good luck when they bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new year. According to the ancient timekeeping method in China, the time is from 11 pm to 1 am the next day. The "intersection" is the moment when the new year and the old year intersect. Jiaozi means getting married at an older age, and eating jiaozi during the Spring Festival is considered as a great luck. In addition, jiaozi is shaped like an ingot, and wrapping jiaozi means wrapping good fortune, while eating jiaozi symbolizes prosperity.

The night before the real Chinese New Year is called reunion night. Wanderers who are away from home have to come home from Wan Li for thousands of miles. The whole family has to sit around and wrap jiaozi for the Chinese New Year. jiaozi's practice is to make dumpling skins with flour first, and then use leather bags to stuff them. The contents of the stuffing are varied, and all kinds of meat, eggs, seafood and seasonal vegetables can be stuffed. The orthodox jiaozi is cooked in clear water and mixed with vinegar after being fished up. There are also ways to fry jiaozi and bake jiaozi (fried dumpling). Because the word "He" in dough mixing means "He"; Jiaozi's "Jiao" and "Jiao" are homophonic, and "He" and "Jiao" have the meaning of reunion, so jiaozi is used to symbolize reunion of acacia; It is very auspicious to take the meaning of making friends at an older age; In addition, jiaozi, shaped like an ingot, eats jiaozi during the Chinese New Year, which also has the auspicious meaning of "making a fortune". All the families get together to make a package for jiaozi, so it's fun to celebrate the Spring Festival.

Yuanxiao, the Lantern Festival, is called "Shangyuan Festival" by Taoism. According to Yi Tuzhen's (Female+Lang) Ring Notes in Yuan Dynasty, I quoted Sanyu Tie Notes: After the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, I missed her and became ill. On the fourteenth day of the first month, a boy suddenly asked for an audience, claiming to be the envoy of Chang 'e, saying, "Madam knows that you are thinking, and there is no way to get down. Tomorrow is the full moon, so you should use rice flour as a pill, and place it in the northwest of the room, calling it Madam's name, and you can get down in three nights." You followed the law, and Chang 'e really came. It can be seen that eating Yuanxiao on the Lantern Festival means "reunion as the moon".

In the Ming Dynasty, Lantern Festival was very common in Beijing, and the practice was no different from today. During the reign of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty, "Eight Treasures Lantern Festival" and Ma Siyuan Lantern Festival prevailed in the ruling and opposition parties. In the early years of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai ordered the ban on shouting Yuanxiao because it had the same pronunciation as "Yuan Xiao". In addition to glutinous rice noodles, there are glutinous sorghum noodles, yellow wheat and so on. The stuffing is sweet-scented osmanthus sugar, mountain slag sugar, assorted, bean paste, jujube paste and so on. Physically, it is as big as a walnut, but also as small as a soybean, "Tang Yuan with a hundred philosophers", and a "Lupi Soup Garden" with solid dumplings and thin skin.