The Spring Festival is an ancient festival in China, but also one of the most important festivals throughout the year, how to celebrate this festival, in the development of thousands of years of history, the formation of a number of more fixed customs, many of which are still handed down to this day.

Sweeping dust

"Lunar month 24, dust sweeping house", according to "Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals" records, China in the era of Yao and Shun on the Spring Festival sweeping dust custom. According to folklore: because the "dust" and "Chen" consonant, dust sweeping in the New Year has "in addition to the meaning of Chen Bu Xin", the intention is to all the poor luck, bad luck, swept out the door. This custom is a symbol of people's desire to break away from the old and bring in the new and their prayers for the old and the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean up the environment, wash all kinds of appliances, dismantle the bedding curtains, sprinkle clean the courtyard, dust dust cobwebs, dredge the nullahs and ditches. The whole place is filled with the joyful atmosphere of sanitation and cleanliness to welcome the new year.

New Year's Money

The Spring Festival to pay homage to the New Year, the elders will be prepared in advance of the New Year's money to the younger generation, it is said that the New Year's money can be pressed to stop the evil spirits, because the "age of" and "Sneaky" harmonic, the younger generation to get the New Year's money can be safe and sound through the A year. There are two kinds of New Year's money, one is to colorful rope threaded woven into the shape of a dragon, placed at the foot of the bed, this record is found in the "Yanjing Yearly Record"; the other is the most common, that is, wrapped in red paper by the parents of the money given to the children. New Year's money can be given in public after the younger generation pays homage to the New Year, or it can be placed under the child's pillow by the parents when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve.

Folk believe that when the New Year's money is given to the child, when the evil spirits, demons or the "New Year" go to harm the child, the child can use the money to bribe them to turn bad luck into good luck. Qing people Wu Man Yun "New Year's money" poem in the cloud: "a hundred and ten money through the colorful line long, divided again pillow from the collection, the discussion of firecrackers to talk about xiao price, added to the children of the night busy". From this point of view, the new year's money is tied to a child's heart, and the child's new year's money is mainly used to buy firecrackers, toys and sweets and other festive things.

Now the custom of elders giving new year's money to their seniors is still prevalent, and the amount of money ranges from a few dozen to a few hundred, which is mostly used by children to buy books and school supplies, a new fashion that gives new content to new year's money.

Posting Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets, also known as door pairs, spring stickers, couplets, couplets, peach symbols, etc., which is a unique form of literature in our country, with neat, couplets, simple, exquisite text depicting the background of the times, expressing good wishes. Every Spring Festival, whether urban or rural, every family should select a pair of big red spring couplets posted on the door, for the festival to increase the festive atmosphere. This custom began in the Song Dynasty, began to prevail in the Ming Dynasty, to the Qing Dynasty, the Spring Festival couplets of ideology and artistry have been greatly improved, Liang Zhangzhu prepared by the Spring Festival couplets monograph "Threshold Lian series of words" on the origins of the couplets and various types of works of the characteristics of all made a discussion.

There are many types of spring couplets, which, according to their place of use, can be divided into door centers, frame pairs, horizontal phi, spring strips, and doufang. "Door" in the upper center of the door panel; "frame" on the left and right door frame; "Phi" on the horizontal wood of the door winks; "Chunzhi "according to different content, posted in the corresponding place;" bucket catty "also called" door leaf "for the square diamond, more in the furniture, shadow wall.

Pasted window and upside down "Fu" word

In the folk people also like to put a variety of paper cutouts on the window - window. Window flowers not only set a festive atmosphere, but also decorative, appreciative and practical in one. Paper cutting in China is a very popular folk art, for thousands of years by the people's favorite, because it is mostly affixed to the window, so it is also known as "window flowers". Window flowers with its unique generalization and exaggeration of auspicious events, good wishes expressed in the best, the festival decorated with red hot and rich.

At the same time as the Spring Festival couplets, some people have to put large and small "Fu" characters on the doors, walls and lintels of their houses. The Spring Festival sticker "Fu" character, is China's folk custom from a long time. The character "福" refers to good fortune and good luck, and it expresses people's desire for a happy life and their wish for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wishes, some people simply stick the word "Fu" upside down, indicating that "happiness has arrived" and "good fortune has arrived". Folk will also be "Fu" word fine as a variety of patterns, patterns have the star, longevity, carp jump Dragon Gate, the five valleys, the dragon and phoenix, and so on.

New Year's paintings

The Spring Festival hanging stickers New Year's paintings in urban and rural areas is also very common, thick black colorful New Year's paintings to thousands of families added a lot of prosperity and joy of the festive atmosphere. New Year's paintings are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs, and holding their hopes for the future. New Year's paintings, like spring scrolls, originated as "door gods". With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of the New Year's paintings has not only limited to monotonous themes such as the God of the Door, become colorful, in some of the New Year's paintings workshop produced the "Three Stars of Fortune, Lust and Longevity," "Heavenly Officials Provide Blessings," "Five Grains and Plenty of Fortunes," "Six Animals Prosperity," "Welcoming the Spring Receiving Fortunes," and other classic colorful New Year's paintings, in order to satisfy people's wishes for a happy and prayerful New Year. There are three important production areas of Chinese New Year paintings in China: Taohuayu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong Province; three major schools of Chinese New Year paintings have been formed, each with its own characteristics.

