Comprehensive practice: Spring Festival folk customs

1. Activity background

Festival is a cultural phenomenon, especially the Spring Festival. The Spring Festival is the most solemn festival in the context of the traditional Chinese culture. It originated from the activities of worshiping gods and ancestors at the beginning and end of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and is associated with religion, sacrifices, celebrations, gatherings, etc. The traditional Spring Festival has various legends about the "Nian" beast, the creation of the calendar for ten thousand years, staying up late for the New Year, pasting Spring Festival couplets, admiring ice lanterns, etc. , watching operas, having Lantern Festival and other customs; there are food customs such as Laba porridge, rice cakes, dumplings, Yuanxiao, spring cakes, etc.; there are also customs such as not sweeping the floor, not going through the back door, not beating or scolding children, and wishing each other all the best in the new year on the first day of the new year...< /p>

Spring Festival culture has gone through thousands of years, but its quality remains unchanged. This quality comes from the "root of culture" that gave birth to us. The charm of Spring Festival culture makes the Spring Festival the most cohesive festival. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, tourists who have left their hometowns rush home to reunite with their relatives. The annual "Spring Festival Transport" climax of hundreds of millions of people shows the position of the Spring Festival in the hearts of the Chinese people. The customs related to the Spring Festival have long since evolved from a ritual to a brand that is imprinted on every Chinese person, a habit that is integrated into the blood of every Chinese person, and a cultural factor that is infiltrated into the bone marrow of every Chinese person.

2. Purpose of the activity:

Understand the customs of the Spring Festival

Understand the origin of the Spring Festival

Understand the customs of various ethnic groups during the Spring Festival

3. Activity forms

1. Understand that the Chinese New Year is the most solemn and grandest traditional festival of the Chinese nation, and it is also the day that every Chinese son and daughter looks forward to most. Let students have a more comprehensive understanding of the knowledge related to the New Year, from celebrating the New Year in form to approaching the New Year and studying the New Year, and then understand the origin, etiquette and related customs of the Spring Festival.

2. Visit, investigate, and visit supermarkets, jewelry stores, holiday gift houses, etc., and search for relevant information online to cultivate students' ability to collect and organize information and analyze and solve problems based on the information.

3. Be able to use information technology to collect information about the Spring Festival of various ethnic groups. Develop students' ability to process, summarize and apply collected information.

4. Be able to clearly express your research findings and feelings, and be able to present your research results in a certain form.

4. Activity process

Activity preparation:

1. Before the activity, contact relevant personnel to teach the mythical origins, customs and other related knowledge of the Spring Festival;

2. Prepare some knowledge about the Spring Festival of different ethnic groups and countries (sources include books and the Internet).

3. Students prepare various materials (including short stories, pictures, etc.)

4. Prepare some equipment needed for outdoor activities, such as cameras, etc.

The first stage: Determine the theme of the activity and formulate plans in groups

1. Through the topic class, students discussed the general topic of the study "Spring Festival Folk Customs" and the three themes of the study: "The Origin of the Spring Festival", "Spring Festival Customs", "Spring Festival Culture of Various Regions".

2. Students can freely combine according to their favorite topics, allocate personnel, and select group leaders. Then the team leader will lead the activity, clarify the activity goals, tasks and requirements, and formulate an activity plan.

The second stage: activity implementation stage

1. Conduct surveys, interviews, picture collection, and find information in groups; conduct on-site inspections; analyze the survey results and carefully analyze the information obtained from the activities Keep good records. The leaders of each group are responsible for the division of labor (the interview methods include: on-site visits, telephone interviews, etc., and the subjects appropriately cover the three age groups of old, middle and young, and the team members keep records according to the interview situation)

< p>2. Focus on communication and cooperative exploration. Each group discussed their experiences and problems encountered during the activities. Learn from the experience of the event and exchanges between group members and adjust your approach.

3. Organize information and form opinions.

Origin of the Spring Festival:

The legend of the Spring Festival

According to reports, it is said that in ancient China there was a monster called "Nian" with long tentacles on its head and it was extremely ferocious. "Nian" lives deep on the bottom of the sea all year round, only climbing ashore every New Year's Eve to devour livestock and harm people. Therefore, every New Year's Eve, people in villages and villages help the old and young to flee to the mountains to avoid the harm of the "Nian" beast.

