The Spring Festival customs of the Han people generally include eating rice cakes, dumplings, glutinous rice cakes, glutinous rice balls, poached eggs, large meatballs, whole fish, fine wine, oranges, apples, peanuts, melon seeds, candies, fragrant tea and delicacies. ; accompanied by dusting, washing bedding, preparing New Year's goods, pasting Spring Festival couplets, pasting New Year pictures (door god Zhongkui), making dumplings

Pasting paper cuttings, pasting window grilles, pasting blessing characters, lighting candles, lighting fire, and setting Firecrackers, watching the New Year's Eve, giving New Year's money, paying New Year greetings, visiting relatives, giving New Year gifts, visiting ancestral graves, visiting the flower market, making social fires, dancing Zhongkui and many other activities are the ultimate family happiness. Chinese people also have the habit of hanging Chinese knots during the Spring Festival. Before New Year's Eve, Tianjin people have the custom of going to Qiaoxiang Pavilion on Ancient Culture Street to ask for Chinese knots, which means Qiaoxiang receives blessings; Wenzhou people go to their own religious places to pray sincerely, hoping to be able to get good luck with their families in the new year. happiness. Among them, most are Buddhist. For thousands of years, people have made New Year's celebrations extremely colorful. Every year from the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to the New Year's Eve, the folks call this period "Spring Day", also called "Dust Sweeping Day" , sweeping dust and doing hygiene before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of our people. Then every household prepares New Year’s goods. About ten days before the festival, people start busy purchasing items. New Year’s goods include chicken, duck, fish, tea, wine, sauce, north and south roasted seeds and nuts, candies, bait and fruits. They must buy enough and prepare some for visiting relatives during the New Year. Gifts given when visiting friends, children should buy new clothes and hats to wear during the New Year. Before the festival, New Year messages written in red paper and yellow characters are pasted on the door of the house, that is, Spring Festival couplets written on red paper. Brightly colored New Year pictures with auspicious meanings are posted in the house. Ingenious girls cut out beautiful window grilles and paste them on the windows. In front of the door, hang red lanterns or paste the word "Fu" and pictures of the God of Wealth and Door Gods (Zhong Kui, Qin Qiong, Jingde), etc. to express blessings. The characters can also be pasted upside down. Passers-by will turn upside down when they recite blessings, which means blessings have arrived. All these activities are to add enough festive atmosphere to the festival. Another name for the Spring Festival is the New Year. In past legends, Nian is an imaginary animal that brings bad luck to people. The year comes. The trees are withered and the grass is barren; as the year passes, everything grows and flowers are everywhere. How can the year pass? Firecrackers are needed to blast, so there is a custom of burning firecrackers. This is actually another way to heighten the lively scene. The Spring Festival is a joyful and peaceful festival, and it is also a day for family reunions. Children who are away from home have to go home to celebrate the Spring Festival. The night before the New Year is the 30th night of the twelfth lunar month of the old year, also called New Year's Eve, also called Reunion Eve. At this time of transition between the old and the new, staying up late is one of the most important annual activities. On New Year's Eve, the whole family stays up together. Staying up on New Year's Eve, gathering together to drink and enjoy family happiness. In northern areas, there is a custom of eating dumplings on New Year's Eve. The method of making dumplings is to mix the noodles first, and the word "harmony" means "he"; the word "jiaohe" in dumplings is homophonic, and "he" and "jiao" mean "get together". Meaning, also takes the meaning of "Gengsui Jiaozi". In the south, it is customary to eat rice cakes during the New Year. The sweet and sticky rice cakes symbolize the sweetness and prosperity of life in the new year. When the first rooster crows or the New Year's bell rings, firecrackers go off in the streets, and every family is filled with joy. The new year has begun. Men, women, and children are all dressed in festive costumes. First, give birth to the elders in the family. New Year greetings and birthdays, during the festival, children are also given new year's money, have a family dinner, and New Year greetings for the Geng and Yin Years

