Xiamen Spring Festival customs:

1. The sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month

Normally, many people in Fujian and Taiwan will celebrate the Spring Festival on the second and sixteenth day of each month in the lunar calendar. Especially businessmen and farmers pay more attention to worshiping the Lord of the Land, which is commonly known as "tooth making". At the traditional "Wei Ya Banquet", the boss will use the "chicken head and fish tail" method to decide who will be dismissed next year. Therefore, there is also a "chicken head to the fish tail" ceremony, which is a tactful way for the boss to "fire" Technique. December 16th is the last "dental appointment" of the year, which is called the "last tooth" and is the most solemn of the year.

2. The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month

The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is the "day to send the gods off". There is a proverb in southern Fujian: sending divine wind and receiving divine rain. It means that on the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, every household sends the Stove Lord to heaven to "say good things". If the weather is windy on that day, it means "bon voyage"; on the fourth day of the first lunar month, the Stove Lord is welcomed down to earth. If there is rain, it means good weather in the coming year.

According to Xiamen's old customs, only after sending away the "Kitchen King" and other gods offered to the family on the 24th of the twelfth lunar month can one do hygiene without any taboos, forming the custom of "sending off gods" and "dusting off". People in Xiamen prepare many kinds of New Year goods. Spring couplets, window grilles, sacrificial supplies, etc. are essential, as well as candied fruits, fruits, fried foods, etc.

3. Add bowls and chopsticks to the New Year’s Eve dinner

Due to Xiamen’s geographical characteristics, many people in history went to Taiwan to go to Southeast Asia. Returning to Xiamen for the New Year requires crossing the ocean. It's easy, so there are always some people who can't come back. At this time, there is still a place for them in the house to put a pair of dishes and chopsticks to show that the person has not returned, but the heart has returned.

4. Family fun around the stove on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is called "Nian Ming", "Erjiu Ming" or "Nian Pocket" on both sides of Taiwan and Fujian. In Xiamen, every household attaches great importance to surrounding the stove, cooking at home, or booking a table at a restaurant. Eating New Year's Eve dinner around the fire heralds family reunion in the coming year. On New Year's Eve, in addition to pasting Spring Festival couplets, locals also place two upright sugar cane plants with red paper on both sides of the door, called "door cane".

In addition, the table in the hall is placed with New Year's rice, New Year's vegetables, steamed cakes, and "spring flowers" tied with red and yellow paper, which means that the food will be abundant all year round, good luck and wealth. After the New Year's Eve dinner, it is time to stay up late. In Taiwan, "staying up late" is also called "Longevity Night", which symbolizes the younger generation's wishes for their parents' longevity.

5. The first day of the first lunar month

On the first day of the first lunar month, people get up early to welcome the spring and receive blessings amidst the sound of firecrackers. They put on new clothes and start visiting relatives and friends to wish each other New Year blessings. The second day of the first lunar month is "son-in-law day", the third day of the first lunar month is "no visit to pay New Year's greetings", the fourth day of the first lunar month is "the day to receive gods", the fifth day of the first lunar month is "the day to send away the poor", and the eighth day of the first lunar month is to prepare to "worship God" in the early morning of the ninth day of the lunar month.

Extended information:

The Spring Festival is the beginning of the year, the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar, also called the lunar year, commonly known as the "New Year". In the process of historical development and inheritance, some relatively fixed customs and habits have been formed, and many of them are still passed down to this day, such as sweeping dust, posting Spring Festival couplets, worshiping ancestors, paying New Year's greetings, lighting firecrackers, paying New Year greetings, etc. There is a Chinese folk saying of "opening firecrackers", which means that every household sets off firecrackers on the occasion of the new year. On the first day of the new year, people get up early, put on their most beautiful clothes, get neatly dressed, and go out to visit relatives and friends to wish them good luck in the coming year.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Spring Festival Customs