Chinese New Year

1. Sweeping around Xinghua dialect calls sweeping around. This is a good hygiene tradition. As the saying goes, "Make up for a thousand things, and you will see your ancestors after washing" and "Sweep around and see your ancestors after washing". Generally speaking, the patrol day is set on the 1th to 2th day of the twelfth lunar month. Every household chooses a sunny day in the "double day" ("double day" is the lucky number of Puxian people), and moves all the things that can be moved at home outdoors, first washing them and exposing them to the sun, then drying them and sterilizing them. Then "sweep" indoors.

2. Sacrifice to the kitchen stove. Holding a "sacrifice to the kitchen stove" on December 24th of the lunar calendar is to send the kitchen stove to heaven. Burn a piece of paper when worshipping, and send it to the kitchen god to pray for the jade emperor's blessing and adequate food and clothing. F2N*_ Jl~U

the 25th day

December 25th of the lunar calendar is a big day when the custom of Puxian is officially established, commonly known as the 25th day. This day, usually sunny, is said to be the day of "heavenly god blesses the people". This day is also a day to be kind and accumulate virtue. All the money and grain promised to God for various reasons should be sent to the Town God Temple (or the temple in the village) on their own initiative, and the manager will turn it into charity for the poor and beggars. On this day, you must do good deeds, such as those with outstanding debts, and you can't collect debts.

Fourth, making rice cakes

Since December 26th, households have been making tofu and buying new year's goods, especially making rice cakes.

Puxian also prepares other new year's goods, such as making tofu. After 198s, seasonal delicacies gradually replaced traditional rice cakes and food in well-off families.

V. Resignation

The day before "New Year's Eve", commonly known as "Xiaochu", every household set off firecrackers and posted new Spring Festival couplets. That night, every household lit candles in the hall, stacked red oranges and fruits like towers, and inserted "three spring" paper flowers on them for "next year's meal" on the stove, and prepared rich sacrifices and "tribute silver" to the gods of heaven and earth, named "Resignation Year". t! N.qb e9]6H

New Year's Eve is commonly known as "Zuonian", and New Year's Eve is called "Thirty Stems". Every abortion is called "29-year-old", and the whole family drinks at the same table, which is called "around the stove". Generally, 1 bowls of banquet dishes are prepared, and the fish is not minced, and the crabs need all 1 feet. After the banquet, firecrackers are set off, and the elders should give the children lucky money, generally staying up all night, commonly known as "keeping the old age".

Since the 198s, with the improvement of people's life, adult younger generations often give lucky money to elderly elders. To show filial piety.

during the Chinese new year, Putian folks have the custom of making "red balls" and "sweet potatoes", one is to honor their ancestors, the other is to eat delicious food in season, and the third is to take the meaning of family prosperity, good luck, great peace and happy reunion.

There is some skill in making the "red ball" skin. After soaking the glutinous rice in water, scoop it up and drain it, mash it into rice powder by hand (commonly called "rice sacrifice"), sieve it again, take the finest powder and dry it for later use. When in use, add a proper amount of boiling water and "food red" and knead them into pink dough skins, knead them into round strips, and then pick them into equal pieces of dough skins by hand.

The stuffing of "red balls" is mostly sweet and salty. Sweet with brown sugar; Salty ones must be seasoned with chopped green onion, shredded mushrooms and mashed fried peanuts, which has a local flavor. The stuffing of "red balls" is divided into three categories: one is mung beans (mung beans are removed from sand and impurities, washed and shelled). Commonly called "mung bean stuffing"; First, glutinous rice is used as stuffing, which is commonly called "glutinous rice stuffing"; First, dry sweet potato powder is used as stuffing, because rice was seldom produced in the former mountainous areas and coastal areas, and the staple food throughout the year is "sweet potato" and "dried sweet potato". When I was "old", I made a group of "sweet potato stuffing", but I didn't forget the simple folk customs of bitter days.