On the second and third days of the Lunar New Year, we start visiting relatives and friends, paying New Year greetings to each other, congratulating each other, and saying congratulations on the new year. , Congratulations on getting rich, Congratulations, Happy New Year and other activities, ancestor worship and other activities. The warm atmosphere of the festival not only permeates every household, but also fills the streets and alleys everywhere. In some local markets, there are also customs such as Nuo dance, Zhongkui dance, lion dance, dragon lantern performance, social fire performance, flower market tours, temple fairs and other customs. During this period, the city is full of lanterns and the streets are full of tourists. It is very lively and unprecedented. The Spring Festival is not really over until after the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. During the Spring Festival, setting off firecrackers, posting calligraphy and paintings on doors and windows to pray for blessings, and decorating homes are the most common customs of this festival. There is a saying among Chinese people about setting off firecrackers: "opening firecrackers." That is to say, when the New Year arrives, the first thing every household does when they open the door is to set off firecrackers to ward off the old and welcome the new with the beeping sound of firecrackers. Firecrackers are a specialty of China, also known as "firecrackers", "firecrackers" and "firecrackers". It originated very early and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Setting off firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere. It is a festive entertainment activity that can bring people joy and good luck. Wang Anshi's poem "Yuan Ri": The sound of firecrackers marks the end of the year, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu. Thousands of households live on the same day. Always replace old talismans with new ones. It depicts the festive scene of the Chinese people celebrating the Spring Festival. The sound of firecrackers is a symbol of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and an expression of festive mood. Chicken Stickers In ancient times, chickens were painted on doors and windows during the Spring Festival to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. "Xuanzhongji" written by the Jin Dynasty talks about the aforementioned rooster on Dushuo Mountain. It is said that when the sun has just risen and the first ray of sunlight shines on this big tree, the rooster will appear. Cried. As soon as it crows, all the chickens in the world will crow. The chicken cut during the Spring Festival actually symbolizes the rooster. In ancient mythology, there is also a saying that the chicken is the transformation of the Chongming bird. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yao, former friendly countries paid tribute to a Chongming bird that could ward off evil spirits. Everyone welcomed the arrival of the Chongming bird every year, but the tribute envoys did not come every year. People carve wooden Chongming Birds, or cast copper Chongming Birds and place them on the door, or paint Chongming Birds on doors and windows to scare away demons and ghosts from coming back.

Because the Chongming bird looks like a chicken, people gradually changed to painting chickens or cutting window grilles and pasting them on doors and windows, which became the source of paper-cut art in later generations. In ancient China, chickens were particularly valued and were called “the bird of five virtues”. "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says that it has a crown on its head, which is a virtue; it has a distance behind its feet and can fight, it is a martial virtue; it dares to fight in front of the enemy, it is a brave virtue; it has food to greet its kind, it is a benevolent virtue; it keeps vigil without losing sight of others. When the dawn comes, it is faith. Therefore, people not only cut and paste chickens during the Chinese New Year, but also designate the first day of the New Year as Rooster Day. Sticking to the door god Zhuxian Town wooden New Year picture "The door god facing you will be whipped immediately"

