Eat dumplings
It is a custom for northerners to eat jiaozi on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, but now many Renye Fang and South Renye Fang have joined the ranks of eating jiaozi. Eating jiaozi on New Year's Eve means "having children in the coming year", while eating jiaozi on New Year's Day means good luck in the coming year.
In some areas, when people eat jiaozi, they have to match some non-staple food to show their good luck. If you eat tofu, it symbolizes the happiness of the whole family; Eating persimmons symbolizes all the best; Eat three fresh vegetables. It symbolizes that Sanyang opens Thailand. People in Taiwan Province Province eat fish balls, meatballs and seaweed, symbolizing reunion and wealth. In some places, coins of one yuan, fifty cents and ten cents will be wrapped in jiaozi, which means that in the new year, financial resources will be rolling in and good luck will continue.
Eat zongzi; eat rice dumplings; eat glutinous rice balls
Jiaozi, the breakfast on New Year's Day, must have a more special meaning. It means: everything goes well and the whole family is happy. Eating jiaozi in the New Year is not called "jiaozi" or "Yuanbao", and eating jiaozi is not called "eating jiaozi" but "getting Yuanbao". Because in the hometown dialect, "making trouble" is often called "breaking the' sweet dumplings'".
Pay new year's call
An important activity of the Spring Festival is to congratulate the New Year at new friends and friends' homes and neighbors, which used to be called New Year greetings. New Year greeting is a traditional folk custom in China, and it is a way for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and express their best wishes to each other. Generally speaking, New Year greetings begin at home. On the morning of the first day, after the younger generation gets up, they should first pay a New Year call to their elders, wishing them a long and healthy life and all the best. After the elders worship, they should distribute the "lucky money" prepared in advance to the younger generation. After paying New Year greetings to the elders at home, people go out to pay New Year greetings.
Give lucky money
It is a traditional folk custom in China to give children some lucky money during the Spring Festival. The lucky money is full of blessings from the elders to the younger generation. In China, there are some popular stories about the origin of lucky money. For example, in ancient times, there was a demon with black hands and white body called Chong, who came out to harm children every New Year's Eve. So people burn lights all night and put copper coins on children's pillows to ward off evil spirits. This is called "protecting the special" and "suppressing the special", and later it is called "protecting the old" and "suppressing the old".
Open the door and set off firecrackers.
When the door is opened in the morning of the Spring Festival, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the door to set off firecrackers". Put three pieces called "Lianzhong Sanyuan"; Put four pieces called "Flo Xi Shou"; Put five pieces called "Five Blessingg"; After the sound of six firecrackers named "Liu Liu Dashun" sounded, it was smashed all over the ground, and it was called "full house". At this time, the streets were full of anger and joy. Everyone meets and says "Happy New Year" to each other, and this new year begins.
worship
At the same time, the first day of the first month is also a day of worship. Friends with religious beliefs can burn incense and pray in the temple to ensure a safe and smooth year. On the first day of the first month of the first month, Guangzhou Neighborhood Association worships ancestors and gods early in the morning, and gets up to burn incense and set off firecrackers, which means "grabbing spring". Haikou people are also very particular about the first day of ancestor worship. Put wine and tea first, and prepare chicken, chicken blood, squid, pork and other foods in advance. Chicken blood should be put on chickens. After giving three sticks of incense to your ancestors, you can begin to worship them. After the ancestor worship, the prosperous New Year began.
Prohibition of eating meat (as a religious activity)
In the thirtieth year, I ate big fish and meat, and the first meal on the first day of the first month, the whole family wanted to be vegetarian. "Fasting" is homophonic with "disaster", and fasting also means "eating disaster", which will "eat up" all kinds of disasters and bless family members in the new year. Eat vegetarian food for lunch on the first day of the New Year, and cook a pot of "Luohanzhai" with vermicelli, yuba, Nostoc flagelliforme and mushrooms. I ate all the vegetarian dishes I should eat this year on this day. I can eat big fish and meat in the future and pray for good luck in the coming year. Therefore, there is a saying that "it is better to eat vegetarian food on the first day of the first year than to eat vegetarian food for one year".
Drink Tu Su wine.
Tu Su wine is a kind of medicinal liquor. In the ancient custom, the whole family drank Tu Su wine on January Day to eliminate unhealthy tendencies. In ancient times, Tu Su wine was drunk in a unique way. Most people drink alcohol, always starting from the elderly; But drinking Tu Su wine is just the opposite, starting with the smallest. Perhaps young people grow up day by day, drinking first to congratulate them, and old people drinking late to retain them.
Eat rice cake
Eating rice cakes on the first day of the Lunar New Year is a tradition in China, which means "getting higher and higher". 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.