When making a "red group", housewives should divide their work skillfully. The dough skin should be moderately thick and thin, not too thick or too thin; The size of the dough stuffing should be uniform, not too big or too small, and the two should be properly matched. Otherwise, after the dough bag is stuffed, it will be crushed and sometimes it will be too small and unsightly when printed with "red stamp". When making "red dumplings", the housewife demonstrates and instructs the women and children to roll the dumplings, knead the dumplings, print and line the "Kuiye" (scientific name "Kun He"), cut off the extra corners, neatly put them into the cooker, fasten the lid, steam for about 25 minutes, and then cook.

the woodblock printing used in the "red group" is commonly called "red group printing". It is a delicate handicraft. The stamp is engraved with the words "rich", "expensive", "longevity" and "happy", and the flowers and birds are also engraved around it. The sweet potato is used as the main material. First, the fresh sweet potato is peeled, washed, cut into pieces, steamed, picked up and chopped into pure and soft sweet potato paste. "A touch of red" means that a family is thriving, and "Qi" (dialect) means developed and prosperous. "Sweet potato" is characterized by its strong sweet potato flavor, soft fragrance and delicious taste, and it is a seasonal and economical farm food.

"red ball" and "sweet potato" are the unique food culture of Putian people during the New Year.

the fourth day of the fourth lunar month is over, and the fifth lunar month is over (Xianyou area is the fifth lunar month)

In the forty-first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1562), the Japanese invaders invaded Fujian, occupied Hengyu in Ningde, Niutian in Fuqing and Lindun in Putian, established strongholds, and set out to burn, kill and plunder. Xinghua Fucheng (now Putian City) was captured by the Japanese at midnight on November 29th of the lunar calendar and occupied for two months. Xinghua city was completely burned down, killing more than 3 thousand people. At that time, men, women and children in Putian rose up and rebelled, and were cut off by the Japanese pirates, or burned and crucified. It was terrible, and the atrocities of the Japanese thieves in exterminating humanity shocked both at home and abroad. On the 25th day of the first month of the following year, due to the foul smell of dead bodies in the city, the Japanese had to temporarily retreat to Pinghai until the arrival of the anti-Japanese hero Qi Jiguang, and Xinghua City was recovered. At this time, the people who fled to the mountainous areas returned home on the second day of February. On the one hand, we bury the bodies of relatives and friends, on the other hand, we clean up the broken homes. At this time, the New Year's Day has passed, and people have to visit each other on the second day of February, and then they will be old again on the fourth day of February.

Later, in order to commemorate this tragic day in Putian, Putian folks, as usual, celebrated their New Year's Eve on December 3th of the lunar calendar, which lasted too long. Therefore, Putian folk agreed to change the fourth day of the second lunar month to the fourth day of the first lunar month (around the stove). Because the farming in the second lunar month is busy, if you do it on the second day of the second lunar month, you will change the evening of the 3th lunar month to "be younger", and the fourth night of the first lunar month will be called "be older". At the same time, the second day of February is agreed as the second day of the first month, which is an ominous day to visit relatives and friends, commonly known as the death day. So far, Putian people don't visit each other to pay New Year's greetings or visit relatives and friends on this day every year.

The customs of Xianyou County, Putian City, are different from those of Putian City (formerly Putian County). Putian is "older" on the fourth day of the first month, while Xianyou County is "older" on the fifth day of the first month. This is because after the Japanese captured Putian City that year, they invaded Xianyou County on a large scale the following winter, killing and plundering everywhere. The people in Xianyou city fled everywhere and were displaced, so they could not reunite for the New Year. It was not until Qi Jiguang soldiers arrived and the enemy fled that the people were reunited and reunited. Since the 43rd year of Ming Jiajing (1564), the people of Xianyou have set the fifth day of the first month as a folk custom, and Wu Tingzhu, a Wu Zhai man, died in the anti-Japanese war. In order to commemorate him, the villagers set the fifth day of the first month as the day of mourning, so Wu Zhai people have the first month. The custom of "getting older" on the fourth and fifth day of the first month in Puxian area has been inherited to this day.