There is a custom of sticking to the door god during the New Year in various parts of China. The original door god was carved into a human form of mahogany wood and hung next to the person. Later, the door god was painted as a portrait and posted on the door. The legendary brothers Shen Tu and Yu Lei specialize in controlling ghosts. With them guarding the door, evil spirits big and small dare not come in to cause harm. However, what the real history books record is not Shen Cha and Yu Lei, but an ancient warrior named Cheng Qing. It is recorded in Ban Gu's "Book of Han·Biography of the King of Guangchuan": On the door of the palace of King Guangchuan (Quji) there was a portrait of the ancient warrior Cheng Qing, wearing short clothes, large trousers and a long sword. In the Tang Dynasty, the position of the door god was replaced by "Tang. Zhong Kui, the god of blessing the town house" in Happy Valley, Zhong Kui's hometown in Hu County, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Qin Shubao, and Yuchi Jingde. The narrative in "Journey to the West" is even more detailed, "The Dragon King of the Jinghe River made a bet with a fortune teller, and as a result, he violated the laws of nature and deserved to be executed. The Jade Emperor appointed Wei Zheng as the supervisor and executioner. In order to survive, the Dragon King of the Jinghe River went to Tang Taizong begged for mercy. Taizong agreed, and when it was time to kill the dragon, he summoned Wei Zheng to confront him. Unexpectedly, Wei Zheng took a nap, and then his soul ascended to heaven and killed the Dragon King without saying a word. After hearing the letter, Taizong called for orders outside the palace day and night. General Qin Shuzhuo said: "I would like to wait outside the palace with Yuchi Jingde. Taizong agreed that night because he couldn't bear the hard work of the two generals." He painted the real faces of the two generals and posted them on the door." There are also paintings of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as door gods. There is one door-god statue on the left and right. Later generations often painted a pair of door-gods as civil and military. There are three types of door gods: the first type is the "door god", which is usually posted on the car door or the entire door. It is about four or five feet high and two or three feet wide. The second type is the "street door god", which is usually posted on the small street door. It is about two feet high and one foot wide. These two door gods are two gods, one with a black face and one with a white face. White left and black right, white good and easy, black ferocious and evil, each holding a yue. The third category is the "house door god", which is slightly smaller and more limited than the street door god. It also has two gods, black and white, but there are also two gods, black and white, who are seated. The most common thing on the door of the house is a picture of "Qilin delivering his son", two dolls painted with powder and grease and combed with prince crowns, each riding a Qilin. This kind of door god was supposed to be posted on the door of the newly married house to bring good luck, and later it became a New Year decoration on ordinary street doors. Spring couplets are also called door couplets, spring posts, couplets, couplets, peach charms, etc. They describe the background of the times and express good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words. They are a unique literary form in my country. Every Spring Festival, every household, whether in urban or rural areas, selects a red Spring Festival couplet and pastes it on the door to add a festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom originated in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic quality of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju’s Spring Festival Couplets monograph "Three Couples on the Threshold" has a detailed introduction to the origin of the couplets and the characteristics of various works. All discussed. There are many types of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door cores, frame pairs, horizontal drapes, spring strips, squares, etc. according to the place where they are used. The "door center" is affixed to the upper center of the door panel; the "frame pair" is affixed to the left and right door frames; the "horizontal stripe" is affixed to the crossbar of the door; the "spring strips" are affixed to the corresponding places according to different contents; "Dojin" is also called "door leaf", which is square and diamond-shaped, and is often attached to furniture and screen walls. While pasting Spring Festival couplets, some families will paste the word "福" in large and small sizes on their house doors, walls, and lintels. Posting the word "福" during the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in my country. The word "福" refers to blessing and luck, expressing people's yearning for a happy life and their wishes for a better future. In order to more fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply paste the word "福" upside down to express "happiness has arrived" and "blessing has arrived". Folks also use the word "Fu" to elaborately create various patterns, such as longevity stars, longevity peaches, carps jumping over dragon gates, good harvests, dragons and phoenixes, etc. Sticking window grilles. Among the people, people also like to stick various paper-cuts - window grilles - on their windows. Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in my country and has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is mostly pasted on windows, it is also called "window flower". Window flowers use their unique generalization and exaggeration techniques to vividly express the auspicious symbols, good wishes and New Year pictures of "more than every year"

and decorate the festival with prosperity and splendor. Posting New Year pictures During the Spring Festival, hanging New Year pictures is also very common in urban and rural areas. The thick black and colorful New Year pictures add a lot of prosperity and joy to thousands of households. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in my country, reflecting the people's simple customs and beliefs, and reposing their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from the "door god".

With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year paintings is no longer limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. In some New Year painting workshops, "Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity", "Zhong Kui Blessing the House", " Classic color New Year pictures such as "Zhong Kui's Calendar", "Blessings from Heavenly Officials", "Abundant Grains", "Prosperity of Six Livestocks", "Welcoming Spring and Receiving Good Luck" can satisfy people's wishes of celebrating the good year. Hanging Qian is to use auspicious words engraved on the red paper, with a long ruler, and stick it in front of the door to complement the peach charms. Those with figures of the Eight Immortals on them are hung in front of the Buddha; hangings with thousands are mostly used by civilian households; those used by wealthy families are less common; the yellow paper is three inches long and the red paper is more than an inch long, which is a "small hanging Qian" and is used in shops. The earliest hanging Qiandang was made of coins (copper coins). Like New Year's money, it has the effect of suppressing victory. In the north, some families also offer a bowl of rice, which is cooked years ago and served during the New Year. It is called "Other New Year's Meal". It means there are leftovers every year and they can't finish it all year round. This year they still eat the previous year's rice. mean. This pot of rice and millet is usually cooked with a mixture of rice and millet. As the saying goes in Beijing, it is called "two rice rice" because it has yellow and white. This is called "gold and silver, and the pot is full of gold and silver".