On New Year's Eve this year, people in Taohua Village were helping the elderly and young to take refuge in the mountains. An old man begging came from outside the village. He was holding a cane, a bag on his arm, a silver beard flowing, and eyes like Long star. Some of the villagers sealed the windows and locked the doors, some packed their bags, some drove the cattle and sheep, and people were shouting and neighing everywhere, creating a scene of rush and panic. At this time, who still has the heart to take care of this old man begging. Only an old woman in the east of the village gave the old man some food and advised him to go up the mountain quickly to avoid the "Nian" beast. The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "If my mother-in-law lets me stay at home all night, I will definitely drive the "Nian" beast away." The old woman was shocked and looked closely, and saw that he had white hair, a childish face, a strong spirit, and an extraordinary bearing. But she still continued to persuade, and the old beggar smiled and said nothing. The mother-in-law had no choice but to leave her home and take refuge in the mountains.

In the middle of the night, the "Nian" beast broke into the village. It found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: at the east end of the village, the old woman lived in her husband's house, with red paper on the door and brightly lit candles in the house. The "Nian" beast trembled all over and screamed strangely.

"Nian" glared at her mother-in-law's house for a moment, then screamed and rushed towards her. As he approached the door, there was a sudden "bang bang bang bang" explosion in the courtyard. "Nian" trembled all over and did not dare to move forward. It turns out that "Nian" is most afraid of the color red, fire and explosions. At this time, the door of my mother-in-law's house opened wide, and an old man wearing a red robe was seen laughing in the courtyard. "Nian" turned pale with fright and ran away in embarrassment.

The next day was the first day of the first lunar month, and the people who had returned from the refuge were surprised to see that the village was safe and sound. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about the beggar's promise to the old man. The villagers rushed to my mother-in-law's house. They saw red paper on the door of her house, a pile of unburned bamboos in the yard were still popping, and a few red candles in the house were still glowing... They were delighted. To celebrate the auspicious arrival, the crazy villagers put on new clothes and hats one after another, and went to the homes of relatives and friends to say hello. This incident quickly spread in the surrounding villages, and people all knew how to drive away the "Nian" beast.

Ethnic Cultures from Various Regions

Tibetan

On New Year’s Eve of Tibetan people, people put on colorful clothes and strange masks, play music with suona, conches and drums, and hold A grand and grand "Tiao Shen Meeting". The young men dance and sing wildly, which means to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and to drive away evil spirits and bring blessings. On New Year's morning, women carry "auspicious water" to wish them good luck in the new year.

Yi people

The Yi people choose their festivals according to the Yi calendar. Some celebrate the Spring Festival with the local Han people. In some areas, the Yi compatriots set up green pine trees in front of their doors and spread the ground with pine needles to avoid disasters. In other areas, pigs and sheep are killed during the festival and lumps of meat are eaten. People visit each other and give each other meat and steamed buns. On the morning of New Year's Day, the first thing I do when I get up is to carry water home. They compare the weight of a bowl of water with yesterday's water. If the New Year's water is heavier, it means there will be enough rain this year.

The Zhuang people

The Zhuang people and the Han people celebrate the Spring Festival at the same time. On New Year's Eve, the rice eaten on the festival day is cooked, which is called "New Year's Rice". In some areas, people call it "Eating Lijie", which means "Celebrating the Old Year" in Zhuang language. It heralds a good agricultural harvest in the coming year. Some even make cakes that are more than a foot long and weigh five or six kilograms. A family with a small population will not be able to finish the whole meal! Early in the morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year, people get up before dawn, put on new clothes, and set off firecrackers to welcome the new year. Women are rushing to the river or well to "draw new water" to start the exciting life of the new year.

Buyi people

On New Year’s Eve, the entire Buyi family stays up all night by the pond. As soon as day breaks, the girls rush to fetch water. Whoever carries back the first load of water first will be the most diligent and happiest girl.

Manchu

The Manchu people are divided into four banners: red, yellow, blue and white. During the Spring Festival, people with red flags put red flags on their doors, people with yellow flags put yellow flags on their doors, people with blue flags put blue flags on their doors, and people with white flags put white flags on their doors. These hanging flags have beautiful patterns and bright colors, symbolizing the auspicious beginning of the year.