China's current collection of China's earliest New Year's paintings is the Southern Song Dynasty "along with the fair presenting the country of the Fangcheng" woodcut New Year's paintings, the painting is Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and green beads of the four ancient beauties. The most widely circulated folk painting is the one of "The Mouse Marrying Her Marriage". It depicts an interesting scene of a mouse marrying a bride in accordance with the customs of the earth. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo of Shanghai combined the lunar calendar and New Year's paintings. This is a new form of New Year's paintings. This combination of two and one of the New Year's paintings, later developed into a wall calendar, and is still popular throughout the country.

Watch the New Year's Eve

Watch the New Year's Eve is one of the most important New Year's activities, and the custom of watching the New Year's Eve has a long history. The earliest records are found in the Western Jin Dynasty Zhou Chu's "Land and Customs": New Year's Eve night, each with the gift, known as "feed the year"; wine and food invited, known as "don't year"; young and old get together to drink, wishing to complete, known as the "sub year"; everyone all night long to keep the New Year's Eve, the most important activity. "

The first time I saw this is when I was a young man and I had to wait for the day to dawn, so I called it the "New Year's Eve".

"One night even double the year, five nights divided into two days", New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered together, ate the New Year's Eve dinner, light up candles or oil lamps, sitting around the fireplace chatting, waiting for the time to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, the all-night vigil, symbolizing all the evil plague and disease, according to the run away, and look forward to a new year of good luck. This custom gradually prevailed, to the early Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong Li Shimin wrote a "year-keeping" poem: "cold resignation from the winter snow, the warmth of the spring wind". Until today, people are still accustomed to the New Year's Eve to welcome the new year.

Anciently, there are two meanings of year-end vigil: the elderly year-end vigil for the "resignation of the old year", there is the meaning of the treasure of time and light; young people year-end vigil is to extend the life of their parents. Since the Han Dynasty, the moment of the transition between the old and new year is usually the middle of the night.

Firecrackers

Chinese folk "open door firecrackers". That is, at the dawn of the new year, the first thing that families do when they open the door is to set off firecrackers, to beep and blare the sound of firecrackers to get rid of the old and welcome the new. Firecrackers is a Chinese specialty, also known as "firecrackers", "cannonballs", "firecrackers". Its origin is very early, so far has a history of more than two thousand years. Firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere, is a kind of festival entertainment, can bring people joy and good luck. With the passage of time, the application of firecrackers is more and more widely used, varieties and colors are also increasingly numerous, every major festival and joyous celebration, and marriage, building, opening, etc., are to set off firecrackers in order to show the celebration, figure a good luck. Now, Hunan Liuyang, Guangdong Foshan and Dongyao, Jiangxi Yichun and Pingxiang, Wenzhou, Zhejiang and other areas is China's famous hometown of firecrackers, the production of firecrackers colorful, high-quality, not only sells well across the country, but also exported to the world.

Welcome to the New Year

The first day of the New Year, people get up early, put on the most beautiful clothes, dressed neatly, go out to visit friends and relatives, each other, wishing good luck for the coming year. Worship a variety of ways, some of them are the same clan leader led a number of people to go door to door to pay tribute to the New Year; there are colleagues invited a few people to pay tribute to the New Year; there are also get together to congratulate each other, known as the "group worship". Because of the time-consuming and labor-intensive door-to-door New Year's greetings, some of the upper-class people and the scholarly community used the posters to congratulate each other, which developed into the later "New Year's card".

The Chinese New Year, the late generation should first pay tribute to the elders, wishing the elders a long life and well-being, the elders can be prepared beforehand the New Year's money to the elders, it is said that the New Year's money can be pressed to stop the evil spirits, because the "age" and the "spirit" consonant, the elders get the New Year's money can be a year of peace and security. It is said that New Year's money can keep evil spirits at bay, because "year" and "spirit" sound alike. There are two kinds of New Year's money, one is a colorful rope threaded and braided into the shape of a dragon, placed at the foot of the bed, which is recorded in the "Yanjing Yearly Record"; the other is the most common, that is, wrapped in red paper by the parents of the money given to the children. New Year's money can be rewarded in the evening after the New Year's greetings in public, can also be in the New Year's Eve when the child is asleep, by the parents secretly placed under the child's pillow. Now the elders for the younger generation to send the custom of the new year's money is still prevalent.

An important activity in the Spring Festival is to new friends and neighbors to congratulate the New Year, the old term for New Year's Eve. Han Chinese New Year's Eve style, the Han Dynasty has. After the Tang and Song dynasties are very popular, some do not have to go in person, can be used in the name of the posters cast congratulations. The Eastern Han Dynasty called "prick", so the business card is also known as the "name prick". After the Ming Dynasty, many people stick a red paper bag at the door, specializing in name badges, called "door book".