Edit this festival process

As the saying goes: Twenty-three days of candy and melons are sticky; twenty-fourth is the day to clean the house; twenty-five is the day to paste the windows; twenty-sixth is the day to stew meat; Twenty-seven to kill the rooster, twenty-eight to make dough, twenty-nine to steam the steamed buns, thirty to stay up all night, and twist and turn on New Year's Day. There are two folk songs in the southeastern Shanxi region. One is "On the twenty-three, send the master to heaven; on the twenty-four, sweep the house; on the twenty-five, steam the dumplings; on the twenty-six, cut off the meat; on the twenty-seven, Clean the tin utensils; on the twenty-eighth, wash the hands; on the twenty-nine, wash the feet and hands; on the thirtieth, the door gods and couplets are posted together." It reflects the tight time and the intensity of preparations. The second is a nursery rhyme: "Twenty-three, after the sacrifice to the stove, the children clapped their hands and laughed. In five or six days, the New Year will come. The evil-proof box, the walnuts, the dots, dots, and two cannons. The five children passed the exam with table tennis. "The sound is loud and the fire rises higher than the sky" reflects the children's joy in looking forward to the New Year.

The 23rd and 24th of the twelfth lunar month

The 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month is also called "Little Year" and is the day when people worship stoves. In the folk song "Twenty-three, Tanggu Guang" refers to the sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. There is a saying that "officials, three people, four boatmen and five" means that the government holds sacrifices to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, ordinary people hold sacrifices on the 24th, and people on the water hold stove sacrifices on the 25th. Xiaonian is the beginning and foreshadowing of the entire Spring Festival celebration, and its main activities include two: sweeping the New Year and offering sacrifices to the stove. In addition, there is also the custom of eating stove sweets. In some places, they also eat fire roasting, sugar cakes, oil cakes, and drink tofu soup. As early as the Song Dynasty, there were records of celebrating the Little New Year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, but at that time the Little New Year was not divided into two days, so the custom of the Little New Year on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month has a longer history. So when did the change happen? This is coming to the Qing Dynasty. Starting from the Yongzheng period, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty worshiped gods at Kunning Palace on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month every year. In order to save money, the emperor also worshiped the Kitchen God. Later, the royal family and Baylor followed suit and worshiped the stove on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. From then on, there began to be a distinction between the officials and the people celebrating the small new year on different days. Sacrifice to the Stove Kitchen King's Niche

Sacrifice to the Stove is a custom that has great influence among Chinese people and is widely spread. In the old days, almost every kitchen had a "Kitchen Lord" statue in the kitchen. People call this god "Si Ming Bodhisattva" or "Zao Lord Siming". Legend has it that he is the "Jiutian East Chef Siming Zao Wangfu Lord" conferred by the Jade Emperor. He is responsible for managing the kitchen fires of each family and is regarded as the protector of the family. worship. Most of the Kitchen King's niches are located on the north or east side of the kitchen room, with the statue of the Kitchen King in the middle. Some people who don't have a niche for the Kitchen King stick the statue of the god directly on the wall. Some statues only depict the Kitchen God alone, while others include two men and women. The goddess is called "Grandma Kitchen God". The sacrifice to the stove on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month is closely related to the Chinese New Year. Because, on the eve of the New Year’s Eve a week later, the Kitchen God came to the world together with other gods with the good and bad luck that the family should receive. The Kitchen God is believed to lead the way for the gods in the sky. The other gods ascend to heaven again after the New Year, but only the Kitchen God will stay in people's kitchens for a long time. The ceremony to welcome the gods is called "receiving the gods", and for the Kitchen God, it is called "receiving the stove". The stove is usually held on New Year's Eve, and the ceremony is much simpler. At that time, you only need to put on a new stove lamp and burn incense in front of the stove niche. There is a saying that "men do not worship the moon, women do not worship the stove". In some places, women do not worship the stove. It is said that the Stove Lord looks like a pretty boy and is afraid of women offering sacrifices to the stove. Folks pay attention to eating dumplings during the Stove Festival, which means "sending off dumplings and facing the wind". People in mountainous areas eat more cakes and buckwheat noodles. In the southeastern part of Shanxi Province, the custom of eating fried corn is popular. There is a folk proverb that says, "Twenty-three, don't eat fried corn, and New Year's Day - pour it all in one pot." People like to stick the fried corn with maltose, freeze it into large pieces, and eat it. It tastes crispy and sweet. Steamed steamed buns After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household will steam steamed buns. Generally speaking, they are divided into two types: those used to worship gods and those used to visit relatives. The former is solemn and the latter is fancy. In particular, a large jujube mountain should be made to prepare for worshiping the Kitchen Lord. "A family steams steamed buns, and neighbors come to help." This is often a great opportunity for folk women to show off their dexterous skills. A steamed bun is a handicraft. Writing Spring Festival Couplets After the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, every household must write Spring Festival couplets. Folks pay attention to the fact that if there are gods, every door must be posted, and every object must be posted, so the Spring Festival couplets have the largest number and the most comprehensive content.