Dong people

Dong people have a popular mass activity during the Spring Festival called "Dong Year" (also called Lusheng Festival). This kind of activity is similar to the "group worship" of the Han people, but it is more joyful and enthusiastic. This kind of activity is usually organized by consensus between the two village leaders. The two teams officially held a Lusheng singing and dancing competition in the square. At this time, the audience in the two villages danced to the music and had fun.

Bai people

When the Bai people of Yunnan celebrate the New Year, there is a celebration called "Fang Gaosheng". The so-called "high-sheng" method is to use a whole big bamboo, load gunpowder into the bamboo joints, and after lighting it, the whole big bamboo can collapse hundreds of feet into the sky, becoming a veritable "high-sheng". In some areas, Bai compatriots, like the Miao and Zhuang people, engage in the "Hydrangea Throwing" activity from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival. Anyone who cannot catch the hydrangea should give the other party a souvenir. Anyone who has missed the ball many times but cannot redeem the souvenir is a sign of love.

Tujia people

During the Spring Festival, the Tujia people hold a grand waving dance. The hand-waving dance is a popular ancient dance of the Tujia people. It includes more than 70 dance movements such as hunting, military, farming, and banquets. It has a distinctive rhythm, graceful movements, simple dance postures, and a healthy mood. It does not use props and has distinct ethnic characteristics and strong breath of life.

Dai Nationality

The Water Splashing Festival is the New Year festival of the Dai people and the most grand traditional festival of the year for the Dai people. The day when Guyu begins is designated as the "Water Splashing Festival". During the three- or four-day festival, people splash water on each other to wash away the old dirt on their bodies and wish them happiness and peace in the new year.

Li Nationality

For the Li people living on Hainan Island, every Spring Festival comes, every household slaughters pigs and chickens, serves sumptuous food and wine, and the whole family sits together to eat "New Year's dinner"; during the dinner, the whole family also sings "New Year's song". On the first and second days of junior high school, a "Spring Festival Hunt" is held for all young and middle-aged men in the village. This day's prey is shared by the whole village. What is interesting is that when dividing the prey, half of the total prey is first given to the shooter who hits the prey first; the other half is divided equally among everyone. Pregnant women can get two points, and passers-by who happen to meet can also get one.

Lisu people

The Lisu people call the New Year's Day "Yushi". Most of them make indica rice cakes, glutinous rice cakes and brewed water wine. They put a little bit of the cake out of the first mortar. On peach, plum and other fruit trees, I wish you a fruitful year ahead.

The Lisu people in the Nujiang area of ??Yunnan first feed their cattle salt to show respect for their work. Young men and women like to hold Spring Festival target shooting competitions. The girls hang the embroidered purse on the bamboo pole, shake the purse from side to side, and ask the boys to shoot. Whoever shoots the purse first, the girls will give wine as a prize to the mouth of the man.

Lahu people

On New Year's Eve, the whole family of the Lahu people must take a bath and prepare food for the next day. In food, special attention is paid to glutinous rice cakes. In addition to eating, always give some to the cows and put some on farm tools such as plows, hoes, and machetes to reward them for cooperating with their masters throughout the year and wishing them great success in the new year. More wealth.

Daur people

For the Daur people who live on both sides of the Nen River in the northeast, on the morning of the first day of the first lunar month, young men and women dress up, first greet their elders, toast and salute, and then go from house to house to pay New Year greetings. Every house prepares steamed cakes, and New Year greeters rush to eat the steamed cakes as soon as they come in. It is said that after eating, the production and life will be "higher every year."

Melao people

From the first day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, men, women, old and young all wear festive costumes in every village of the Mulao people. Dozens, hundreds, or even Thousands of people gather on the hillside or in the stadium to sing folk songs, singing about labor, life and love.

Dulong people

The only festival of the Dulong people is the "Kaquewa" festival held in the twelfth lunar month of winter. The most solemn ceremony is the sacrifice of cattle to heaven. On this day, the patriarch tied the cow to a wooden stake in the center of the square. A young woman hangs the beads on the horns of the cow, and then a brave and strong young man stabs the armpit of the cow with a sharp bamboo spear until the cow is stabbed to death. At this moment, people dance the "Niu Guozhuang" dance and then share the beef.

