The Spring Festival is also known as Yuan Day, New Year's Day, Wuzheng, Yuan Chen, Yuan Shuo, Sui Dan, Sui Shuo, Sui Chao, Xinzheng, Shouzuo, Sanyuan or Nian, and New Year. It is the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Due to different calendars, the first day of the first lunar month in each dynasty is not consistent: it is the first day of the first lunar month in the Xia Dynasty, the first day of the twelfth lunar month in the Shang Dynasty, the first day of the eleventh lunar month in the Zhou Dynasty, and the first day of the tenth lunar month in the Qin Dynasty. It returned to the first day of the first lunar month during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

and continues to this day.

"Spring Festival" also means different things in different generations.

In the Han Dynasty, it referred to the day of the beginning of spring, while in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it referred to the entire spring. In modern times, it only refers to the first day of the first lunar month.

It is a traditional festival with the oldest history, the richest activities, the most solemn etiquette, the most spectacular scenes, and the most exquisite food in China. 53 of the 56 ethnic groups in the country (excluding Tibetan, Bai, and Dai) hold grand family celebrations.

It is a banquet or family banquet to celebrate, so it is also called the "Yuan Day Qing Banquet".

The Origin of the Spring Festival According to historical records, the Spring Festival was called "Zai" in the Tang and Yu Dynasties.

It was called "Sui" in the Xia Dynasty, "Si" in the Shang Dynasty, and "Nian" in the Zhou Dynasty.

The original meaning of "nian" refers to the growth cycle of grains. Millet is hot once a year, so the Spring Festival comes once a year and has the meaning of celebrating abundance.

It is also said that the Spring Festival originated from the "December Festival" at the end of primitive society. At that time, when spring came after the end of the twelfth lunar month, the ancestors would kill pigs and sheep to offer sacrifices to gods, ghosts and ancestors, praying for good weather in the new year and avoiding disasters.

They painted their faces with cinnabar, wore bird feathers, sang, danced, ate and drank, making it very lively.

As for mutual New Year greetings and banquets, it started in the early Han Dynasty and is recorded in "Tongdian".

Spring Festival, as the name suggests, is a spring festival.

Spring is coming, everything is renewed, and a new round of sowing and harvesting seasons is about to begin.

People have enough reasons to celebrate this festival with singing and dancing.

Therefore, before the festival, New Year messages with red paper and yellow characters were posted on the door.

When Miss Chun comes to the door, she will read a sentence that expresses her best wishes for the new year. With this thought, good luck really comes.

Things with the same meaning include hanging red lanterns and pasting the word "福" and the statue of the God of Wealth. The word "福" must also be pasted upside down. When passers-by think "福 falls", it means "福 has arrived".

Another name for the Spring Festival is the New Year.

What is "year"?

It is an imaginary animal that brings bad luck to people.

When the "year" comes, the trees wither and no grass grows; when the "year" passes, everything grows and flowers are everywhere.

How can the "year" pass?

It was necessary to use firecrackers, so there was a custom of burning firecrackers.

In 1993, the Beijing Municipal People's Government promulgated a law banning fireworks and firecrackers, making this centuries-old custom a thing of the past.

The Spring Festival is a festival for family reunions, which is very similar to Christmas in the West.

Children who have left home have to travel thousands of miles to return to their parents' home.

The night before the actual Chinese New Year is called Reunion Eve, when families sit around and make dumplings.

The method of making dumplings is to mix the noodles first, and the word "harmony" means "合"; the word "dumpling" in dumplings is a homophony of "Jiao", and "He" and "Jiao" also mean getting together, so dumplings are used to symbolize reunion.

The festive atmosphere lasts for a month.

Before the first day of the first lunar month, there are rituals such as offering sacrifices to stoves and ancestors; during the festival, there are ceremonies such as giving lucky money to children and paying New Year greetings to relatives and friends; in the second half of the festival, there is the Lantern Festival, when the city is full of lanterns and the streets are full of tourists. It is an unprecedented event. After the Lantern Festival,

The Spring Festival is finally over.

Spring Festival: In modern folk custom, the Spring Festival is also called the New Year.

In fact, the origins of the New Year and the Spring Festival are very different.

So how did "year" come from?

There are two main theories among the people: One theory is: According to legend, 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, his silver beard was flowing, and his eyes were like bright stars.

Some of the villagers sealed the windows and locked the doors, some packed their bags, some drove the cattle and sheep, and everywhere people shouted and horses neighed, 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 took a closer look and saw that he had fair hair, a healthy face, and an extraordinary spirit. However, she continued to persuade the beggar and the old man smiled and said nothing. She had no choice but to leave her home and go up the mountain to seek refuge.

Entering the village, it found that the atmosphere in the village was different from previous years: the door of my mother-in-law's house at the east end of the village was brightly lit with red paper. The "Nian" beast trembled and screamed at her mother-in-law's house for a moment.

He screamed and rushed over. As he approached the door, there was a sudden "bang bang bang bang" sound in the courtyard. "Nian" was trembling all over and didn't dare to move forward. It turned out that "Nian" was most afraid of red, fire and explosions.

At this time, the door of my mother-in-law's house was wide open, and an old man in a red robe was seen laughing.

The villagers were very surprised that they were safe. At this time, the old woman suddenly realized and hurriedly told the villagers about the beggar's promise. The villagers rushed to the old woman's house and saw a red paper on the door of her house and a pile of unburned bamboo in the yard.

There was still a banging sound, and a few red candles in the house were still glowing... The overjoyed villagers put on new clothes and hats to celebrate Youxiang's arrival, and went to the homes of relatives and friends to say hello.