The couplets in front of the gods are particularly particular, and they are mostly words of admiration and blessing. Common divine couplets include the heaven and earth divine couplet, "Heaven's grace is as deep as the sea, and the virtues of the earth are as heavy as mountains"; the land divine couplet, "white jade grows from the soil, and gold comes from the earth"; the wealth divine couplet, "the Lord of wealth in heaven, the god of fortune and fortune on earth"; the well divine couplet. "A well can connect to the four seas, and a home can reach three rivers." The Spring Festival couplets in granaries, livestock pens, etc. all express warm celebrations and hopes, such as "The grain is plentiful and the livestock are prosperous"; "Rice and flour are as thick as mountains, and oil and salt are as deep as the sea"; "Cows are like southern tigers, and horses are like the North Sea. "Dragon"; "The big sheep will grow every year, and the little lambs will grow every month" and so on. In addition, there are some single couplets, such as "Look up to see happiness" posted in every room, "Go out to see happiness" posted on the opposite side of the door, "Prosperous Qi soaring to the sky" posted on the prosperous fire, "Full of gold in the courtyard" posted in the courtyard, and "Meeting happiness in the whole courtyard" posted on the tree. "The roots are deep and the leaves are luxuriant", the stone mill is pasted with "White Tiger, Good Luck" and so on. The couplets on the door are the facade of a family, and they are particularly important. They are either lyrical or scene-describing, rich in content, and full of witticisms. Eat Zao Tang Zao Tang is a kind of maltose, very sticky. When it is drawn into a long candy stick, it is called "Guandong candy", and when it is drawn into an oblate shape, it is called "Tanggua". Put it outside the house in winter. Because of the severe cold weather, the sugar melon solidifies and has some tiny bubbles inside. It tastes crispy, sweet and crispy, with a unique flavor. Real Kanto candy is extremely hard and cannot be broken when dropped. It must be split with a kitchen knife when eating. The material is very heavy and fine. The taste is slightly sour, and there is absolutely no honeycomb in the middle. Each piece weighs one tael, two taels, or four taels, and the price is also more expensive. There are two kinds of sugar melons, those with sesame seeds and those without sesame seeds. On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust and sweep the house

Use sugar to make melon-shaped or pumpkin-shaped, with a hollow center and a skin less than five minutes thick. Although the sizes are different, the sales are still calculated based on the weight. Some large sugar melons weigh one or two pounds, but they are used as a cover and few people buy them. After the Stove Festival is held, preparations for the New Year begin formally. Sweeping dust is the year-end cleaning. It is called "house sweeping" in the north and "dust dusting" in the south. Sweeping dust and doing hygiene before the Spring Festival is a traditional habit of the Chinese people. Thoroughly clean the outside and inside the house, in front of and behind the house, to welcome the new year cleanly. The custom of "dusting and sweeping the house on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month" has a long history. According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", China had the custom of sweeping dust during the Spring Festival in the era of Yao and Shun. According to folklore, since "dust" and "chen" are homophones, sweeping dust in the New Year has the meaning of "removing the old and spreading the new", and its purpose is to sweep away all "poor luck" and "bad luck". This custom entrusts people with their desire to destroy the old and establish the new and their prayers to say goodbye to the old and usher in the new.