The Oroqen people

On the morning of the Spring Festival, the Oroqen people in the northeast first pour wine in the family according to their seniority. The younger ones kowtow to the elders, and the older generations greet each other. , horse racing on the third day of junior high school. Delicious food on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. On the morning of the 16th day of the first lunar month, there is an activity of smearing each other's faces. Young people should kowtow first when slandering the elderly.

Hezhen ethnic group

The Hezhe ethnic group's "Spring Festival" in the Hezhe language is transliterated as "Fo'e Shikes", which means New Year's Eve. People wear animal skins and other clothing embroidered with beautiful patterns, geometric patterns, flowers and birds on hat ears, collars, cuffs, trouser legs, aprons, and shoe uppers. During the New Year festival, most people will have a "fire-spitting feast", or make pancakes with a kind of wild fruit "thick plum", and fill them with fish, animal meat and other foods. To treat distinguished guests, kill the fish alive or grill the fish sticks and serve them with this "talaha".

Jinuo Tribe

With the arrival of the Spring Festival, the Jino Tribe living in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, the old man chewing betel nuts raised his head and played the cymbal, and the old woman wearing a big pointed hat lowered her head and sounded the gong. Ba (the village father) was the first to beat the drum, and the young men and women formed a circle and danced with their bare hands.

Gaoshan Nationality

People of Gaoshan Nationality dress up in colorful national costumes during the Spring Festival, gather in groups at the edge of the village, drink wine, and sing and dance to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Some villages also hold fishing competitions and carry out sports activities such as basket ball and poleball

Spring Festival customs

Dust sweeping

"On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, dust "Cleaning the house" Every Spring Festival comes, every household has to clean the environment, wash all kinds of utensils, remove and wash bedding and curtains, sweep the Liulv courtyard, brush away dust and dirt, cobwebs, and dredge open ditches and ditches. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of doing hygiene and welcoming the New Year cleanly.

Spring couplets

Spring couplets are also called door pairs, 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. , is 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.

Pasting window grilles and pasting the word "福" upside down

In the folk, people also like to put various paper-cuts - window grilles - on their windows. Window grilles not only enhance the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality.

New Year Pictures

Posting New Year pictures during the Spring Festival 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.

Keeping the year old

Keeping the year old on New Year’s Eve is one of the most important annual customs. The custom of keeping the year old has been around for a long time. The earliest records can be found in the "Feng Tu Zhi" of Zhou Chu in the Western Jin Dynasty: On New Year's Eve, each person greets each other with gifts, which is called "giving the new year"; "Dividing the year old"; everyone stays up all night waiting for the dawn, which is called "keeping the year old".

Firecrackers

There is a saying among Chinese people that "firecrackers open the door". 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".

New Year greetings

On the first day of the New Year, people get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, dress up neatly, and go out to visit relatives and friends, pay New Year greetings to each other, and wish each other New Year’s greetings. Good luck in the coming year.

Spring Festival Food Customs

In ancient agricultural societies, from about the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, housewives would be busy preparing food for the New Year. Because pickling cured meat takes a long time, it must be prepared as early as possible. Many provinces in my country have the custom of pickling cured meat, among which Guangdong Province’s cured meat is the most famous.

Steamed rice cake. Rice cake has become a must-have seasonal food for almost every household because of its homophonic pronunciation of "year high" and its varied tastes. The styles of rice cakes include square yellow and white rice cakes, which symbolize gold and silver and convey the meaning of getting rich in the new year.

The night before the actual Chinese New Year is called Reunion Night. People who are away from home have to travel thousands of miles to get home, and the whole family sits together to make dumplings to celebrate the New Year.

The third stage: summary stage

Display results, communicate and share, and organize evaluation. Under the guidance of the teacher, members of each group further screened and sorted out the information obtained during the activities to form a first-class knowledge, submitted investigation reports in written form, and summarized their own experiences in the activities. Members of each group share and present their results to classmates in different ways. Finally, the teacher and classmates evaluated the activity together.

4. Display of activity results:

1. Students talk about their feelings about the activity

2. Group reports on research results, such as:

Spring Festival The origin of the Spring Festival

Customs of the Spring Festival

Cultures of various places during the Spring Festival

5. Activity results

Through this activity, more students Understanding the Spring Festival culture and appreciating the charm of Chinese culture will make us love our festival, the Spring Festival, even more. Through this activity, students can learn to learn independently, develop good interactive skills in communication and cooperation, and enhance the relationship between classmates.