Spring Festival

The Spring Festival is the most solemn traditional festival in customs. In Puxian area, the first day to the fifth day of the first month is called "five-year-old". On the morning of the first day, the door is opened to set off firecrackers, and all families worship their ancestors, offering noodles, candles and cannons. After the ceremony, the whole family eats noodles and each person has a bowl to wish the whole family a long life. On the second day of the second year, we don't communicate with each other, and we don't visit each other to celebrate the New Year. Only those who have been on the first day don't avoid it. On the third day of the third year, all households held "greeting the new year", which was a response to the example of "sending the new year" at the end of last year. On the fourth day of the fourth lunar month, there is a custom of "begging for grass for bodhisattvas" along the way: children hold idols and are surrounded by cars and drums to collect firewood from households. In the afternoon, there is a "mother invites flowers", hoping to protect her from having a baby early. At dusk, the firewood was built in front of the temple, and the fire was lit. Every household held a worship ceremony. When the firewood was completely burned, many people used long tongs to fight for the unburned firewood and quickly returned home. The "fire mother" hoped that the wealth would be like fire.

Spring Wine for God's Birthday

On the ninth day of the first month, it is said that it is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. At midnight on the eighth day, families light candles and burn incense, and bow to the sky to wish good luck all year round. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, faithful men and women from all over Putian flocked to the Lingyun Temple in Hugongshan to worship the Jade Emperor or to the Jade Emperor Temple in Shishiyan, west of Pucheng. Both of them hired Puxian Opera on the same day, which was very lively. It is said that newlyweds can give birth to boys by taking the Jade Emperor Road on the ninth day of the first month.

On the tenth day of the first month, officials and gentry invited each other to drink, calling them "pass the wine". This used to be an old custom in Chang 'an, but it was renamed as "Spring Wine". One or two days before the ceremony, officials and gentry wrote the names of the invitees with posts and sent people from door to door to sign them. At that time, a big banquet was held, and many seats had to be attended on a high-ranking day. Inviting "spring wine" is an essential thing for officials and gentry in the New Year. Working people don't have this custom. They only take their children with them when visiting relatives and invite each other to eat some tea cakes, sweets or other snacks.

Yuanxiao Yuanxiao lasts from the sixth day of the first month to the 2th. Every village has a different day, and the first full moon night of the year on the 15th of the first month is the Lantern Festival, commonly known as "Lantern Festival Heart".

Lantern Festival is very lively in Puxian. Although the time, content and form of Lantern Festival are not completely consistent in Puxian, they all reflect the keynote of "God is the mainstay, and God and the people are happy together", especially in rural areas. Each village (called "Jing" in the past) has a Lantern Festival around its own village community, which lasts for three days in general, and some of them also have a joint Lantern Festival. In rural areas, Lantern Festival is celebrated, performances are generally performed to reward the gods, and fireworks are interspersed outside the "walking". To celebrate the Lantern Festival, married men in every commune should take turns to be the "blessing head" every year. They are responsible for burning incense, cleaning, offering sacrifices to the commune gods, collecting robes, sacrificial vessels and so on. When celebrating the Lantern Festival, they hold the commune stove and walk around with the shrine, so that all households can make incense.

In celebrating the Lantern Festival, various customs are still popular everywhere. Every household in every commune who got married and gave birth to a boy in the previous year must

The second day of the second lunar month is the "Zhonghe Festival". This day is commonly known as "the first tooth". Families offer sacrifices to God and ancestors. The merchant prepares a banquet and invites the clerk to be the "first tooth". In rural communities, if the Lantern Festival is not held in the first month due to heavy rain and other reasons, it will be reissued on this day, commonly known as "February 2".

Xianyou countryside called "February 2nd" as "Toufu".

In addition, there are some common ones: Spring Festival is an ancient festival in China, and it is also the most important festival in the whole year. How to celebrate this festival has formed some relatively fixed customs and habits in thousands of years of historical development, and many of them are still passed down to this day.