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month and the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month (New Year’s Eve)

Every year on the night of the last day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day of the lunar year (the big month is 30 days, the small month is 29 days) ), called "New Year's Eve". It is connected with the Spring Festival (the first day of the first lunar month) and is a day for people to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Since the big month in the lunar calendar has thirty days and the small month has only twenty-nine days, the date of New Year's Eve is also different. But this day is often called "New Year's Eve" regardless of whether it is twenty-nine or thirty. On New Year's Eve, the whole family gets together to eat the New Year's Eve dinner (the last meal of the year in the lunar calendar). After the New Year's Eve dinner, there is a custom of giving out New Year's Eve money and staying up late (staying up late on New Year's Eve), which means staying up from the last day of the lunar year to the third day of the next year. one day. During the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, at the end of each year, the palace would hold a "Da Nuo" ceremony to beat the drums to drive away the ghosts of plague and disaster, which was called "Zhuchu". Later, the day before New Year's Eve was also called Xiaochu, that is, Little New Year's Eve; New Year's Eve is New Year's Eve, that is, New Year's Eve. Setting up the heaven and earth table. It is said that this night is when the gods from the sky descend to the realm, so there is a custom among the people to receive the gods. The Heaven and Earth Table is a temporary altar table specially designed for New Year's Eve and is mainly used to receive gods. Households that do not have a large Buddhist hall generally pay special attention to it because they usually make less offerings to the Buddha. At the end of the year, they have to pay a big reward to the gods and Buddhas. The content of the Heaven and Earth Table is different from that of the permanent Buddhist hall. Except for the hanging money, incense candles, five offerings, and large offerings, most of the worshiped idols are temporary, such as "100%", which is a woodcut A picture album of gods and goddesses; "Eighteen Buddhas and Gods in the Three Realms of Heaven and Earth"; a full-scale god code printed with watercolor woodcut on large yellow rough-edged paper; portraits of the three stars of fortune, wealth and longevity, etc. Some of the above statues are burned immediately after receiving the gods, such as "100%", while others are not burned until the fifth day of the festival, or even during the Festival of Lights. The location of the heaven and earth table is not uniform. If the main room is spacious, it can be placed in the house; if there is no space in the house, it can be placed in the courtyard. Eating New Year's Eve dinner. When the children are playing and setting off firecrackers, it is also the busiest time for housewives in the kitchen. The New Year dishes have been prepared a few days ago, and the New Year's Eve dinner must be cooked by the chef on New Year's Eve. In the north, dumplings for the New Year's Day are also made on the 30th night. At this time, every chopping board was busy chopping meat and chopping vegetables. At this time, the sound of chopping boards came from every house, the sound of firecrackers came from the streets and alleys, the sound of abacus coming from the small shops, the sound of New Year's Eve dinner

and the sound of paying accounts, mixed with the laughter everywhere, One after another, the music fills the ears, intertwining into a cheerful movement on New Year's Eve. Eating New Year's Eve dinner is the most lively and happy time for every household during the Spring Festival. On New Year’s Eve, the table is filled with sumptuous New Year’s dishes. The whole family is reunited, sitting around the table and enjoying the reunion dinner. The sense of fulfillment in my heart is really indescribable. People not only enjoy the table full of delicacies, but also enjoy the happy atmosphere. There are big dishes, cold basins, hot stir-fries, and snacks on the table. Generally, two things are indispensable, one is hot pot. One is fish. The hot pot is boiling, steaming, warm and sultry, indicating that it is prosperous; "fish" and "yu" are homophonic, symbolizing "abundance in auspicious celebrations" and "abundance every year".