Folk visit the form of New Year's Eve, according to each other's social relations, can be divided into four categories:

One is to go to relatives. The first day must go to the father-in-law, shall bring gifts. After entering the door first to the Buddha statues, ancestral images, pagodas each line three kowtow salute, and then to the elders in turn kneeling. You can stay to eat and play.

The second is a courtesy visit. Such as to colleagues, friends to pay tribute to the New Year, a door into the house, only to the Buddha three kowtow, such as with the host of the Department of the same generation is only required to arch a bow, such as older than their own, should still take the initiative to kneel down, the host should be down the seat to do to help the shape of the even said free to show humility. This situation is generally not appropriate to sit for a long time, pleasantries two polite words to say goodbye. After the master was worshiped, should choose a day to return to worship.

Third is a thank-you visit. Where a year to people owe love (such as lawyers, doctors, etc.) to buy some gifts to send, take the opportunity to pay tribute to the New Year, to express gratitude pillow.

The fourth is a series of visits. For the left and right neighbors of the neighborhood, not much interaction in the past, but meet can say, to the Jubilee, just to the yard, meet each other with a clasped fist and said: "Gong Xi Fa Cai", "a Shun Bashun", in the house to sit down for a while only, not very much etiquette.

Anciently, there is a New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: New Year's Eve is to the elders kowtow; New Year's Day is to congratulate each other as peers. Now, some organizations, groups rest, enterprises, schools, we get together to congratulate each other, called "reunion".

New Year's greeting is a traditional Chinese folk custom, is a way for people to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and express their good wishes to each other. In ancient times, the original meaning of the term "New Year's greeting" was to pay respects to the elders, including kowtowing to the elders, congratulating them on a happy New Year, and greeting them on a good life, etc. When there were relatives and friends of the same generation, they were also invited to pay respects to the elders. When there are relatives and friends of the same generation, they should also bow to congratulate.

Anciently, if or neighborhood friends and relatives too much, it is difficult to visit all over the door, the servants to bring business cards to pay tribute to the New Year, known as the "fly post", the door of each house to paste a red paper bag, written on the "receive the blessing of the two words, that is, for the bearer to put the fly post with. This custom began in the Song Dynasty upper class. The Qing Dynasty's "Yan Tai Yue Ling" described the Beijing New Year's Festival as follows: "This is the month when the pieces fly and the empty cars go away." It became fashionable. Large families ad hoc "door book" to remember the guests and fly piece of correspondence, the door book of the first page of the virtual "pro-arrivals" four people: one said the life of a hundred years old master, live in a hundred years of the Square Lane; one said the rich Yu master, live in Yuanbao Street; one said that you have no great people, live in the university scholar's house; One said the blessing of the old master, live in the five blessings building. In order to try to auspicious to curry favor. To date, the Chinese New Year gift of New Year's tablets, New Year's cards, is the legacy of this ancient send each other fly post.

The upper class scholarly men had the custom of throwing congratulations to each other with famous posters. Song Zhou Hui in the "Qingbo Magazine" said: "Song Yuanyou years, New Year's greetings, often using servants to hold the name of the thorn on behalf of the go". At that time, the scholars traveled widely, if around the door to pay tribute to the New Year, both time-consuming, but also exhausting energy, so some of the relationship is not close to the friends do not go in person, but to send a servant to take a kind of paper with plum blossom paper cut into two inches wide, three inches long, written on the top of the name of the recipient of the congratulations, address and congratulations on the words of the card to go to on behalf of the New Year's greeting. People in the Ming Dynasty to visit instead of New Year's greeting. Ming Dynasty distinguished painter, poet Wen Zhengming in the "New Year" poem described: "do not seek to meet but through the visit, the name of the paper towards the full sheltered hut; I also cast a number of paper with the people, the world hate Jane not suspected of false". Here the "famous prick" and "famous visit" is the origin of the present New Year's card. New Year's cards are used for contacting and greeting each other, which is both convenient and practical, and even today they are still popular.

From about the time of the Qing Dynasty, New Year's Day and add the form of "reunion worship", the Qing Yi Lan master in the "side hat Yu Tan" said: "the capital in the first of the year, routine reunion worship, in order to unite the friendship of the year, in order to Township," "every year! By the year book red booking guests, food and drink banquets, for the whole day happy".

With the development of the times, the custom of New Year's Eve is also constantly adding new content and form. Now people in addition to the inheritance of the past New Year's Eve, and the rise of ritual telegrams and telephone New Year's Eve and so on.

But from the first to the fifth day of the first month, most families do not receive women, called "taboo door". Only men go out to pay their respects, and women have to wait until after the sixth day of the first month before they can go out to visit. The New Year's visit extends for a long time, until around the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. When you go to someone's house in the evening to pay your respects, it is called the "Night Festival", and after the tenth day of the first lunar month, it is called the "Lantern Festival", which is why there is a joke that "if you want to pay your respects to the New Year, you will not be late for the cold food".

If, for any reason, you don't get to perform the rituals, you can make up for it later, and it's called "paying homage to the New Year"