Sweep the dust

"Sweep the dust and sweep the house on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month". According to Lu Chunqiu, China had the custom of sweeping the dust in the Spring Festival in the Yao and Shun era. According to the folk saying: Because of the homonym of "dust" and "Chen", sweeping dust in the Spring Festival has the meaning of "except Chen Buxin", and its intention is to sweep away all bad luck and bad luck. This custom is entrusted with people's desire to break through the old and establish the new and their prayer to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Whenever the Spring Festival comes, every household should clean the environment, clean all kinds of appliances, tear down and wash bedding curtains, sweep the six yards, dust cobwebs and dredge open channels and culverts. Everywhere is filled with the joyful atmosphere of engaging in sanitation and welcoming the Spring Festival cleanly.

posting Spring Festival couplets

Spring Festival couplets are also called door couplets, spring stickers, couplets, couplets, peach symbols, etc. They depict the background of the times and express good wishes with neat, dual, concise and exquisite words, which is a unique literary form in China. Every Spring Festival, no matter in urban or rural areas, every household should select a red Spring Festival couplets and stick them on the door to add festive atmosphere to the festival. This custom began in the Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. By the Qing Dynasty, the ideology and artistry of Spring Festival couplets had been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju's monograph "Poems on Spring Festival couplets" discussed the origin of couplets and the characteristics of various works.

There are many kinds of Spring Festival couplets, which can be divided into door hearts, frame pairs, horizontal stripes, spring strips and square fights according to their usage places. The "door core" is attached to the center of the upper end of the door panel; The "frame pair" is attached to the left and right door frames; "Cross-dressing" is attached to the crossbar of the door; "Spring strips" are posted in corresponding places according to different contents; "Dou Jin", also called "door leaf", is a square diamond, which is often attached to furniture and screen walls.

stick grilles and the word "Fu" upside down

In the folk, people also like to stick various paper-cuts on the windows-window grilles. Window grilles not only set off the festive atmosphere, but also integrate decoration, appreciation and practicality. Paper-cutting is a very popular folk art in China, which has been loved by people for thousands of years. Because it is mostly stuck on the window, it is also called "window flower". With its unique generalization and exaggeration, window grilles show auspicious things and good wishes incisively and vividly, and decorate the festival with splendor.

At the same time of putting up Spring Festival couplets, some families should put large and small "Fu" characters on the doors, walls and lintels. Sticking the word "Fu" in the Spring Festival is a long-standing folk custom in China. The word "Fu" refers to good fortune and good fortune, which places people's longing for a happy life and wishes for a bright future. In order to fully reflect this yearning and wish, some people simply paste the word "fu" upside down, indicating that "happiness has arrived" and "blessing has arrived". There are also people who elaborate the word "Fu" into various patterns, such as longevity, longevity peach, carp jumping over the dragon gate, abundant grains, dragons and phoenixes, and so on.

New Year pictures

Hanging 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 prosperous and happy festive atmosphere to thousands of families. New Year pictures are an ancient folk art in China, reflecting people's simple customs and beliefs and pinning their hopes for the future. New Year pictures, like Spring Festival couplets, originated from "door gods". With the rise of woodblock printing, the content of New Year pictures is not limited to monotonous themes such as door gods, but has become rich and colorful. In some New Year pictures workshops, classic color New Year pictures such as Three Stars of Fu Lushou, heavenly god blesses the people, Harvest of Five Grains, Prosperity of Six Livestock, and Greeting the Spring with Happiness have been produced to meet people's good wishes of celebrating and praying for the New Year. There are three important producing areas of New Year pictures in China: Taohuawu in Suzhou, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Weifang in Shandong; Three schools of Chinese New Year pictures have been formed, each with its own characteristics.

China's earliest collection of New Year pictures in China today is the woodcut New Year pictures of the Southern Song Dynasty, which show four ancient beauties: Wang Zhaojun, Zhao Feiyan, Ban Ji and Lvzhu. The most popular among the people is a New Year picture of Marrying a Mouse. It depicts an interesting scene in which a mouse marries a bride according to human customs. In the early years of the Republic of China, Zheng Mantuo of Shanghai combined the calendar with the New Year pictures. This is a new form of New Year pictures. This new year's picture, which combines two into one, later developed into a calendar and has been popular all over the country.

observing new year's eve

observing new year's eve is one of the most important annual customs, and the custom of observing new year's eve has a long history. The earliest record was found in the "Local Records" in the Western Jin Dynasty: on New Year's Eve, all parties gave gifts, which was called "giving the year back"; Wine and food are invited, which is called "don't be old"; It is called "dividing the age" when the young and the old gather to drink and wish a complete song; Everyone stays up all night, waiting for the morning, which is called "keeping the old age".

"One night is even two years old, and the fifth watch is divided into two days", New Year's Eve, all