There are also radish, commonly known as cabbage, which is used to wish good luck; lobster, fried fish and other fried foods are used to wish prosperity for the family, just like "fire cooking oil". The last part is usually a sweet dish, wishing you a sweet life in the future. Even if you don’t know how to drink alcohol on this day, you should drink a little bit. There are many famous New Year's Eve dinners, which vary from north to south, including dumplings, wontons, long noodles, Yuanxiao, etc., and each has its own specialties. Northerners are accustomed to eating dumplings during the New Year (the custom of eating dumplings was passed down from the Han Dynasty), which means "Gengsui Jiaozi", the alternation of the old and the new. And because the white flour dumplings are shaped like silver ingots, serving them on the table symbolizes "making a fortune in the new year, and the ingots rolling in". When making dumplings, some people also wrap a few coins that have been sterilized in boiling water, saying that whoever eats them first will make more money. Eating wontons during the New Year means taking the beginning of the new year. Legend has it that the world was in a state of chaos before it was created, and that the four directions of the universe were created only after Pangu created the world. Long noodles are also called longevity noodles. Eating noodles in the New Year is a wish for a hundred years of longevity. Watching the Spring Festival Gala Although this is not an ancient custom, after entering the 1980s, due to the popularity of television, the Spring Festival Gala has become an indispensable cultural "feast" for Chinese people! Every year, more than one billion people around the world watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV or the Internet! Since the Han Dynasty, the transition time between the old and the new year has generally been at midnight, and keeping the year old on New Year's Eve is one of the most important annual activities. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest record can be found in the "Feng Tu Zhi" of Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person gives gifts to each other, which is called "giving the year old"; , the blessings are complete, which is called "dividing the year"; everyone stays up all night, waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old". "One night lasts two years, and the fifth watch is divided into two days." On New Year's Eve, the whole family gets together to have New Year's Eve dinner, light candles or oil New Year's Eve dinner

lamps, sit around the fire, chat, and wait to say goodbye. At the time when the old welcomes the new, the all-night vigil symbolizes driving away all evil plagues and looking forward to the good fortune in the new year. This custom gradually became popular. In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem about "keeping the year old": "The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings the spring breeze." To this day, people are still used to staying up late on New Year's Eve to welcome the new year. In ancient times, staying up late had two meanings: older people staying up late meant "saying goodbye to the old year", which meant cherishing time; young people staying up late meant staying up late to extend the life of their parents. Reception to the God is the distinction between the old and new years, but the time for the Reception to the God is not uniform. Some ceremonies begin as soon as Zizheng arrives, some begin to receive the gods at "Zizheng" time, that is, at midnight, and some begin to receive the gods after "Zizheng". After offering sacrifices to the stove, all the gods returned to the heavenly palace and ignored the secular affairs of the human world. At midnight on New Year's Eve, that is, when the new year came, they came to the human world to take care of affairs. The ceremony of receiving the gods is held in front of the heaven and earth table, and is presided over by the eldest member of the family. Because the directions in the heaven where the gods live are different, the directions from the lower world are naturally different. As for which god to pick up and where the god comes from, you must check the "Constitution" in advance and lead the whole family to hold incense and pick up the god according to the direction in the courtyard. For example, the "Constitution" in the Xinwei year states: "The God of Wealth is due east, the God of Fortune is due south, the God of Nobility is northeast, the God of Joy is southwest, the God of Taisui is southwest, etc." After kowtowing according to the direction, stand still until the incense is gone, kowtow again, and finally remove the incense roots, idols, ingots, etc., and put them into the money and grain basin that has been prepared in the courtyard to burn them, along with pine branches, sesame straw, etc. Firecrackers went off during the reception, and the atmosphere was extremely intense. Trampling on evil spirits: After receiving the gods, spread sesame straw from the street door to the door of the house, and people walk on it and make a crackling sound, which is called "trampling on evil spirits", also called "trampling on evil spirits". Since "broken" and "祟" have the same pronunciation, it means that the New Year begins to drive away evil spirits. In the old days, since the opening of the Wealth Gate at midnight during the Spring Festival, people would send gifts to the God of Wealth. Holding a piece of paper printed in their hands, the God of Wealth would shout outside the door: "Here comes the person who sends the God of Wealth!" At this time, the owner of the house expressed his welcome. When the God of Wealth comes, he will give the reward to the visitor. The person giving the gift to the God of Wealth should say some auspicious words, such as "The gold and silver treasures are rolling in!" "There are a pair of golden lions on the left and a pair of golden phoenixes on the right." In addition, there are people wearing red robes, gauze hats, beards, and yellow bags on their bodies, pretending to be the God of Wealth, followed by a few gongs and drums, distributing images of the God of Wealth from house to house in order to collect rewards. Every time they come to someone's door, they sing "The left compartment is full of gold and silver, the right room is full of treasures" and other auspicious words. It is not until the owner happily takes the statue of the God of Wealth and gives them some money that they thank them repeatedly. , and beat more vigorously for a while. Amidst the sound of gongs and drums, they moved to other houses.

