1. Northerners have the custom of eating dumplings for New Year's Eve dinner, and they have to wait until midnight on New Year's Eve, which is the beginning of the first day of the first lunar month. Eating dumplings means "New Year's Eve".
"Zi" means "Zi Shi", and "Jiao" is a homophonic sound for "Jiao", which means "happy reunion" and "good luck".
2. Explanation according to folk custom: 1. "New Year's Eve" is the day when humans, ghosts and gods fight. Therefore, everyone must participate in order to obtain good fortune and peace in the coming year.
2. Ghost is "Xi", which is a fierce ghost born from a year of bad luck in the human world.
"Xi" will come out to cause harm to the world on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the old and the new change.
At this time, it takes the combined efforts of humans and gods to get rid of it.
Every year on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, God will send the powerful god "Nian" to the world to cast down demons and eliminate ghosts. However, "Nian" only has 90% of his power on New Year's Eve, which proves that "Xi" is a very powerful ghost and must be assisted by people.
Only then can "Xi" be removed.
Therefore, people should light firecrackers at midnight on New Year's Eve to help Nian get rid of the evil ghost "Xi" that is causing harm to the world.
3. During the Jiaozi period on New Year's Eve, people will gain strength after eating dumplings. Then, men, women, old and young will set off firecrackers to help the gods get rid of the evil spirits, and then devoutly affix a new portrait of the Stove God, and add it to the God of Wealth and the God of Wealth.
Food, mainly dumplings, is offered in front of the portrait of the Kitchen God, which means peace, auspiciousness and wealth in the coming year.
This is the origin of the custom of "the sound of firecrackers drives away the old year (evil spirits)".
3. According to literature, the custom of eating dumplings during the Spring Festival had already appeared in the Ming Dynasty at the latest.
What is particularly noteworthy is that by the Qing Dynasty, this custom had become very widespread and had been fixed.
This custom is related to the ancient Chinese timekeeping method. In ancient China, the twelve earthly branches were used to record the time of each day.
Divide each day into twelve periods, so the beginning of each day is Zi hour, which is equivalent to the time from midnight to one o'clock today. Then at the end of each year, on New Year's Eve, then this is
It's not just the replacement of old and new days, but the replacement of old and new years. The Chinese call it "Jiaozi".
4. The origin of dumplings: Dumplings originated in the era of Zhang Zhongjing. "Dumplings" are also known as "Jiaozi" or "Jiaoer", which means the alternation of the old and the new. It also adheres to the meaning of God. It is a must-eat banquet delicacy.
Otherwise, God will remove your name from the world of Yin and Yang, and you will become a lonely ghost who is not registered after your death.
Think about it, how much our ancestors attached great importance to this!
No matter what, you should eat a dumpling on New Year's Eve to get rid of the bad luck of the year.
People from far away will travel across mountains and rivers to return to their hometowns to spend the winter festival with their families and eat dumplings to show that they have a happy destination.
Extended information (1) Dumplings originated from ancient slots.
The original name of dumplings is "Jiao Er", which was first invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a medical saint in Nanyang, my country. It has a history of more than 1,800 years.
It is a traditional specialty food loved by the Chinese people, also known as dumplings. It is a staple food and local snack among Chinese people, and is also a New Year food.
(2) Dumplings are an essential part of the New Year’s Eve dinner for northerners.
Mainly in most parts of China, mainly the north, making and eating dumplings has become an important activity for most families to celebrate New Year's Eve.
As the saying goes: "During the great cold and the small cold, eat dumplings to celebrate the New Year. (3) In addition to dumplings as a festival delicacy in the north, southerners also eat dumplings on certain occasions. (4) There is a tradition of eating dumplings at Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, but in various places
The custom of eating dumplings is also different. In some places, dumplings are eaten on New Year's Eve, and in other places, dumplings are eaten on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Eating dumplings is a unique way to express people's wishes when bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new.