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" was "head", which was later extended to "beginning". 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 "Sanyuan"; because this day is also the dynasty of the year, the dynasty of the moon, and the dynasty of the sun, it is also called the "Three Chaos"; And because it is the first new moon, it is also called "Yuan Shuo". The first day of the first lunar month is also known as Shangri, Zhengchao, Sanshuo, and Sanshi, which means the beginning of the year, month, and day. On the morning of the Spring Festival, when the door opens, firecrackers are set off first, which is called "opening the firecrackers." After the sound of firecrackers, the ground was filled with broken red, shining like clouds and brocade, which was called "Man Tang Hong". At this time, the streets were full of auspiciousness and joy. New Year's greetings On the first day of the New Year, men all get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, and go out to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year's greetings to each other, and wish each other good luck in the coming year. There are many ways to pay New Year's greetings. Some are led by the clan leader and several people go door-to-door to pay New Year's greetings. Some are colleagues inviting a few people to pay New Year's greetings. There are also people who gather together to congratulate each other, which is called "group worship".

Since it was time-consuming and laborious to pay New Year greetings at home, some upper-class figures and scholar-bureaucrats later used name stickers to congratulate each other, thus developing the later "New Year cards". Spring Festival

When paying New Year greetings during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should first pay New Year greetings to the elders, wishing the elders longevity and health. The elders can distribute the New Year's money prepared in advance to the younger generation. It is said that the New Year's money can suppress evil spirits, because "Sui" and "Sui" are related to each other. "祟" is a homophonic sound. The younger generation can spend one year in peace by receiving the lucky money. There are two types of New Year's money. One is made of colorful ropes threaded into a dragon shape and placed at the foot of the bed. This record is found in "Yanjing Years' Notes"; the other is the most common, which is given by parents wrapped in red paper. Children's money. New Year's money can be given to the younger generation in public after paying New Year's greetings, or parents can secretly put it under the child's pillow when the child is asleep on New Year's Eve. Nowadays, the custom of elders distributing lucky money to younger generations is still popular. In the old days, the weather was cloudy and sunny in the first few days of the new year to predict the year's success. The theory begins with "Sui Zhan" written by Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty, which states that eight days after the end of the year, one day is the chicken day, the second day is the dog day, the third day is the pig day, the fourth day is the sheep day, the fifth day is the cow day, the sixth day is the horse day, and the seventh day is the horse day. The sun is a human being, and the eighth day is a grain. If the day is sunny, the object will flourish; if the day is cloudy, the object will not prosper. Later generations followed this custom and believed that the weather from the first to the tenth day of the lunar month was auspicious with clear weather, no wind and no snow. Later generations developed from accounting for age into a series of sacrifices and celebrations. Drinking Tusu wine Tusu wine is a kind of medicinal wine. In ancient customs, the whole family drank Tusu wine on Yuan Day to dispel unhealthy energy. The method of making Tusu wine is: use one penny of rhubarb, one penny and five cents of platycodon, and one penny and five cents of Sichuan pepper, one penny and eight cents of osmanthus heart, one penny and two cents of dogwood, and one or two pieces of saposhnikovia. Take it up at Yinshi, fry it with wine for four to five times and boil it. In ancient times, the way to drink Tusu wine was very unique. Most people always start drinking from the oldest ones; but when drinking Tusu wine, it is just the opposite, starting from the youngest ones. Probably the young ones grow up day by day and drink first to show their congratulations, while the older people drink later to show their retention as each year passes. The Song Dynasty writer Su Che's poem "Chu Ri" said, "I drink Tusu at the end of the year, and I am more than seventy years old before I know it." This is the custom that is mentioned. This unique drinking order often evoked various emotions in ancient times, so it left a deep impression on people. Gathering Wealth: It is said that the first day of the first lunar month is the broom's birthday. You cannot use a broom on this day, otherwise it will sweep away luck, lose money, and attract the "broom star", which will bring bad luck. If you must sweep the floor, you must sweep from the outside to the inside. It is also not allowed to pour water or take out garbage outside on this day, for fear of losing money. Today, many places still have a custom of cleaning up on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Day, no brooms are taken out, no garbage is taken out, and a large bucket is prepared to hold wastewater, and no spilling is allowed on that day.